Safe & Secure

How Secure is Data In The Cloud?

Understandably, this is the main concern of most users who consider using cloud storage and backup. This why CTERA's solutions use the highest standards to safeguard the integrity and privacy of data before it is moved to the cloud:

Encryption

Before data is sent from the Cloud Attached Storage appliance to its online backup destination, it is encrypted using 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard). This is a highly secure encryption algorithm, approved as safe enough for protecting U.S. government classified material, and widely used by banks.

Users also have the option of encrypting local volumes, which protects the data on them in case of physical theft of the appliance or its hard drives.

Passphrase Protection

Passwords are required to access online backup versions of your data. You may choose between two options of passphrase protection:

• An automatically-generated key: This offers the ability to reset the key if it is forgotten.

• A personal passphrase: In this case, the user chooses a passphrase known only to him. While this is recommended and offers an additional level of privacy, it also means that in case the passphrase is forgotten, the protected data will not be retrievable.

Secure Connection

In addition to the encryption of the data itself, online backups are transmitted over an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) connection, the same kind of connection used for safe transactions on e-commerce sites. SSL protects your data from being read or intercepted en route to the online backup infrastructure.

Fingerprinting

CTERA uses SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm) to "fingerprint" the data sent to online backup. This is a method to ensure data integrity, i.e. that the data set reaching its backup destination is the same data set transmitted by the Cloud Attached Storage device, and that it has not been tampered with.