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Fortanixthe seven-year-old Santa Clara, Calif.-based startup focused on enterprise key management and data security for software-based companies is upgrading its Fortanix Data Security Manager (DSM) platform for cloud, on-premises and hybrid digital data security with a powerful new tool.
The tool, Key Insight, was unveiled this week at Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) annual re:Invent 2023 conference in Las Vegas. Fortanix describes it as “the first and only solution to provide unified information and control of all cryptographic keys to protect critical data services.”
In other words, Key Insight is like a tracking system for all of your organization’s digital encryption keys — very smart.
The threat of encryption keys falling into the wrong hands
Cryptographic keys serve all kinds of purposes in computer security and encryption keys they are designed to allow information to be encrypted – or converted from its original state to a special secret code – so that only trusted and properly authorized users can decrypt, translate and access it.
When you encrypt information on your Mac or PC, it’s the encryption keys that allow you to access it and change it later. Organizations of all sizes rely on encryption keys to keep their sensitive data secure and only passed on to authorized users.
Encryption keys are a good practice that every software and organization that depends on data should follow. But they are not infallible. Hacks on Microsoft, I’m going to you, CircleCiand laptop manufacturer MSI Recent years have shown that encryption keys can fall into the wrong hands if those who trust them are not careful or don’t have the right protective infrastructure in place. Key Insight, along with the larger Fortanix DSM, aims to provide just that to organizations, especially those that store information in the cloud (and today, who doesn’t)?
A smart cryptographic key finder with rich information dashboard
Not only does the new Fortanix Key Insight tool maintain awareness of all the cryptographic keys your employees and trusted users and applications rely on, it also provides an easy-to-use dashboard that shows which keys are mapped to which services and users. And it does so in an at-a-glance, information-rich format.
Some of the information Fortanix Key Insight provides to enterprise customers includes the total number of keys, the number of accounts using them, the regions in which they are used and the services they are connected to, and the encryption status of those keys Services . It also shows the “key source” or where they came from/issued and if they were used recently and by how many different accounts.
“Key Insight provides a unique combination of cryptographic key discovery, assessment and recovery and cloud data services in one Enterprise Key Posture Management (EKPM) solution, helping businesses prevent data breaches and failed regulatory audits,” said Anand Kashyap, co-founder and CEO of Fortanix.
Based on the information displayed in Fortanix Key Insight, organizations can see which encryption keys and attached services/applications and users are showing signs of increased risk, anomalous behavior and/or deviation from company policies and industry-specific regulatory requirements . Using this information, Fortnaix enterprise customers can request members of the IT security team to disable certain keys or conduct investigations to close security holes and reduce the risks of inappropriate information access.
Fortanix Key Insight can further be used by organizations to ensure compliance with relevant industry data storage and security regulations and best practices “(e.g. NIST, GDPR, PCI, etc.)”, according to the Fortanix.
Building on a history of AWS integrations
Fortanix is providing live demonstrations of Key Insight and other capabilities to interested parties and potential customers at re:Invent booth #118 throughout the week.
AWS re:Invent 2023 is the right venue for Fortanix to debut the new feature as Fortanix DSM and others Fortanix products are already available for enterprise use, at hourly rates, through the AWS Marketplace.
The company was launched in 2016 and has raised a total of $122 million from major investors including Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, In-Q-Tel and others. It also works with AWS cloud competitors Google and Microsoft.
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