EU Calls for Stronger Cloud Privacy Standards Underscores Need for Organizations to Act Immediately to Secure Cloud Application Data

LONDON, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Recent leaks of the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) PRISM surveillance program are the latest in a string of disclosures that have sparked growing data residency concerns for EU and global corporations regarding using U.S. headquartered - cloud service providers.

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European Union Vice President and Commissioner for Justice Viviane Reding said it was "a wake-up call"  that would boost efforts to strengthen existing privacy laws. Speaking at a conference in Munich,[1] Reding issued an appeal for member states to move forward on a data protection bill that includes cloud service providers, and place the bill on the agenda of an EU summit in the autumn.

While policy makers move forward, however, these events make it clear that EU and global businesses need to act immediately to resolve data residency issues themselves and protect their sensitive information in transit and at rest with cloud service providers.

Due to the dynamic nature of cloud operations, it may not be known in which country the information is actually stored and whether it's accessible by foreign government agencies and system administrators. This may result in concerns over data ownership and potential conflicts between domestic or international jurisdictional and regulatory requirements.

"U.S. cloud service providers are subject to U.S. laws including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which means the government can get access to cloud-stored information without the data's owner even knowing it," according to Paige Leidig, senior vice president at CipherCloud.

Leidig further emphasized, "This underscores how critically important it is that businesses control and secure their own data in the cloud, and not rely solely on their cloud service provider. It boils down to encrypting sensitive information in the cloud and making sure the business retains exclusive control of their encryption keys. This is the only way to prevent any cloud service providers from revealing confidential information without involving the information owner."

By retaining and controlling the keys to encrypt and decrypt the information, any EU or global business immediately prevents anyone from snooping at their information in the cloud without their knowledge including cloud service providers, hackers, inside fraudsters or government agencies.

CipherCloud, the leader in cloud information protection has deployed its cloud information protection platform to more than 1.2 million users and more than 100 million customer records around the globe, making it possible for businesses to encrypt their data with popular services like Microsoft Office 365, Google Gmail, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and many other leading cloud service providers while preserving the application usability and functionality. With the CipherCloud platform, customers retain control of their encryption keys, so no one else can access their information.

About CipherCloud
CipherCloud, the leader in cloud information protection, enables organizations to securely adopt cloud applications by overcoming data privacy, residency, security, and regulatory compliance risks. CipherCloud delivers an open platform with comprehensive security controls including encryption, tokenization, cloud data loss prevention, cloud malware detection, and activity monitoring. CipherCloud's ground breaking technology protects sensitive information in real time, before it is sent to the cloud, while preserving application usability and functionality.

CipherCloud has experienced exceptional growth and success with over 1.2 million business users, more than 100 million customer records, in over 10 industries, and with marquee customers around the globe, including North America, Europe, Middle East, Australia/New Zealand and the rest of the Asia-Pacific.

The CipherCloud product portfolio protects popular cloud applications out-of-the-box such as Salesforce, Force.com, Chatter, Box, Google Gmail, Microsoft Office 365, and Amazon Web Services. Additionally, CipherCloud Connect AnyApp and Database Gateway enable organizations to extend data protection to hundreds of third-party cloud and private cloud applications and databases.

CipherCloud, named as SC Magazine's 2013 Best Product of the Year, is backed by premier venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, and T-Venture, the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom. For more information, visit www.ciphercloud.com and follow us on Twitter @ciphercloud.

CipherCloud Contact:
Lise Feng
Director of Corporate Communications
+1-408-520-4937
lfeng@ciphercloud.com  

[1] "Women and the Web – Why Data Protection and Diversity belong together ," Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Justice Commissioner, speaking at DLDwomen13 (Digital Life Design) Conference, July 15, 2013, Munich, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-637_en.htm?locale=en