GlassHouse Technologies, the leading technology-independent provider of storage services and consulting, today announced an addition to its data protection services that helps companies protect their data from loss and theft by identifying and patching hidden security holes.
GlassHouse’s Storage Security Risk Assessment addresses security issues that went unresolved at most companies as data storage evolved independently, outside the purview of IT security staff. As stored data has grown into many companies’ most valuable asset, companies have spent vast sums to add storage infrastructure, but comparatively little on protecting stored data from attack, theft and tampering. The Storage Security Risk Assessment brings storage and security together by determining a company’s storage security weaknesses and creating a plan to eliminate them.
“Storage networks grew up outside the security umbrella that developed around other assets, which means storage network security is usually much weaker than the data’s value merits,” said Ray Paquet, managing vice president, Gartner, Inc. “Most companies know their stored data is vulnerable to loss or theft, but they think if they’re careful with their backup tapes then they’re covered. They don’t recognize the threats from hackers inside and outside the company, and don’t have the in-house expertise to deal with them. They have storage experts and network security experts, but no one who understands both.”
GlassHouse partner Iron Mountain Incorporated is the world’s largest records and information management company managing critical corporate data for more than 235,000 customer accounts around the world. Iron Mountain’s interest in the Storage Security Risk Assessment underscores what a strategic concern data security has become, said Kevin Roden, executive vice president and CIO of Iron Mountain, “One of our most important initiatives, is to educate our customers on emerging data security trends and available solutions, such as tape encryption, for protecting their private information while managing timely backups,” Roden said. “This service from GlassHouse is one way our customers can more quickly realize the benefits of implementing critical storage security strategies, while maintaining necessary access to important information.”
Attainable goals
Unlike many technology-related issues, data storage security problems are solvable at a reasonable cost of time and money. GlassHouse’s goal with the Storage Security Risk Assessment is to help companies deal with storage security in a short time frame – often just a few weeks – so they can concentrate on major issues like archiving and disaster recovery planning.
The service includes an assessment of a companies’ storage operations to identify their vulnerabilities, and culminates with a specific roadmap for implementing secure storage technologies and policies. Among its key deliverables are:
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Impact and exposure analyses that identify potential problems with storage technology and staff with access to sensitive data;
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Storage security policies that address multiple facets of security, from generating data at the application level to sharing it throughout the company;
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A roadmap with specific recommendations for resolving storage security issues.
“Most companies are not far away from being able to resolve their storage security issues, but they need a catalyst to help get their storage and security people working together,” said W. Curtis Preston, GlassHouse vice president of data protection. “With our Data Protection Services, we are that catalyst.”
About GlassHouse Technologies, Inc.
GlassHouse is the leading provider of independent services that help organizations solve the business problems of enterprise storage. From strategy through implementation, operations and customer support, GlassHouse partners with clients to achieve predictability and manageability in storage operations, enabling cost control, risk mitigation and increased service levels. GlassHouse clients include UBS, Exxon Mobil, Charles Schwab, Virgin Mobile, and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. More information about GlassHouse is available at www.glasshouse.com.
