Symantec preps “03” platform for cloud security
September 10, 2011
Symantec has revealed new details on 03, a cloud security platform which the company hopes will solve the lingering security issues which surround cloud computing platforms…
Slated for release next year, 03 will provide a layer of security between users and cloud computing platforms, allowing administrators to set access policies and monitor user activity and behaviours. The platform will be offered as both an on-premise private cloud system or as a hosted service.
Nico Popp, vice president of Symantec’s 03 platform, told V3 the platform would collect all credentials for web applications in a single service which can be accessed by any device. Upon logging into 03, users will be able to access cloud applications with credentials automatically entered into the site.
Because credentials are automatically provided, users will not need to remember multiple passwords and administrators will be able to terminate access for former employees from a single application.
Unlike a virtual private network (VPN,) the 03 platform will be able to federate account information and will be completely web-based.
"One of the weaknesses of the VPN is that it requires a client," Popp explained.
"This works on an iPad, this works on an iPhone and you don’t even have to log into a VPN."
Popp also noted that the 03 platform will present users from side-stepping security controls by logging into accounts directly from their home computer or mobile device. Because 03 encrypts data on cloud services, any devices which have not logged onto the service will be unable to view content.
The platform will look to solve a lingering security problem which has been cited as slowing cloud computing adoption.
Symantec research labs vice president of research Joe Pasqua likened the rise in cloud computing to the early days of the PC market, when security was not a primary concern and many systems were left vulnerable to attack as a result.
"There are all these advantages, but at the same time the cloud world is just as nascent today as the PC world was in the 1980s," Pasqua explained.
"The importance of a technology like 03 is how we can get the efficiency and flexibility of cloud services without getting into the same mess as 30 years ago."