Unstructured Data Shield (UDS)
The only solution that seamlessly protects all data (wherever it goes) is quantum-computing proof. UDS wins the future cyber arms race by leaving nearly zero attack surfaces susceptible to deceptive and impersonation attacks. It is a perfect (and the only) implementation of the “Zero Trust Data-Centric Security Solution” demanded by the National Security Agency (NSA) in its “Embracing A Zero Trust Model.”
UDS provides persistent assurance of data security and data integrity. It can scale up to protect all the data in all sizes of environments to ensure cyber resiliency even under attack.
Seamless Protection
UDS protects data from the moment data is discovered. The patent-pending technology enables the protection stay with the data throughout its lifecycle with no gap
Compliance with GDPR
Rich and accurate information about compliance data right in your finger tip: how many, where it is and who can and has accessed it. All in real time
Unprecedented Visibility
Complete data access history, from every user to every data, right in your fingertip in real time. No deceptions, and no exceptions.
Unstructured Data Shield (UDS) from APF Technologies is a revolutionary Zero Trust Date-Centric solution that provides seamless end-to-end protection of every data file, enabling uncompromising protection for all unstructured enterprise data.
Zero Trust Architecture Is Aging and Data Breaches are Rampant
Every effort so far to contain data breaches has failed. The latest “Cost of a Data Breach Report” from IBM shows that Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), which was touted to be the future of cyber defense, falls short of stopping data breaches and serious damage to businesses. Thirty-five percent of reporting companies that had either fully or partially implemented Zero Trust programs experienced an average loss of more than $3.2 million from a data breach. “The enterprise attack surface is expanding fast and attackers will quickly consider pivoting and targeting assets and vulnerabilities outside of the scope of zero trust architectures (ZTAs),” explained Jeremy D’Hoinne, VP analyst at Gartner. In other words, ZTA has quickly become a white elephant. The cyber risk is so high that Mr. Mario Greco, chief executive at the insurer Zurich, recently told The Financial Times that cyber “will become uninsurable.”
National Security Agency (NSA) Believes Data-Centric Is the Future
The National Security Agency (NSA), with its eyes, ears, and hands in every corner of the cyberspace, proposed a new direction. “The Zero Trust security model assumes that a breach is inevitable or has likely already occurred … data-centric security model allows the concept of least-privileged access to be applied for every access decision, allowing or denying access to resources”. It is a imaged by NSA, and APF has made it a reality.
UDS Is A Data-Centric Solution
Unbreakable Data Protection
UDS presents an entirely different solution that effectively leaves zero attack surface. With UDS, data is encrypted as soon as it is discovered and transformed into the secure APFX format and remains encrypted throughout its entire life cycle. The APFX data is encrypted by APF’s industry-leading quantum-computing proof technology. When the data is moved to other devices, it remains encrypted. Whenever a user or application intends to access UDS data, the UDS client app obtains permission from the UDS cloud after policy verification and decrypts the data to the intended application only. It doesn’t leave behind clear cache on the device, therefore there is zero attack surface expansion.
Zero Attack Surface Expansion
Because UDS converts data into secure APFX format, the encryption stays with the data as it is copied and moved around. When APFX data is copied, the new file retains the same encryption and tags so it inherits the same level of protection; when APFX data is transmitted through the network, its encryption remains intact to prevent eavesdropping; when APFX data is moved to a new device, the protection stays. This is how UDS stops attack surface expansion without restricting data movement.
Vigorous and Intelligent Data Access Management
Since the APFX data is permanently encrypted, whenever a user wants to access APFX data, he/she has to request permission from the UDS cloud. UDS’ intelligent data access management in real-time determines the user’s request by using intelligent ACLs. If UDS grants access, the UDS client app on the local device decrypts the data and opens it in the user’s intended GUI application, like Microsoft Word or Excel. The access decision is one-time only.
As soon as a file is discovered, the UDS data discovery process creates tags for the data using classification policies and attaches those tags to the data in the new APFX format. Those tags stay with the data permanently and are the foundation for intelligent access management to allow precise assessment of the risk before access is granted to a user and allow UDS to detect and defeat deceptive practices by criminals and malicious insiders.
Stay Compliant with GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA
Data is a blessing to businesses for the value it brings in, but also a burden to keep them safe. Consumer privacy protection laws like GDPR and CCPA that demand businesses make the best effort to keep data from falling into the wrong hands and impose hefty fines when they fail, so it has an outsized role in cyber insurance premiums. Unfortunately, most businesses today are not able to provide an accurate count of the amount of regulated data and where they are, let alone how they are protected. That failure inevitably drives up the cyber risk and resultant insurance premiums.
It is a complicated problem for others but not so much for UDS. When data is determined to have regulated information, UDS attaches a compliance tag to the data. With this tag, UDS can provide an undisputable count of unique compliance data in real-time. Since it is UDS data, it is always encrypted so the data is considered safe by the privacy laws even when the data may have been exfiltrated. This protection reduces liability significantly. UDS even provides a report of the complete access history of all regulated data to prove it.
Unprecedented Visibility of Data Usage
Whenever a user requests access to data, UDS records the outcome. Since it happens every time a user accesses data, UDS can provide a complete picture of data usage: who accessed what data on which device and when. This visibility helps enterprises better understand the value of their data and assess the vulnerability of the environment. It also serves as a deterrent to internal users from misusing their data access privilege.
