Some estimates place the value of all US data at $13T and $130T globally. Monetary estimates alone cannot count the personal or corporate devastation when our data is exploited. Given the financial impact of the recent Corona Virus epidemic, one could easily imagine the effect of a global cyber storm by criminals or anarchists. Even assuming a much more benign 1% annual global data loss, the impact would be $130B!
In 2009 our scientists at Sertainty dared to imagine scalable methods for making all data immune to exploitation by making it completely self-protecting. In 2020 we are even more excited because the demand has never been higher nor the consequences graver. We have only begun to penetrate the banking, entertainment, health, and Federal markets as industry capitalize on the significance of our accomplishments.
As a nation, we hate to admit it, but despite enormous efforts and expense, corporate security boundaries are breached every day. The barbarians are inside the gates. Cybersecurity vendors have given us comforting names like Zero Trust, Role-Based Access, and Privileged Identity Management, but none have stop data exfiltration or exploitation. That means $B’s of cybersecurity investments fail every day to protect our data.
We founded Sertainty with a singular purpose; make data fully able to defend itself anywhere and for all time. I am proud to say we achieved that goal. But like all revolutionary technologies, it begins with education.
Looking back ten years, it is kind of funny now, but we used to be dismissed as heretics. So were Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. It is lonely being an industry leader, But little by little, we proved that the technology works, it is easy to deploy, and it is highly effective. I love watching the facial expression of prospective customers as they realize how disruptive we are, how affordable our technology is, and how much we can contribute to reducing their business risk. Their insurance companies and CFO’s like us too because dramatically improve their balance sheet.
Under the current paradigm, data does not know where it is, who is authorized to use it, or how to defend itself. Looking back at the Target, OPM, and Equifax data breaches, the root cause experts repeatedly concluded that the attackers used phishing methods to gain entry and sophisticated obfuscation with sophisticated malware to steal the data. That was all true, but it wasn’t the root cause of the catastrophes. Not a single expert recognized that the root cause was a failure to immunize the data, and thus make it self-protecting.
Self-protecting does not mean encryption. It means the data is physically empowered to take a progressive set of defensive measures that are configured by the data owner. Most people do not know that such a capability exists, which explains the expert’s misguided root cause conclusions.
For the first time in history, our personal or corporate data can be born protected and remain protected throughout its life. That means if left exposed on any device outside a secure network, self-aware and self-protecting data can defend itself without any external support.
The addressable market for this technology is unlimited because data is much more than files. Every digital communication, business application, digital device, threat intelligence platform, next-generation firewall, insider threat protection, or identity management solution would benefit from self-protecting data technology. Regulatory compliance for GDPR, HIPPA, or other regulatory compliance solution also becomes trivial with self-protecting data technology. Why? Because the data is self-aware and can automatically verify regulatory compliance on itself. Now that is low-cost compliance.
In most instances, CISO’s and CIO’s quickly realize that with Sertainty’s self-protecting data technology, encrypted networks, while appropriate, are no longer necessary. Under this new paradigm, data is born protected and stays protected for its lifetime. The data has an awareness of where it is, who is trying to access it, and all the access controls imposed by the data owner.
Like all founders of technology startups, we know that revolutions do not come easily or often. As the markets create new applications for our technology, we discover with them the potential benefits in our lives. Now we are told by businesses and consumers how reassuring it would be if our technology became ubiquitous across the IT domain. They imagine a time when it no longer matters who has their data. Imagine how comforting that would be to your stockholders, customers, vendors, and partners.
It has been an exhilarating ride, and as CEO of Sertainty, I could not be more proud of our accomplishments. Every CISO and CIO should be demanding their vendors embed self-protecting, self-aware data technology in future products.
Greg C. Taylor, CEO
Sertainty Corporation
