Data security provider Kasten Chase Monday introduced its new security architecture designed for networked storage.
Available in October, Kasten Chase’s Assurency Secure Networked Storage is the first Storage Area Network (SAN) solution to introduce certificate-based authentication for a wide variety of storage network devices, the company claimed.
“Our architecture makes certificate-based authentication integral to the SAN fabric,” said Hari Venkatacharya, senior vice-president, Secure Networked Storage for Kasten Chase in Toronto.
The solution allows companies to authenticate various devices in a SAN environment, Venkatacharya said.
“Over time, our Assurency solution will allow for robust authentication of a wide variety of third-party storage products attaching to the SAN fabric, and will mean increased levels of trust for the storage environment and for organizations’ sensitive data,” he added
The architecture features what the company calls programmable ‘Agent’ software designed for incorporation by third-party vendors into their storage networking products.
The Agent exchanges digital certificates with the Assurency Secure Networked Storage Appliance to effectively authenticate third-party products as they attach to the SAN fabric, Venkatacharya said, adding the solution offers SAN security without the cost, complexities and management overhead of a public key infrastructure (PKI) solution.
Traditional PKI only authenticates users, not devices in the SAN environment, which is crucial to ensure the established communication links are not “spoofed,” Venkatacharya said.