Security
As more enterprises migrate to the cloud, the challenge of protecting and defending a network and its data from a multitude of threats becomes more complex and challenging.
In today’s cloud market, servers are running 24/7, whether on premises, hybrid or fully commercial. The servers are on even when the servers are barely being used. This creates a core problem: a permanent attack surface for bad actors to exploit. Data breaches occur because the bad actor finds the IP address of the server or severs.
When a bad actor finds the IP address of a server or servers, it’s just a matter of time before a data breach occurs. Blunt force attacks from sophisticated hackers to sovereign nations will ultimately breach any server’s security perimeter with enough time, money and resources (e.g., recent SolarWinds® breach). Stratus changes this paradigm.
By creating VirtualRS servers on demand with random IP addresses, it becomes almost impossible for a bad actor to find the server(s) because the IP address is constantly changing-by the month, week, day, hour or minute.
Creating servers only when you need them using unpredictable IP addresses reduces the attack surface by over 90% without any loss of performance. With Stratus software, servers are no longer static targets, they become moving targets that are much harder to find.
Stratus’ VirtualRS servers are designed to complement existing cybersecurity software. For example, if a user’s intrusion detection software detects an attack on a server, Stratus software can automatically create a VirtualRS server in milliseconds with a gold image of the affected sever and shut down the affected server before any damage is done.
The affected server is then taken offline and sequestered for forensic analysis without any disruption in operations and without any human intervention.
Privacy / Anonymity
Stratus believes that anonymity is the key to protecting privacy online. If a bad actor is unable to identify you, they can’t find you. One of the key capabilities of VirtualRS servers is the ability to make a user completely anonymous online.
VirtualRS servers anonymize all outgoing data from the server, making it virtually impossible to detect the identity of the user and track their activities. VirtualRS server software strips all identifying personal and Internet behavior characteristics of the data (the metadata). This includes but is not limited to IP Header data, port address data, service type data, IP originating data and other data artifacts used by Internet tracking software to specifically identify users.
Anonymizing the data leaving the server protects the user’s privacy better than any commercial solution on the market today. Furthermore, anonymization is a major component of GDPR compliance in Europe. This anonymization capability embedded in the VirtualRS server is a simple and cost-effective solution for complying with critical elements of GDPR and CCPA (California Consumer Protection Act) mandates.
Combined with a random, unpredictable server IP address that changes on a monthly, weekly, daily or hourly basis, VirtualRS servers give the user a double dose of anonymity and privacy that does not currently exist and enables enterprises to be fully compliant with certain GDPR and CCPA requirements.
Data Analytics / Metadata Aggregation
The tracking, buying and selling of personal data is the most controversial activity on the internet today. Regardless of whether the user is aware that their data is being tracked, bought and sold, it remains a highly controversial practice that may result in new regulations restricting this activity at some point in the future.
Stratus VirtualRS servers anonymize all the metadata before it leaves the server by stripping all identifying personal information from the data. Once VirtualRS servers reach a certain number of users, Stratus software can aggregate the anonymized metadata and sell it to any vendor without threatening personal privacy.
More importantly, unlike most data sold on the internet, Stratus anonymized metadata is not dependent on any vendor, meaning it is not vendor specific. This means that Stratus anonymized metadata is not biased in any way.
Anonymized, bias-free metadata is the most valuable form of personal data because it fully protects a user’s identity and privacy while providing a wealth of information about that user’s activities. Bias-free anonymized metadata is a tremendous asset for any user or consumer of such data and currently doesn’t exist anywhere in the market.