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Spotlight Security and Infrastructure Take Center Stage at Applied Discovery This issue's Spotlight column features an interview with Mark Stokes, Vice President of Information Technology (IT) at Applied Discovery. His group is responsible for all IT functions related to client and employee information systems, most importantly ensuring the security of confidential client data. The Orange Pages (TOP): Mark, can you explain what happens in the IT group and how it's different from the software development department? Mark Stokes (MS): It's very common to confuse software developers and IT professionals. At Applied Discovery, the development group develops and creates our product, the Online Review application. The IT group takes care of the hardware and applications to support that function. In the simplest of terms, developers handle the software and we handle the hardware. TOP: Well, that certainly is easy to understand. How do you ensure that clients have secure access to their data 24-hours a day and 7- days a week? MS: We provide our clients with access to their documents anytime, anywhere via the Internet. Any company can host an online service, but to provide clients with the highest level of security possible is another thing.We use only the best hardware and software systems available. That configuration is housed in a state-of-the-art data center, connected to the Internet using fully redundant networks and firewalls. TOP: Fully redundant? What does that mean? MS: Even though we take every precaution to ensure that our networks and firewalls are running day and night, we have to prepare for the worst. We always run in "high availability mode," which means that if a problem is detected in any component, backup systems automatically take over. This applies to all aspects of communication, including Internet access, network infrastructure and firewalls. We even have contingency recovery scenarios and processes in place to cover contingencies. For example, if one of our Internet connections fail, we have automatic access to seven other Internet service providers. TOP: Can you tell us a little about firewalls? MS: Firewalls act as a security barrier for traffic coming into a network by keeping hackers out and confidential data in. Our intrusion detection systems work in concert with our firewalls to block suspicious incoming connections, stop malicious programs from spying on the system, and prevent confidential information from being sent out without permission. Our firewalls are configured as securely as possible. Of the more than 65,000 ports available to transmit data over the Internet, we limit access to only two. Additionally, we employ full-time security experts dedicated to learning about each new virus and constantly updating our systems to make certain nothing gets in. TOP: What else do you do to secure client data? MS: Right from the start, each client is assigned a dedicated server. As we process client data, every document is run through rigorous virus detection. All communications are encrypted using 128-bit SSL encryption technology, which allows users to confirm a web server's identity through a web browser. An SSL connection requires all information sent to and from a server to be encrypted by the sending software and decrypted by the receiving software, protecting information from interception over the Internet. In addition, all data sent over an SSL connection is protected with a mechanism for tamper detection, automatically determining whether the data has been altered in transit. 128-bit SSL encryption has never been broken. Experts estimate that it would take a trillion-trillion years to crack using today's technology. As for physical security, our client servers are located in a secure remote facility under 24-hour-a-day guard with seven security checkpoints requiring a combination of authentication methods including cardkeys and biometrics (such as hand scans). Additionally, the building is set to run for two full weeks at full power in the event of a major disaster. TOP: What can clients do to help maintain the security of their data? MS: The most important thing clients can do is keep all usernames and passwords secret. Other than that, we take care of the rest. We employ experts in security, data center architecture, network communications, and server management, so our clients don't have to worry about these issues on their end. |
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