iseek bolsters digital frontline with Queensland’s first PROTECTED Cloud service
IN the face of a surge in cyber-attacks on government organisations and businesses since the advent of COVID-19, Queensland’s leading data centre and connectivity group iseek has bolstered security on its digital frontline.
The Brisbane-based innovator in digital infrastructure and managed services will deliver Queensland’s first locally hosted PROTECTED Cloud service in partnership with Canberra-based high security cloud specialist Vault Cloud.
The roll out of the high security cloud service in Queensland will take iseek’s offering to the next level.
iseek’s plan to introduce the State’s first locally hosted PROTECTED Cloud service comes as government agencies and other enterprises with highly sensitive data — such as defence, aviation, banking, mining, healthcare, aged care and various other sectors — look to expand critical digital infrastructure in response to demand driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cyber-attacks have risen dramatically throughout the pandemic and, with significantly increased reliance on digital services, security is more critical than ever. In the first 30 days after the initial outbreak of COVID-19 alone, businesses experienced more than three-fold surge in cyber-attacks.
“The pandemic has shifted the focus on what we deem to be critical infrastructure and our data and data systems are now clearly deemed to be critical infrastructure,” iseek founder and managing director Jason Gomersall said.
“Through our engagement with our government and enterprise customers we discovered there was a real requirement for PROTECTED Cloud in the Queensland market.“And, more importantly, something that was hosted in Queensland.
“What is new about what we’re doing in partnership with Vault is the fact that we will host PROTECTED Cloud in Queensland — a better secure, sovereign cloud service that enables classified, critical and sensitive data to be held closer to our clients and end users across the State.
“Historically Queensland organisations have needed to source their PROTECTED Cloud services from providers hosted outside Queensland.
“I think that’s another learning from COVID-19. We need to be self-sufficient where we can be with this critical infrastructure. We need to be able to provide these services within the state and not rely on other parts of the country or the world.
“By putting together this fantastic partnership with Vault we are able to bring that offering to Queensland. I’m personally very excited about that.
“iseek has a history of being very innovative in the sorts of services we bring to Queensland and this is the next phase of that innovation.”
Vault Cloud specialises in high security data services to manage and store classified data, Vault Cloud has a solid reputation as a specialist in high security data services.
Its strategy involves partnering and supporting local businesses such as iseek to deliver transparent, ethical privacy and security solutions aimed at building trust with local communities.
“The future of PROTECTED Cloud will be growth,” Vault chief executive Rupert Taylor-Price said.
“The amount of sensitive data needing to move to the cloud over the next five years is much higher than it has been in the past and we will see more and more use of PROTECTED Cloud.
“Today, PROTECTED Cloud is used heavily in government, but as more cyber security events happen other sectors and other industries are starting to look at it as well.
“If you’ve got any systems where you are holding sensitive or critical infrastructure data and you would be worried if that information were to go into the public domain it’s probably time to start thinking whether you should use PROTECTED Cloud or some other high security cloud service versus public cloud or on-premise.
“The impact on the trust of either that business or that part of government or government in total if some incident happens and their systems are compromised can obviously be catastrophic.”
The iseek-Vault partnership’s PROTECTED Cloud will be IRAP-assessed, taking into account the relevant security controls of the Australian Government Information Security Manual (ISM) ranging from the thickness and sturdiness of doors, to how data is managed and encrypted on disks. With a 23-year history as Queensland’s data centre and cloud services innovator, iseek offers enterprise and government customers Australia-wide — whether in urban, rural or regional areas — the security, reliability and scale they could expect to find in major urban areas.
