Certus Software Presented Certified Data Erasing

Certus Software GmbH provides transparent certified data erasing, including management of all users, reports and licenses in a cloud-based tool and according to the CCRA.

The company presents its approach in the certified data erasing field. The provided cloud-based managed erasing solution establishes transparency and a holistic view on all operations performed on each wiped storage device. The certified process is managed in a cloud-based cockpit hosted in the EU.

Certified Data Erasure solutions cover the requirements on various type of storage devices. They have been designed, developed and certified within the EU. The cloud-based management functionality enables secure, forensic reliable, comprehensive and transparent data erasure results, hardware auditing and reporting across all storage platforms by cost-effective services.

The cloud-based approach as well as the certified data erasing process complies with the widest existing mutual IT Security recognition arrangement (CCRA) known as the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (ISO15408).

The company has the highest given EU Common Criteria security assurance level (EAL3+) for data erasure.

The products are distributed as ‘Cloud Managed Erasure Solutions’ and can be customized upon request. The erasure module is universal for all offered solutions. One of the key elements is that the admin tool has a flexible licensing model that offers full transparency on all issued data erasure licenses to internal users, resellers, and subsidiaries. Certified data erasing is available since now as a price for each individual erased storage device as well as a fixed price per agreed time-period for unlimited number of erased storage devices.

Secure erasing all digital storage devices
Certified data erasure solutions and its modules are a data erasure software service designed to erase files permanently and completely, for all the data stored in digital format (files, folders, partitions, file systems, disk sectors) on storage devices connected to a PC, Mac or server. It entirely erases all the data by overwriting each sector on the storage device with data values corresponding to the selected erasure pattern and then verifies the results, according with the settings previously chosen by the operator.

There are currently 13 supported erasure patterns. After the erasure, the resident information is entirely removed and there will be impossible to recover the data by using any currently available data recovery methods or tools. This achievement is possible by controlling and auditing all the sub-processes involved. The internal security mechanisms of company’s solutions are the proof for the success or the failure of the erasing process.

Cloud Managed Erasure Solutions provides lots of flexibility when it comes to reporting. Various report formats, including XML, HTML, XLS and PDF, are available for the user in order to make him be able to find, sort and select for export the exactly needed erasure or hardware information. Firm’s solutions are designed, developed and maintained in accordance to international security standard requirements defined by ISO 15408 (Common Criteria).

Cloud-based reporting in all file formats
Resident in a cloud portal, the management component of Cloud Managed Erasure solution has been designed and developed to manage and guarantee transparency over all user actions. The purpose of the cloud-based cockpit is to give each customer full transparency and traceability of the historical data erasure information.

“A certified erasure and verification procedure is mandatory in order to protect intellectual property within organizations, when a storage device is disposed or reassigned. The confidential data on a hard-drive within a PC, server, mobile device, etc. can be exposed and moved unwittingly in such situations.” commented Robert Brunner, CMO, Certus Software Germany. “Also after an IT system has been infected with malicious code, Certus Cloud Certified Data Erasure Solution comes as the ultimate choice to assure and certify that all storage devices are properly clean and safe.” he says.

Secure certified erasing at EAL3+ level
The level of the security assurance provided by the company is EAL3+ as per Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation (CC – a.k.a. ISO/IEC 15408). This is currently the IT security Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) issued in EU for data erasure software. The Common Criteria R.A. is an arrangement between 26 different governments around the world with the purpose of setting the requirements of the ISO15408 standard and the mechanism of mutual recognition of the evaluation schemes. The US authority in charge with implementing the CCRA is the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP) that has a Validation Scheme in place for it (CCEVS).

Secure cloud managed erasing
The access to firm’s cloud management functionalities are protected by the currently safest IT security cryptographic protocol TLS v1.2, known as the saver version of SSL.

Certus Software GmbH, headquartered in Augsburg (Germany), runs its R&D, manufacturing and support processes by its software development team in Iasi (Romania)

Resources:
Common Criteria evaluation full report
Common Criteria and its members
NIAP CCEVS
DIN ISO/IEC 15408 (CC): The standard defines a criteria work for the security evaluation of IT products and IT systems and is part of an internationally recognized standard.