Cloud Security Alliance Continues Rapid Growth; Now Broadest Industry-wide Initiative Focused on Cloud Security

San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2009 – The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, today made several announcements underscoring its rapid growth and broad industry support as the largest cloud security initiative on a global basis, including the news that numerous leading corporations in the fields of cloud computing and security have joined the Alliance.

Research Activities Continue at a Rapid Pace

The CSA now has over 200 practitioner volunteers developing version 2.0 of its “Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing”, with plans to release the guidance in October. CSA has also announced formation of new working groups for special interests, including Healthcare, Cloud Threats and the Federal Government. CSA is presenting its findings globally at several events each month, including its recent briefing of US federal agencies at the CSA Federal Cloud Security Symposium hosted by MITRE Corporation on August 5th in McLean, Virginia. “Companies and individuals are finding new and innovative ways to leverage cloud computing every day,” said Christofer Hoff, Technical Director for the CSA, and Director of Cloud & Virtualization Solutions at Cisco Systems. “As such, it is crucial for the CSA to continue to evolve and expand the guidance, to help steer organizations through the growing, nebulous landscape of cloud computing. Our group's progress toward shaping secure Cloud Computing is exciting, and I commend the work of the practitioners towards this ongoing effort.”

Major Corporations Supporting Effort

HP, McAfee, RSA, Websense and VMware are among the many new members that join founding corporations PGP, Qualys and ZScaler in the alliance. Other new members include Absolute Software, ArcSight, Fiberlink, Forum Systems, Iron Mountain, Novell, Ping Identity, Sonoa Systems, Terremark, Trend Micro and Verizon Business. Other corporations interested in joining the industry-wide effort can visit http://www.cloudsecurityalliance.org/membership/ for more information on membership. “Cloud Computing is transforming the way businesses use and think about IT,” said Jim Reavis, co-founder of the CSA. “With numerous practitioners already engaged and contributing to the guidelines we are setting forth for cloud security, it is important that we now also have the support of the solution provider community, as true security in the cloud is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders. We are pleased to welcome the new corporate members to the CSA, and look forward to their ongoing engagement as we continue to champion the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing. You can expect several more exciting announcements of support from the solution provider community in the weeks and months ahead.” “A cross-industry set of best practices for securing cloud computing is a key early step in its broader adoption,” said John Livingston, CEO of Absolute Software. “We endorse and are pleased to be joining the CSA’s efforts to educate both practitioners and solution providers not only on how to use Cloud Computing in the safest fashion, but also how to leverage this model to secure their broader IT efforts.”

Global Alliances extend CSA’s reach

In addition to founding association partner ISACA, several non-profit groups have joined the Cloud Security Alliance, including the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), OWASP, the Jericho Forum and the Barcelona Digital Technology Centre. Recently, CSA’s “Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing” was translated into Japanese by CSA partner ASPIC Japan, the leading industry consortium for Software as a Service (SaaS) in Japan.

Announces Board of Directors

The CSA today also announced its board of directors, a group of industry-leading practitioners dedicated to furthering the promotion of secure best practices within cloud computing. The board of directors includes Jim Reavis, co-founder of the CSA, Alan Boehme, SVP & Head of IT Strategy & Enterprise Architecture at ING Financial Services, Dave Cullinane, CISO of eBay, Paul Kurtz, a former White House advisor and partner with Good Harbor Consulting, LLC, Jerry Archer, SVP and CSO of Sallie Mae and Nils Puhlmann, experienced CISO and co-founder of the CSA.

About Cloud Security Alliance

The Cloud Security Alliance is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all other forms of computing. The Cloud Security Alliance is led by a broad coalition of industry leaders, global associations and expert practitioners. For further information, the Cloud Security Alliance website is www.cloudsecurityalliance.org.

Contact

Zenobia Godschalk ZAG Communications for the Cloud Security Alliance [email protected] 678.799.8279