Converging Storage and Security: RackTop Systems’ Innovative Approach to Data Protection

The President and COO of Clear Technologies and Visual One Intelligence, Phil Godwin, recently sat down with Jonathan Halstuch, CTO and co-founder of RackTop Systems, for an insightful conversation discussing valuable perspectives about the evolving landscape of data storage and cybersecurity. Their discussion revealed how organizations are adapting to increasingly sophisticated threats as the traditional separation between storage and security dissolves.

The Convergence of Storage and Security

One of the most significant trends Halstuch identifies is the convergence of storage and security functions within organizations. Historically, these were siloed operations, with security teams operating independently from infrastructure and operations teams. However, just as CIO and CSO roles have become more interconnected, there’s a growing recognition that security is everyone’s responsibility.

Beyond Traditional Storage Solutions

When Godwin asked about what makes RackTop unique in the market, Halstuch explained their distinctive approach in an industry where many traditional storage vendors are retrofitting security features onto existing products. “What we’ve done is we’ve developed a product that’s cyber stored, our BrickStor Security Platform, which is a high-performance NAS with all three protocols – NFS, SMB, and S3.”

What sets RackTop apart is their data-centric zero-trust approach, evaluating trust for each file operation in real-time. Unlike traditional systems where permissions remain static until manually changed, BrickStor continuously monitors user behavior for potential threats. This dynamic approach allows the system to detect and respond to suspicious activities, such as:

– Potential insider threats attempting to steal data

– Compromised accounts showing unusual behavior

– Ransomware attacks trying to encrypt files

The Limitations of Traditional Security Measures

Halstuch challenged the common notion that backups are the best protection against ransomware. “It’s not a protection at all,” he argues. “In fact, it’s your last resort for recovery.” He pointed out that 92% of ransomware attacks involve data theft as their first step – something that neither backups nor immutable snapshots can prevent. The key is stopping attacks as they begin, not just preparing for recovery afterward.

Key Use Cases

Healthcare: With petabytes of medical images and sensitive patient data, healthcare organizations are prime targets for cyberattacks. Recent incidents like the Change Healthcare breach highlight the critical need for robust data protection in this sector.

State and Local Government: These organizations manage critical citizen services and data, making them attractive targets for both ransomware and data theft attacks.

Higher Education and Research: Recent false claims acts against institutions like Penn State and Georgia Tech have highlighted the need for better security measures in academic settings, particularly regarding NIST 800-171 standards for CMMC compliance.

Looking Ahead: AI and Data Operations

As the conversation turned to future developments, both leaders acknowledged the growing importance of AI in data operations. Godwin noted that while AI is a hot topic in every client conversation, organizations often struggle with the fundamental challenge of locating and organizing their data for AI applications. Halstuch agreed, explaining that RackTop is positioning itself to help customers leverage their data more effectively for AI workloads, whether it’s for retrieval augmentation generation (RAG) or machine learning applications.

The Partner Ecosystem

The discussion highlighted the strong partnership between Clear Technologies and RackTop Systems. Halstuch praised Clear Technologies’ Visual One platform as providing crucial insights into customer environments, enabling more effective solution delivery. “That’s why we like to work with Clear,” Halstuch noted. “The AI journey is going to be a long one… and to your point, the first thing is getting your hands around your data, organizing that, then the next thing is tagging and labeling it.”

As organizations continue to face new security challenges and explore AI opportunities, RackTop’s integrated approach to storage and security provides a foundation for secure, efficient data management. The company’s focus on real-time threat detection and prevention, combined with high-performance storage capabilities, positions it well for the future of enterprise data management.