Saturday 18 June 2011

Review of the GoKey Product

GoKey by SKEJCOM is an IT solutions product the employs the “cloud computing” concept.  This entails the use of host servers which will store the programs and files of clients, an internet connection to be able to access the servers and a computer terminal which is the interphase for the client to use. The term thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer (its server) to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself.

The key concern would be the reliability of the system since it is not under the physical control of the client and has to go over the internet.  Systems reliability can be broken down to internet connection; protection of client’s data; and access security.

Internet Connection

The internet shutting down is a distinct possibility.  And it is a possibility that will never be eliminated. The reality today is that everyone is using the internet, even for sensitive data transfer and transactions. Telecommunication companies and IT companies are continuously upgrading the system to make it more robust and fail safe and can find ways to reroute the traffic.  If the internet should fail, not only “cloud computing” will be affected, but a good part of world commerce, health systems, and national governments.  So its continued function is a global undertaking.

Protection of Client’s Data:


Physical Protection
There is the physical protection of the servers hosting the data.  With hosting servers being an integral part of the “cloud computing” system, SKEJCOM pays extra attention to physically protect the said servers.  With this given it is believed SKEJCOM can give the same level or even higher level of physical protection to the servers than its clients which may have servers or individual computer terminals to protect but may not be as conscious of protecting them as SKEJCOM.

Software Protection
There is the concern of software protection. Given that SKEJCOM is a very focused IT company with its GoKey solutions, a good portion of its resources and time is to be devoted to software protection with its firewalls and antivirus programs. Its clients will probably not have the same capacity or focus as they will be more concerned with their main businesses.

Access Security

There is concern on access security. While there is the advantageous features of flexibility and mobility since programs and files can be accessed anywhere as long as there is internet connection and graphic interphase; the concern is if unauthorized personnel can also access ones files.  The first layer of protection is the user name and password which is the usual protection used in many systems.  An added layer is the GoKey token which employs Giritech’s Gon USB token with cryptographically secure smart card technology.  There is one more layer in this system than in the usual office computer setup.

Source:http://blog.gokey.eu/?p=100

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