Bdrive: Store Sensitive Data in the Cloud
Make sensitive and highly sensitive data available to more than one person in the cloud while ensuring data protection and data security, protecting data against misuse and keeping the application easy to use. It sounds like an impossible task, but with Bundesdruckerei’s Bdrive cloud solution it can be done securely with an easy-to-use application.
Bdrive: VS-NfD File Sharing
In an increasingly decentralised, mobile and team-oriented working world, a new type of data management must be established. Make highly sensitive data and “Classified Information - For official use only” (VS-NfD) available to more than one person while ensuring data security and data protection, protecting data against misuse and keeping the application easy to use: Bundesdruckerei GmbH makes this possible with its cloud solution Bdrive.
Bdrive combines state-of-the-art encryption technology and our patented CloudRAID principle to store files in a VSA-compliant manner, while still making them accessible to other authorised users. Bdrive has been granted general deployment approval by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for use with VS-NfD data.
Benefits of Using Bdrive
The Bdrive cloud solution offers you the following benefits in day-to-day use and ensures the security of your data every step of the way:
- BSI deployment authorisation granted for VS-NfD
- Collaboration: Joint, legally compliant storage, editing and sharing of documents internally and with third parties in the cloud
- Up-to-date: Continuous and rapid synchronisation of documents to ensure the availability of up-to-date information
- Identity management: Multi-step authentication and key management on Bundesdruckerei GmbH’s highly secure infrastructure
- Version management: To ensure that the same document version is used and that versioning is traceable
- Security Made in Germany: Maximum data sovereignty through the use of innovative CloudRAID technology and hosting in Germany
- Usability: Easy to use thanks to shared folders, download links and self-explanatory interfaces
Use of Bdrive in public administration
One key use case in public administration is sharing files classified as VS-NfD within an authority or with another public authority.
The file is shared in Bdrive for authorised users and can be edited directly by another user. The existing transmission channels often lead to long delays, especially when files need to be transferred between authorities.
With Bdrive, the receiving authority has access to the classified document within seconds.
Why choose Bdrive?
Strict requirements for handling classified documents in both the analogue and digital world are intended to protect these files and prevent them from making their way into the wrong hands. This requirement has meant that cloud-based solutions for exchanging VS-NfD files have been largely unavailable until now. Bdrive offers a cloud solution with BSI approval for VS-NfD files.
Public safety authorities and organisations (BOS), critical infrastructure companies (KRITIS) and industries subject to secrecy protection must comply with the legal requirements for handling VS-NfD documents in the digital world. The associated business processes must also be designed efficiently. The cross-organisational sharing and joint editing of classified files, e.g. between public institutions and industry subject to secrecy protection, poses major challenges for both sides.
Bdrive provides a secure solution for digital document storage and the exchange of VS-NfD documents within an organisation and with other relevant external parties such as customers, partners and service providers.
This is Bdrive
Data is only as secure as its storage location. That is why we at Bundesdruckerei GmbH have created one of the most secure locations for your data. Our Bdrive cloud solution meets the highest security requirements while also supporting efficient and flexible work processes that don’t compromise information security or data protection.
Bdrive is a secure and highly available cloud storage solution that uses a strong encryption mechanism in conjunction with an additional special security concept. The files are encrypted on the users’ end devices first and then fragmented before being stored across multiple, independent cloud service providers. These cloud service providers and the associated, additionally encrypted ‘blueprints’ are used to distribute the files to other end devices belonging to the same user or to end devices belonging to other authorised users, where they are continuously synchronised. The blueprints are stored on Bundesdruckerei GmbH’s separate, central cloud infrastructure, ensuring that they are kept separate from the encrypted file fragments.
This innovative CloudRAID approach increases the security of the file-sharing solution high enough to allow classified documents up to VS-NfD level to be exchanged. VS-NfD files no longer need to be stored in classified infrastructures, but can be conveniently accessed from your VS-NfD-approved end device via the public internet. This significantly simplifies the transmission and collaborative editing of VS-NfD files.
Use of Bdrive in Security-Cleared Industries and Critical Infrastructures
In security-cleared industry and among critical infrastructure (KRITIS) companies, the primary focus is on transferring classified files from public administration to private-sector companies and then back to public administration after processing.
This transmission involves many hurdles and significant delays, which can be resolved with Bdrive in two ways: Either the authority issues guest licences in individual cases, or the companies use Bdrive themselves and can then communicate with the authority. In both cases, file sharing is intuitive and effortless.
Use of Bdrive in the Healthcare Sector
Stakeholders in the healthcare sector have fewer points of contact with classified information, but health-related data is highly sensitive and, in many cases, needs to be shared. Examples include doctors’ letters, radiology reports, entries in patient records, research series and results, and billing data.
All of this data requires protection and is not always made available via the telematics infrastructure. If different parties need to access the same datasets, this access must be secured in accordance with the requirements of the GDPR. Bdrive therefore also enables stakeholders in the healthcare sector to meet their duty to protect data easily and in a legally compliant manner.
Bdrive offers the following benefits
- BSI deployment authorisation granted for VS-NfD
- Data collaboration internally and with authorised third parties
- High security thanks to data encryption and fragmentation
- Intuitive to use
- Secure hosting in Germany
- Availability of up-to-date information with continuous synchronisation
- Clear version management
- Identity management provided by Bundesdruckerei
How Bdrive Works
Data shared via Bdrive is split up and stored across different cloud service providers. This means that only part of a document is stored with any one provider.
If another involved and authorised party wishes to use a document from Bdrive, they essentially only receive a blueprint that enables the file to be reassembled from the different cloud service providers.
With this concept, Bdrive offers maximum data sovereignty through modern technology: The CloudRAID principle patented by Bundesdruckerei encrypts and fragments files and distributes them redundantly across independent cloud storage systems. The blueprints for the files remain on Bundesdruckerei’s highly secure infrastructure; however, we do not have access to user data at any time. Your data can be reliably restored even if individual cloud storage devices fail, thanks to the data and parity blocks that are generated.
Bundesdruckerei’s patented CloudRAID technology, combined with end-to-end encryption and a secure authentication process, guarantees the restoration of your data even in the event of an outage and ensures that only authorised parties have access to it. In this way, we enable cross-organisational collaboration with modern data management, Made in Germany.
Frequently asked questions about the Bdrive cloud solution
When will Bdrive be available?
Our Bdrive cloud solution is already available and has been granted general deployment approval by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for use with VS-NfD data.
Can you choose your own cloud storage provider?
We have compiled a list of cloud storage providers that offer exclusively German locations for use with Bdrive.
What classification level can Bdrive handle?
With the granted general deployment authorisation from the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security), Bdrive can store and send files up to VS-NfD (Classified Information - For Official Use Only).
How can I obtain more information about Bdrive?
You are welcome to email us at bdrive(at)bdr.de and provide your contact details. We will then provide you with the latest information about Bdrive.
+49 (0)30-2598-0
bdrive@bdr.de