SpaceBelt: Our First Outer Space Partner

We have attracted some interesting partners since launching Wasabi in May 2017. But I have to say nothing compares with Cloud Constellation's SpaceBelt, an ambitious project underway to create a space-based, super-secure network for the communications and storage of data in orbit around the earth. It’s completely isolated from the terrestrial Internet. Talk about storing your data in the cloud, SpaceBelt stores your data above the clouds! Here’s how it works:

SpaceBelt consists of a network of satellites that actually store data in the sky with additional storage on land (that’s where Wasabi comes in). But never does any of this data pass through terrestrial-based communications where it could be intercepted or hacked. Data goes directly from a customer’s location to a geostationary satellite via an encrypted uplink from an antenna on the customer’s site. This is important because communicating with a geostationary satellite means that the antenna can be a simple fixed dish aimed at the satellite.

From there, the data is transferred to a self-healing network of low orbit communications satellites and storage satellites that can store up to 8 PBs of data each. The satellites communicate with each other via lasers, not radio waves. Lasers are a more secure way to communicate because you can’t easily eavesdrop on a laser beam.

There are multiple storage satellites and data is distributed among them so that the failure of any one storage satellite will not result in the loss of data.
Furthermore, data can be backed up or archived to dedicated Wasabi data centers via encrypted RF connections. An antenna on the roof of the Wasabi data center connects the Wasabi storage to the satellites directly without the data having to travel through any terrestrial network. So, the Wasabi data center can be completely isolated from any terrestrial networks, making it completely hack-proof. This architecture also means that all your data doesn’t need to stay solely in expensive satellite-based storage. It can be moved through the SpaceBelt secure network to inexpensive Wasabi storage on the ground without ever passing through the Internet or any other ground-based network.

Space-based security for an insecure world

So, who might need this? A 2016 IBM study showed that cybersecurity breaches cost businesses $400B, and over $1 trillion will be spent on cybersecurity from 2017 through 2020. Potential users range from banking networks like the SWIFT system to Hollywood movie studios that want to keep upcoming films protected from pre-release hacking. There are also big potential markets in blockchain key management, defense, and national infrastructure. For example, everyone worries about hackers shutting down the power grid. A space-based infrastructure that is isolated from terrestrial networks could significantly harden our infrastructure against hacking and intrusion.

Wasabi was chosen as the terrestrial storage partner for SpaceBelt because of our ability to deploy isolated private vaults in the 10-15 petabyte range, our extremely high throughput, our 11 nines of durability, automatic geo-replication, and our unique and highly secure immutable buckets that insure that valuable data can never be accidentally or maliciously deleted or modified.

When we launched Wasabi in May last year, there was pizza and beer, and somebody flipped a few switches at the data center. That’s the software industry’s idea of a launch. SpaceBelt’s launch will be a very different kind of launch, and we’re looking forward to participating.

For more information, check out the recent joint announcement from Wasabi and Cloud Constellation Corporation.