Data Security on WeoGeo
Entrusting your geo-content to someone is usually filled with a great deal of doubts and uncertainties, especially if that content is valuable. With that in mind, this article outlines the practices followed by WeoGeo to secure your data.
At its core, data hosted with WeoGeo is protected from public access. We use Amazon’s S3 service to host our content providers’ data. We recognize that there are customers for whom the cloud-hosting model just doesn’t fit (e.g. DoD customers). In those situations, the WeoGeo Appliance provides the same functionality as the WeoGeo Library but runs entirely behind the firewall.
Let’s examine content security on WeoGeo Market and Library in detail.
Browsing Metadata
Market
For WeoGeo Market listings - limited Dataset Metadata, Preview Images, and Low Resolution KML dataset descriptions are freely available to the public. Please note, it is up to the content provider’s discretion to make the data available on market.
Library
On WeoGeo Libraries - the preview images, the metadata description, and the very existence of the dataset are password-protected information. They cannot be browsed by un-authenticated users or by users who are authenticated but do not have access to the Dataset Group. Access controls are granular in nature to account for different scenarios and are set and controlled by the Library Administrator. Lastly, users must be invited or approved by the Library Administrator before they can access another’s WeoGeo Library.
Access to Raw Data
All Data hosted with WeoGeo is protected from public access. The AWS S3 bucket where pre-processed data is stored is never made available. WeoGeo follows best practices for key management and takes all reasonable precautions to safeguard your data. WeoGeo’s success depends on us building and maintaining trust with our geo-content providers. For more information on AWS Security, please read AWS’ Security Information.
Please note, however, hosting data with WeoGeo does not eliminate the need on content providers’ part to maintain a master copy of their own.
Access to Completed Orders
When datasets are ordered, WeoGeo copies the derivative product into a “data escrow” AWS S3 bucket named using a UUID. Access to that bucket is provided via a unique signature and access key with a short expiry time. The key is exposed only after the user who submitted the job authenticates. SSL is enabled for downloads as well.
Other
For information on financial security and the guidelines we follow, please see our Financial Information page. For further questions on security, policies, Copyright Infringement, Resolution Structure and Recourse can all be answered by reviewing our legal documentation.