Data in Transit - VectorLock: A Lean, Mean Security Machine

Most of us that work with geospatial data on a daily basis are familiar with the overabundance of rules and license agreements that surround almost every dataset we touch. Some of the most common decrees when working with this data can be, "click here to accept these terms", or "please forward to your Legal Dept", and possibly even "do not distribute to anyone or we'll take your computer!" Petty threat’s aside, It seems that frequent emails, phone calls and trips down to the legal department, if not a law degree in itself, are sometimes required to get anything done.

Figure 1 - the dreaded license agreement.



In reality it isn’t as bad as this, but data security is definitely a worthwhile consideration. Take for example a midstream oil and gas firm working with an engineering company to design a new pipeline route. All sorts of geospatial data must be shared to complete the project, but once it’s done, what is there that really stops the engineering company from sharing (even inadvertently) this proprietary data with a competing firm? In today’s world, license agreements are essentially the answer. These flimsy documents are very difficult to enforce and offer no mechanism to detect any non-compliance that is occurring. Secure data rooms can also be used but these are expensive to set up and are often too limiting and thus not useful enough in the eyes of many important contractors.

Enter VectorLock, eMap’s software-based solution for adding security to Esri shapefiles. With VectorLock, GIS database administrators can make shapefiles that expire and become unusable after a project has been completed. They can also be given read-only permissions or granted full editing capabilities depending on the needs of end users. By applying read-only permissions, VectorLock can be used as an internal data integrity tool by keeping shapefiles that are exported from the master database from spreading too far beyond their intended use. VectorLock changes the paradigm for how geospatial data is handled inside and outside of an organization – the old rules need not necessarily apply.

Figure 2 - the VectorLock Admin Program.



In addition to data distributors, VectorLock can be leveraged in a similar fashion by geospatial data vendors. Longer or shorter license terms can be setup with the confidence that they’ll be enforced and hopefully renewed; as a result, creative pricing models can be built to meet the specific needs of users. In the same way, data vendors can better differentiate their shapefile datasets from VectorLock datasets, and charge a premium for customers who need to use the source shapefile data.

Figure 3 - VectorLock data restrictions interface.



In summary, geospatial data distributors and vendors will be able to leverage VectorLock in the following ways:

• As an internal security measure to protect sensitive geospatial data
• When sharing sensitive data for a limited time with independent contractors
• When selling vector format data with reoccurring annual license agreements
• To assure data integrity across various internal departments

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