Ameesh Divatia is the co-founder & CEO of Baffle, an organization centered on integrating information safety into each facet of the info pipeline to simplify cloud information safety and decrease the affect of information breaches.
Its platform provides a no-code, easy-to-deploy answer that secures delicate information with out affecting efficiency or requiring modifications to purposes. Baffle’s know-how is suitable with main cloud suppliers comparable to AWS, Azure, IBM, and GCP. Serving a variety of purchasers, from Fortune 25 firms to small and medium companies, Baffle protects over 100 billion data worldwide, working with system integrators for environment friendly deployment.
What motivated you to co-found Baffle, Inc., and the way did your earlier entrepreneurial experiences form your strategy within the early phases of the corporate?
After my final firm’s exit, I took a much-needed break to recharge and take into consideration what I actually needed to do subsequent. I’ve all the time cherished constructing firms, so I began having conversations with an early-stage VC good friend of mine, and he launched me to Priyadarshan “PD” Kolte, who would develop into my co-founder. He challenged us with an intriguing query, disguised as a problem: “How do you get worth from information whereas nonetheless defending it?” That problem hooked me—fixing robust issues is what I dwell for. There was a obtrusive hole in information safety, particularly round simplifying encryption and defending information ‘in use’. 9 years later, right here we’re, answering that query with Baffle.
With the rise of generative AI, how can firms make sure that their information stays safe whereas nonetheless leveraging the advantages of AI applied sciences?
It is a query each firm dabbling in AI ought to be asking. Safety and innovation usually really feel like two opposing forces, however they don’t should be. The hot button is a breakthrough innovation known as Privateness Enhanced Computation (PEC) that begins with encryption—retaining information protected at relaxation, in transit, and whereas in use. By encrypting delicate information earlier than it will get to the AI fashions first after which utilizing PEC to course of it, you’ll be able to nonetheless get the insights you want with out compromising safety. It’s about staying forward of the sport, updating safety protocols, and leveraging instruments like Baffle to mitigate dangers. You don’t should sacrifice innovation for safety.
Are you able to clarify the particular function of encryption in defending AI-generated information and fashions? How does it differ from conventional information safety strategies?
Encryption for AI information is like wrapping your most dear asset in bubble wrap—irrespective of how a lot it’s tossed round, it stays protected. Consider it as locking the info when you’re utilizing it. Conventional strategies deal with securing information when it’s not in use (at relaxation) or when it is shifting (in transit). However with AI, we’re including a brand new layer of complexity as a result of the info wants to remain encrypted even when it’s being crunched by fashions. Baffle focuses on this “data-in-use” safety, guaranteeing efficiency isn’t impacted however safety isn’t sacrificed.
Baffle just lately launched a knowledge safety answer particularly for GenAI tasks. Are you able to share extra particulars about how this answer works and what makes it distinctive available in the market?
Our GenAI answer is all about making encryption easy and environment friendly, even once you’re working with AI. It plugs into an current AI pipeline by defending information as it’s being ingested. That is adopted by a functionality referred to as real-queryable encryption that processes the info with out exposing it. Most significantly, you don’t want to alter something in your AI pipeline—no rewriting code, no problem. Simply plug it in and go. We’ve centered on ease of use and ensuring safety doesn’t get in the best way of innovation, which is why prospects are discovering this answer so engaging.
Your platform emphasizes “no code” modifications for implementing information safety. How does this strategy profit firms, particularly these with giant, complicated information pipelines?
Nobody desires to interrupt one thing that’s already working. With our “no code” strategy, firms don’t want to tear aside their current purposes or information movers so as to add encryption. It is a enormous profit for giant organizations with complicated information pipelines as a result of it means they will bolster safety with out risking disruptions. It’s sooner, simpler, and removes quite a lot of the complications that usually include integrating new tech.
How does Baffle’s Actual Queryable Encryption differ from different encryption strategies, and what benefits does it provide for firms dealing with large-scale information analytics?
Actual Queryable Encryption is our secret sauce. In contrast to conventional encryption, which requires you to decrypt information within the information retailer earlier than analyzing it (and thereby exposing it), we allow you to run queries on the encrypted information itself. It’s like having your cake and consuming it too—you get the insights with out risking safety. It is a game-changer, particularly for firms coping with enormous quantities of delicate information, like in finance or healthcare, the place compliance is non-negotiable.
Information-in-use safety is a important characteristic of Baffle’s platform. Are you able to clarify how this works and why it’s important for firms, notably within the context of GDPR and different information privateness rules?
When information is in use—being processed by programs—it’s often at its most weak. That’s why defending it in real-time is important, particularly with rules like GDPR, which require a posture referred to as ‘information safety by design’. Our platform ensures that even when information is being processed, it is nonetheless encrypted. This strategy eliminates that dangerous window of publicity the place information breaches usually occur, serving to firms keep compliant and secure.
As AI fashions develop into extra complicated, what are the principle challenges in securing these fashions towards adversarial assaults, and the way does Baffle deal with these challenges?
AI fashions are getting smarter, however so are attackers. Adversarial assaults—the place dangerous actors attempt to manipulate the info that impacts an AI mannequin’s output—are a rising concern. We deal with this by specializing in the info facet. By encrypting the info that the AI fashions depend on, we make it a lot more durable for anybody to mess with the mannequin’s integrity. It’s like giving the AI mannequin a locked vault of information—nobody’s getting in with out the important thing.
Are you able to talk about the significance of role-based entry management (RBAC) in trendy information safety methods, particularly for organizations utilizing multi-tenant cloud environments?
In multi-tenant cloud environments, RBAC is a must have. Think about you’ve bought a bunch of individuals all sharing the identical cloud infrastructure. With out RBAC, it’s like giving everybody entry to the entire constructing as an alternative of simply their workplace. Our platform integrates RBAC so solely approved individuals primarily based on their particular person function or credential, can entry delicate information, retaining issues locked down tight and lowering the danger of breaches.
Baffle has seen important development lately, together with your revenues doubling up to now 12 months. What do you attribute this development to, and the way do you intend to proceed this trajectory?
We’re using a wave of demand as a result of we’ve constructed the correct answer for the correct drawback. Our development comes down to at least one factor: we’re fixing an issue that each firm faces—information safety. With cyber threats on the rise and rules getting more durable, firms are turning to us for options that work with out slowing them down. Our deal with real-queryable encryption and ease of use is a giant purpose for that development. Transferring ahead, we’re planning to maintain pushing the envelope on innovation, increasing our merchandise, and constructing robust partnerships that take us into new markets.
Thanks for the nice interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to Baffle.
