Corporate image photo: Cloud Security Alliance partners with ASTRI to further APAC cloud security initiatives
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Cloud Security Alliance partners with ASTRI to further APAC cloud security initiatives

[Hong Kong, 6 September 2012] Following August’s announcement of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) selecting Singapore as its corporate headquarters, the CSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) yesterday (September 5) to advance cloud computing security and build capabilities that will accelerate the development of the cloud ecosystem in Hong Kong.


MOU signing

Dr Cheung Nim-kwan (left), CEO, ASTRI, and Aloysius Cheang, managing director, CSA APAC, sign the MOU on behalf of the respective organizations


According to the agreement, the CSA and ASTRI will collaborate on applied cloud security research in order to more effectively integrate industry and academia efforts into a joint framework that fosters trusted cloud computing initiatives in Hong Kong and the Greater China region. The first joint research project that the two organizations are planning will be CloudCERT, a CSA initiative to enable the optimization of Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) functionality within cloud computing, with the establishment of the APAC CloudCERT operational base based in Hong Kong.

“CSA research activities in Hong Kong will be a focal point for encouraging ‘technopreneurship’ across the APAC region and should serve to support an innovation hub for cloud computing security,” said Aloysius Cheang, managing director at CSA APAC. “CSA's presence in Hong Kong will also serve as a central gateway for CSA corporate members looking to establish a presence in Hong Kong and Greater China region.”

Signing the MOU on behalf of ASTRI, Dr Cheung Nim-kwan, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, said, “We very much welcome the opportunities to collaborate with CSA. I hope our joint effort can contribute to the advancement of cloud security and facilitate the adoption of cloud computing in Hong Kong and the region.”

“This new partnership arrangement is complementary to the efforts of the Government to facilitate and drive cloud computing development and adoption in Hong Kong,” the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Daniel Lai, said. The Government established an Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services and Standards in April this year. CSA HK and Macau Chapter and ASTRI are both represented in the Expert Group.