Ameesh Divatia is the co-founder & CEO of Baffle, an organization centered on integrating information safety into each side of the info pipeline to simplify cloud information safety and decrease the impression of knowledge breaches.
Its platform affords a no-code, easy-to-deploy answer that secures delicate information with out affecting efficiency or requiring modifications to purposes. Baffle’s expertise is appropriate with main cloud suppliers similar to AWS, Azure, IBM, and GCP. Serving a variety of shoppers, from Fortune 25 firms to small and medium companies, Baffle protects over 100 billion information 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 levels of the corporate?
After my final firm’s exit, I took a much-needed break to recharge and take into consideration what I actually wished to do subsequent. I’ve all the time beloved constructing firms, so I began having conversations with an early-stage VC pal of mine, and he launched me to Priyadarshan “PD” Kolte, who would grow to be my co-founder. He challenged us with an intriguing query, disguised as a problem: “How do you get value from data while still protecting it?” That problem hooked me—fixing powerful issues is what I stay 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?
This can be a query each firm dabbling in AI ought to be asking. Safety and innovation typically really feel like two opposing forces, however they don’t should be. The secret is a breakthrough innovation known as Privateness Enhanced Computation (PEC) that begins with encryption—conserving 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 precise 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 beneficial asset in bubble wrap—regardless of how a lot it’s tossed round, it stays protected. Consider it as locking the info whilst you’re utilizing it. Conventional strategies concentrate on 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 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 present AI pipeline by defending information as it’s being ingested. That is adopted by a functionality generally known 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 massive, 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 present purposes or information movers so as to add encryption. This can be a enormous profit for giant organizations with complicated information pipelines as a result of it means they’ll bolster safety with out risking disruptions. It’s sooner, simpler, and removes a number of the complications that sometimes include integrating new tech.
How does Baffle’s Actual Queryable Encryption differ from different encryption strategies, and what benefits does it supply 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. This can be a game-changer, particularly for firms coping with enormous quantities of delicate information, like in finance or healthcare, the place compliance is non-negotiable.
Knowledge-in-use safety is a vital 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 techniques—it’s often at its most susceptible. That’s why defending it in real-time is vital, particularly with rules like GDPR, which require a posture generally known as ‘data protection 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 typically occur, serving to firms keep compliant and protected.
As AI fashions grow to be extra complicated, what are the primary challenges in securing these fashions towards adversarial assaults, and the way does Baffle handle these challenges?
AI fashions are getting smarter, however so are attackers. Adversarial assaults—the place unhealthy actors attempt to manipulate the info that impacts an AI mannequin’s output—are a rising concern. We sort out this by specializing in the info aspect. 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 knowledge—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 obtained 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 folks based mostly on their particular person function or credential, can entry delicate information, conserving issues locked down tight and decreasing the chance of breaches.
Baffle has seen vital progress lately, along with your revenues doubling prior to now yr. What do you attribute this progress to, and the way do you intend to proceed this trajectory?
We’re driving a wave of demand as a result of we’ve constructed the appropriate answer for the appropriate drawback. Our progress 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 harder, firms are turning to us for options that work with out slowing them down. Our concentrate on real-queryable encryption and ease of use is an enormous motive for that progress. 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 good interview, readers who want to study extra ought to go to Baffle.
