By way of the Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty controls, Kinectify recently introduced new risk-management services for tribal gaming enterprises.
The technology allows sovereign nations, including tribes, to regulate the encryption of data in transit, rest, and memory. Tribal entities will have complete control over data access, while leveraging the full capabilities of the Microsoft Azure cloud.
“Our tribal nation clients are important to us and we are excited to deploy this dedicated service to them,” said Kinectify CEO Joseph Martin in a statement. “Our collaboration with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, our very first client, made us deeply aware of tribal concerns over data control and security. We wanted to give our tribal-nation clients the full range of our modern capabilities for risk management, such as anti-money laundering, responsible gaming, fraud, and other future capabilities, while protecting their sovereignty. This collaboration with Microsoft allows us to do just that.”
According to a release, tribal nations have traditionally stored sensitive data on-site using physical servers to maintain sovereignty over data. That approach limits access to newer third-party applications only available by using leading data centers such as Microsoft Azure.
The recent collaboration introduces a new service allowing tribal nations to leverage Kinectify’s full suite of software without compromising data control and tribal sovereignty.
“I have over 24 years of cybersecurity experience assisting both Native and non-Native organizations and understand the critical importance of Indigenous data sovereignty,” said Brandon Benallie, a cybersecurity expert of Diné (Navajo) and Hopi descent. “Data sovereignty empowers our communities, preserves our life ways, and ensures data governance upholds the rights and traditions of Indigenous peoples.
“After speaking with Microsoft and Indian law legal experts, I am impressed by Kinectify’s approach toward offering a service that adheres to Indigenous self-determination and sustainable development. The Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty solution allows Indigenous people to take advantage of the benefits of a cloud infrastructure while sustaining robust cybersecurity without compromising sovereignty.”
The collaboration underscores Kinectify and Microsoft’s intent to deliver state-of-the-art technology and services to the entire gaming industry, including tribal nations.
“We value forward-thinking technology companies like Kinectify that utilize our services to deliver unique capabilities to the market,” said Microsoft Vice President, Federal Civilian Unit, Heidi Kobylski. “The Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty is a recent enhancement to our cloud offering giving a range of sovereign nations the data control and protection they need. We are excited to host Kinectify’s risk management technology protected by Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty controls in Azure and extend these services to the tribal gaming community.”
