Jungle Disk
Jungle Disk is both the name of an online backup software service and a privately held data security company. It was one of the first backup services to use cloud storage and Amazon S3.[1] In 2009 after being acquired by Rackspace the service added Rackspace Cloud Files. The name is a word association as the Amazon rainforest is a Jungle and Disk is a common shorthand for a hard disk drive.
Developer(s) | Jungle Disk, LLC |
---|---|
Initial release | 2007 |
Operating system | Windows / macOS / Linux |
Available in | English |
Type | Remote backup service |
License | Proprietary |
Website | www |
Backup service overview
Jungle Disk backup is a monthly subscription software service that supports laptops, desktops, and servers for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. Data is backed up to an online disk using either a continuous backup (aka. sync) or scheduled to back up of selected files, folders, or a everything on a system. Data can be accessed from the software client, a web browser, or mobile devices running Android or iOS. It also provides a WebDAV server for integration with other applications. Customers can protect their data using AES-256 encryption with their own key so even Jungle Disk employees cannot access any records. Each subscription includes 10 gigabytes of storage with pay-as-you-go for additional data.[2]
History
Jungle Disk was founded in Atlanta by Dave Wright in 2006. On October 22, 2008, Jungle Disk entered into an agreement to be acquired by Rackspace Hosting, Inc. Rackspace purchased Jungle Disk in order to expand their cloud hosting services.[3] After the acquisition integration Dave left Rackspace to found SolidFire[4] and then Jungle Disk was relocated to San Antonio in 2010. The pace of development slowed down as Rackspace focused on its Cloud infrastructure software platform which became OpenStack.[5] In 2013, Rackspace revived Jungle Disk customer support going from ticket only service to include phone, chat and ticketing. On January 5, 2016, Jungle Disk spun out of Rackspace US, Inc. and is now a privately held company headquartered in San Antonio, TX.[6]
On December 5, 2017, Jungle Disk announced it acquired SafetyNet, the first backup for QuickBooks Online, from Jobber. [7]
Criticism
The Jungle Disk client software did not receive an update from 2012-2014 and then while part of the Cloud Office [8] portfolio a new version was released in December 2015.[9]
On June 3, 2011, Colin Percival, owner of Tarsnap[10] (a competitor of Jungle Disk), identified two potential weaknesses in Jungle Disk's security:[11]
- The lack of a Message Authentication Code means that file corruption (accidental or deliberate) or arbitrary file content insertions[12] will not be detected if the attacker can bypass Amazon or Rackspace security and directly modify data in S3 or Cloud Files.
- The use of MD5 as a Key derivation function makes it computationally feasible to perform a brute-force attack on a Jungle Disk password.
References
- Kirkpatrick, Marshall. "Amazon releases early info on S3 storage use". TechCrunch.
- Daniel Brame. "Jungle Disk Review". PCMag. Ziff Davis.
- Kincaid, Jason (2008-10-22). "Rackspace Acquires JungleDisk, Slicehost To Take On Amazon Web Services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- Ludwig, Sean (2011-10-31). "SolidFire raises $25M to boost cloud provider agility and performance". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
- Hickey, Andrew (2010-07-19). "Rackspace, NASA Open Up Cloud Computing With OpenStack Project". CRN. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
- Mosbrucker, Kristen (2016-01-15). "Cloud startup JungleDisk CEO Bret Piatt makes company independent of Rackspace Hosting Inc. in 2016 - San Antonio Business Journal". San Antonio Business Journal. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- "Jungle Disk Acquires SafetyNet Backup for QuickBooks Online". BusinessWire. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
- "Rackspace Cloud Office".
- Dunn, Wes (2015-12-03). "Introducing Jungle Disk Server Edition version 3.18 for Windows | The Jungle Disk Blog". www.jungledisk.com. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- "Tarsnap - About". www.tarsnap.com. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
- Colin Percival. "Insecurity in the Jungle (disk)".
- "If the people running the underlying storage service (Amazon S3 or Rackspace Cloud Files) know the contents of a file stored via Jungle Disk, they could transform it into anything they want — planting files which are dangerous (e.g., viruses) or even illegal (e.g., child pornography). " Percival 2011