Trusted by the Institutions That Power the Economy
Built for regulated industries. Proven through real adversity.
Cloudstar’s story is one of scale, capability, and resilience—earned across more than a decade of protecting what matters most.
Trusted by the Institutions That Power the Economy
From Early Cloud to Industry Backbone
Cloudstar began in 2011 with a clear mission: to help regulated industries adopt cloud technology without sacrificing control, security, or compliance. By 2012, the company launched one of the first fully hosted infrastructure platforms purpose-built for financial, legal, and title insurance environments.
As cloud adoption accelerated, Cloudstar’s role expanded. The company became a trusted backbone for organizations that required more than uptime—they needed regulatory alignment, operational continuity, secure communications platforms, and support from professionals who understood the stakes. That’s exactly what was delivered.
Rather than leasing space from third parties, Cloudstar built, owned, and operated its infrastructure across five geographically diverse data centers—from New York to Silicon Valley, Denver to Florida. This coast-to-coast presence offered clients true geographic redundancy, high availability, and the assurance of working with a provider in full control of the stack.
At its peak, Cloudstar’s encrypted email platform processed more than one million sensitive financial communications per week, supporting lenders, title agencies, law firms, and insurance professionals throughout North America and beyond.
From Early Cloud to Industry Backbone
Cloudstar began in 2011 with a clear mission: to help regulated industries adopt cloud technology without sacrificing control, security, or compliance. By 2012, the company launched one of the first fully hosted infrastructure platforms purpose-built for financial, legal, and title insurance environments.
As cloud adoption accelerated, Cloudstar’s role expanded. The company became a trusted backbone for organizations that required more than uptime—they needed regulatory alignment, operational continuity, secure communications platforms, and support from professionals who understood the stakes. That’s exactly what was delivered.
Rather than leasing space from third parties, Cloudstar built, owned, and operated its infrastructure across five geographically diverse data centers—from New York to Silicon Valley, Denver to Florida. This coast-to-coast presence offered clients true geographic redundancy, high availability, and the assurance of working with a provider in full control of the stack.
At its peak, Cloudstar’s encrypted email platform processed more than one million sensitive financial communications per week, supporting lenders, title agencies, law firms, and insurance professionals throughout North America and beyond.
Trusted by the Institutions That Power the Economy
Cloudstar didn’t just serve the industry—we became part of its infrastructure.
The company joined leading associations including the American Land Title Association, the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association and others—becoming more than a vendor and actively contributing to the sectors it supported. Cloudstar professionals served on committees, spoke on panels, and remained directly engaged with the evolving needs of regulated institutions.
During this time, Cloudstar also completed SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 attestations under the AICPA Trust Services Criteria, validating operational maturity and affirming security, availability, confidentiality, and privacy controls. These designations reflected not only technical alignment but a deeper commitment to the trust placed in us by title agencies, lenders, and financial institutions nationwide.
Growth Through Innovation
Innovation at Cloudstar wasn’t limited to infrastructure—it extended to launching new ventures and solving operational challenges for clients across the mortgage, title, and financial industries.
Between 2014 and 2018, Cloudstar founded a series of specialized companies designed to meet precise regulatory and workflow demands:
-
Teletonix Communications, LLC (2014) – An FCC-licensed telecom provider supporting secure, compliant communications infrastructure.
-
Notary Transfer (2016) – A secure email platform tailored to the document signing and notary industry.
-
Mortgage Phish (2018) – A phishing simulation and training service built to help lenders and title agents defend against evolving cyber threats.
Cloudstar also built a highly specialized consulting division focused on operational readiness, workflow design, and regulatory enablement. This team supported title agents, mortgage lenders, and underwriters with everything from geographic expansion to compliance strategy. Services included document preparation frameworks, system architecture, and readiness assessments—often delivered by licensed insurance professionals familiar with the nuanced requirements of launching or scaling regulated operations.
Built For Scale, Backed By Industry Leaders
Infrastructure wasn’t outsourced—it was engineered in-house, scaled with intention, and operated under full control.
Cloudstar’s first deployment began with a single VMware server. From there, the company expanded into a nationwide network of privately operated server clusters located in enterprise-grade facilities from coast to coast. Each location was selected to support high-availability architecture, data redundancy, and regulatory requirements.
As demand surged, Cloudstar became a recognized service provider for VMware and Citrix, a Microsoft Partner, and a trusted integrator of Barracuda, Zerto, and Echoworx technologies. The company secured over 10,000 mailboxes within two years of partnering with Echoworx, making it one of the largest email encryption providers by volume in North America.
These milestones weren’t marketing claims—they represented real operational capacity and a sustained commitment to building infrastructure that could support the evolving needs of regulated industries.
A Defining Test – Met Head On
In July 2021, Cloudstar experienced a ransomware attack that disrupted operations across the industries we served. The impact was felt nationwide. Headlines described the moment with clarity:
“The real-estate industry braces for potential paralysis after a ransomware attack downed a major cloud provider for title companies.”
— Business Insider
Recovery was not immediate. Data restoration spanned months, and many customers were forced to make urgent operational decisions. Cloudstar faced scrutiny few companies ever endure, including legal action from clients and investigation from regulators. The experience tested our technology, our leadership, and our reputation.
But Cloudstar did not disappear.
Operations resumed. Clients returned. New business followed. And the lessons from that chapter now inform everything we do—from the way we assess vendors, to how we structure partnerships, to how we train teams and secure every environment we touch.
The story made national headlines. But long before cybersecurity became front-page news, Cloudstar was already embedded in the operations of lenders, law firms, and insurers nationwide—quietly powering transactions where security and precision were non-negotiable.
That legacy didn’t end. It evolved.
“Cloudstar was never just a product. It was a belief—that regulated industries deserve infrastructure and security partners who understand the risks, the rules, and the reality.
The attack in 2021 didn’t define us—it refined us. And everything we do today reflects the responsibility we feel for our clients, our industry, and the systems that keep everything running.”
-Gregory G. McDonald, Founder & CEO
Leadership Forged From Legacy
Today, Cloudstar stands not as a relic of what was, but as a product of everything endured—and overcome. The company has transformed from an infrastructure provider into a specialized cybersecurity and consulting partner for regulated industries, with a focus on penetration testing, ransomware prevention, post-incident response, and threat-aware advisory services.
Our current offerings reflect the lessons of our past: precision over noise, foresight over fear, and clarity in the face of risk. Every engagement is backed by tools chosen not for trend, but for trust—and delivered by professionals who know what it means to protect critical systems under pressure.
Because at Cloudstar, resilience is no longer just a goal—it’s the foundation.
Onward
Cloudstar continues to support the institutions that keep our economy moving—quietly adapting to evolving threats, rising expectations, and the shifting landscape of risk and responsibility. What endures is a commitment to resilience, integrity, and the belief that trust is earned, never claimed.
Leadership Forged From Legacy
Today, Cloudstar stands not as a relic of what was, but as a product of everything endured—and overcome. The company has transformed from an infrastructure provider into a specialized cybersecurity and consulting partner for regulated industries, with a focus on penetration testing, ransomware prevention, post-incident response, and threat-aware advisory services.
Our current offerings reflect the lessons of our past: precision over noise, foresight over fear, and clarity in the face of risk. Every engagement is backed by tools chosen not for trend, but for trust—and delivered by professionals who know what it means to protect critical systems under pressure.
Because at Cloudstar, resilience is no longer just a goal—it’s the foundation.
Onward
Cloudstar continues to support the institutions that keep our economy moving—quietly adapting to evolving threats, rising expectations, and the shifting landscape of risk and responsibility. What endures is a commitment to resilience, integrity, and the belief that trust is earned, never claimed.
