On November 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee took up the subject of cyber security. An FBI witness said his organization considers “the cyber threat to our nation to be one of the greatest concerns of the twenty-first century.” He later said that cyber-based attacks and high tech crime were the FBI’s highest criminal priority.
The U.S. Chamber held another meeting in the very helpful series of exchanges between Business and Government. The event focused on the nascent strategy for securing online transactions and was sponsored by two of the Chamber’s internal organizations: the National Security Task Force and the Telecommunication and E-Commerce Committee. The government participants were Tom Donahue and Ely Kahn, the Directors for Cyber Policy on the National Security Staff. On the Business side, besides a good presence form the Chamber itself, there were representatives from Telecoms big and small.
Cyber security continues to be a hot topic. October was Cyber Security Month, and it was filled with conferences, academic discussions, and bold pronouncements by industry groups and individual firms. In my mind, we are forgetting a key element, and the one attempt to address it was lost in the noise. A consumer security software company named AVG released a white paper that focused not on their products, but rather, on personal responsibility. Perhaps the public was tired of cyber security by then, perhaps it was just not “cool” enough; I just know it was completely overlooked.
The Army is working hard to finalize plans that will allow it to better support the nation’s efforts towards correct and effective cyber operation. There is a major effort this week to finalize the Army’s Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for the future of cyber forces, doctrine and organizational arrangements.
I received a truly scary briefing on the incredible magnitude of the existing cyber threat that runs the gamut from individuals to nation-states. We must understand that just being in compliance with federal or state laws does not equal security. We must get better at cybesecurity.
Our most recent post looked at the benefits of cloud computing and some of the factors involved with the decision making process leading up to adoption. For the most part, it looks like it should always be a slam dunk call to go for the cloud, but are there downsides? I’d love to say they do not exist, but they do. But where are the possible “landmines” in adopting a cloud computing model for your enterprise?
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano addressed the public today on Cyber security via a Webcast from the DHS home page. Both her tone and substance was on the mark and badly needed. The Secretary should be congratulated for an appropriate and direct view that recognizes the things we can do today, and the way to go forward.
As we continue to explore cloud computing, we will look at why we consider it, what cloud computing can do for an enterprise that adopts it, and briefly, a few of the different adoption models that might be considered.
What is cloud computing? Some call it nothing but a fad, and a dangerous one at that. Others believe it is the next big paradigm shift for technology. As with any major transformation, there are numerous nuances and definitions for cloud computing.
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