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Lessons to Learn from Armored Cars in the Era of Cloud Computing

We employ a lot of militaristic terms in the IT security sector, and the language of defense is robust in part because it draws upon a rich history of technical innovations.

When we talk about the future of IT, it’s hard not to think about cloud infrastructure, so when we’re exploring the growth of cloud resources, I’d suggest that it may also be worth having a look back to our past to see what lessons we can learn from the history of protecting our valuable technology assets.

So can we learn anything from an early engine of change – the motor car – and the history of armored vehicles?

Armor plating

As far back as the Middle Ages, “war wagons” would add steel plates to vehicles to become a formidable adversary on the battlefield. At the beginning of the 20th-century, petrol engines meant more powerful designs, but many “armored cars” were largely still just armored plates added to existing cars – quite often with mixed results, as early designers experimented with getting the right balance of protection and practicality. As engines progressed, armor could be improved further, but even the best-built vehicles still had weak points that their operators needed to be aware of to avoid unnecessary risk to their cargo.

As you move to the cloud, your own ICT armor will need to be updated to reflect cloud powered infrastructure. New operating systems, storage types, etc. are all exciting opportunities to expand your network capability, but ensuring that you identify where the chinks in your armor exist remains key – your vulnerability management tools should give you clear indicators of where those are so you can prioritize and develop any suitable countermeasures. This can be as simple as scoring vulnerabilities based on the amount of risk they expose you (Read more...)