Unique cloud features can improve cloud security

Clarifying issues surrounding this emerging security architecture

Cloud computing may offer a new form of data defense by bringing into play the maneuverability of data to secure it from attacks while the source of the attack can be pinpointed and neutralized, a blogger suggests.

The idea put forth by Kevin Jackson in this blog post is that by following the model of military warfare, network security architects can learn a valuable lesson.

Briefly, he says that the concept of maneuver warfare can help secure cloud computing environments by using attributes unique to the cloud, particularly the ability to cloudburst – call on more computing resources as needed.

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Cloud computing may offer a new form of data defense by bringing into play the maneuverability of data to secure it from attacks while the source of the attack can be pinpointed and neutralized, a blogger suggests.

The idea put forth by Kevin Jackson in this blog post is that by following the model of military warfare, network security architects can learn a valuable lesson.

Briefly, he says that the concept of maneuver warfare can help secure cloud computing environments by using attributes unique to the cloud, particularly the ability to cloudburst – call on more computing resources as needed.

His example involves a DoS attack on a datacenter that, once detected, is responded to by shifting the affected applications to virtual machines in a separate physical datacenter that is not under attack. Router automation would reroute traffic to the new location, what he calls IT defense by maneuver.Meanwhile, automated measures to find and block the source of the attack would kick in.

Jackson doesn’t suggest that this is enough to protect cloud services. Network defenses – which he likens to static defenses in the military metaphor. So clouds still need what is commonly called defense in depth, security gear designed to block known types of attacks.

The problem he sees with this is that amassing defenses that will eventually be useless against new forms of attack that will surely develop. By recognizing the mobile nature of cloud computing – one of its attractive features in the eye of businesses – as a possible enhancement to security, cloud environments can be made safer.

Read more about security in Network World's Security section.

Tim Greene is senior editor at Network World.