May 2012
Security Lags Behind Virtualization Projects
by Gail Dutton
While applications, servers, and storage are quickly becoming virtualized to support the expected levels of adaptability, scalability and automation in next generation data centers, security efforts lag behind.
A just-released survey by Crossbeam indicates that 94 percent of the 529 respondents said network security concerns are stalling next generation data center deployments. Only 1 percent predicted their security virtualization projects would advance within the next 12 to 18 months. "That raises major alarms," according to Peter Doggart, director of product marketing, Crossbeam.
The lack of security expertise was the number two business challenge in moving to a next gen data center, just barely behind budget constraints. "Many security practitioners work in the physical world. When they move into the abstracted, virtual world, that knowledge becomes worthless," Doggart said. Consequently, as next generation projects are developed, security experts need to be at the table with the network server and application experts to address issues and move forward together.
Another issue is psychological. "Managers are uncomfortable relinquishing control of security in a virtual environment in which it's difficult to know where things are and what's connected to what," Doggart explained. Therefore, although applications and storage servers are being virtualized, security often remains physical. Virtualization projects must be implemented together with security to ensure compatible levels of automation, scalability and adoptability.
In terms of virtualization, "We are far, far behind where we think we are," Doggart said. According to the survey, vice presidents were 18 percent more likely than managers to say their data centers were closer to reaching their virtualization goals. In terms of network security, there is a 41 percent gap between their next gen vision and reality. Applications servers, in contrast, exhibit a 26 percent gap between the virtualization assessments of vice presidents and managers.
Security concerns are an issue with hosted solutions, too. As Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Executive Director Jim Reavis explained at the recent RSA Conference in San Francisco, "Consumers have a lot of security concerns, but they aren't articulating them in a way that gets the solutions and compliance information they want." Likewise, he says, although data center hosts have developed reliable security teams, processes and tools around virtual environments they communicate their capabilities poorly and do not yet provide the level of transparency needed to assure clients of robust security. "We're on a journey, and are about halfway there," he said.
The CSA Security, Trust and Assurance Registry (STAR) is an industry effort to bring transparency to cloud computing. It uses the CSA Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Stack, to provide transparency by posting providers' self-assessments of the security features incorporated into their cloud offerings giving data center managers easier access to security information and provider comparisons. By the end of 2012, Reavis predicted that all major cloud providers will be in the STAR program.
Gail Dutton is a freelance writer based in Washington State who contributes frequently to The Communique.
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