Category Archives: Cloud

Private life in the Cloud

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We live in a world of cyber security threats: hackers breaching organisational firewalls, Wikileaks publishing private state documents, and employers tracking cyber activity for productivity sakes.  Privacy, in relation to digital data, is a hazy topic.

The internet alone is increasingly being used as a medium to collect information for consumer profiling. According to Nielsen’s 2013 Australian Online Consumer report, 17.2 million Australians accessed the internet in the month of July and spent an average of 38 hours online across 60 sessions.

As more and more Australians surf the internet, check their mail, shop online, apply for jobs, or simply socialise with friends, they are leaving a trail of digital data that for some people is a gold mine. This includes email services like Gmail, file storage services like Dropbox, photo galleries like Flickr, and the list goes on. And this is not just on PC’s: laptops, smart phones, tablets, and televisions with internet capability all leave a cyber-trail.

When March 2014 hits, easy access to digital data will no longer be the case. Australia is about to get tougher on its privacy laws: effective March 2014, the 2012 Privacy Amendment Act will require that all Australian organisations, regardless of size and industry, implement open and transparent policies for managing personal data. This may seem simple, but it opens a crevasse of questions: how did you obtain this person’s contact details? Were you transparent in your original address? How are you storing these details? What is the purpose of collecting personal details? Are you sharing them amongst your organisation or more broadly?

These questions relate not only to your employees, but to everyone your organisation interacts with: stakeholders, customers, past employees, marketing databases….and the list goes on.

With the clock ticking, there is less than a year remaining until privacy is changed forever. Yet the implication of privacy is rarely discussed.  The question is: are businesses prepared? The answer is, more likely than not, no. If personal data is not adequately handled, organisations may be liable and can be imposed with fines of up to $1.7 million for an organisation and $ 370,000 for an individual.

As the generation of digital data continues to grow exponentially, it provides challenges for corporates to correctly manage, store and secure it. The pressure is on and the onus is on all companies to evaluate:
– Who ‘’owns’’ the privacy realm within their organisation?
– When was the last time an organisation reviewed their privacy policy?
– And if they have the necessary approvals to use third party data?

Achieving data privacy is a challenge for all organisations and the amount of work that needs to be done should not be underestimated. There is no time like the present to consider how to manage risk involved– what is lacking, what policies need to be put in place, and what needs to change.

1) Conduct a Privacy audit
Organisations need to implement a privacy audit which evaluates the type of sensitive information held by an organisation. This sensitive information can refer to employees’ personal details such as their tax file number or Medicare number and includes whether or not you have the rights to audit and access information, as well as the timely return of information when an agreement ends.  Analyse each aspect of this process which includes the collection, retention, use, and disclosure of personal information and determine risk levels. In cases where an organisation uses a cloud provider, it is important to understand who the stakeholders are, what their roles and responsibilities include, and where data is located and replicated.

Ask yourself: is third party data simply stored or is it being mined for advertising and marketing purposes?

2) Data protection and privacy impact strategy
Develop a comprehensive data protection and privacy strategy which focuses on integrating data protection and privacy processes while sustaining efficiency and long-term growth objectives. An organisation’s privacy strategy needs to be integrated with the overall risk and project management framework. It is also equally important for organisations to update their privacy policy regularly and seek input from legal advisors with specific knowledge regarding privacy laws where needed.

Ask yourself: what happens in the event of a data breach?

3) Create privacy policies and procedures 
Develop policies and procedures that clearly state the importance of protecting sensitive information stored in-house or in the cloud which complies with the requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).  An organisation needs to take measureable steps to protect the personal information it holds from misuse. This includes mechanisms to protect and manage the information, including disaster recovery processes to protect against data loss. An organisation’s legal advisor needs to fully understand the nature of both the cloud and privacy requirements and should be able to tailor the legal protections in your agreement.

Ask yourself: what are the privacy policies that your organisation needs? Understand your key areas of weakness so you can develop a plan to protect data.

4) Ensure accuracy and transparency of all personal information held 
Personal information collected by an organisation needs to be accurate, complete, and up to date. Customers should have access to their information and make corrections if required. For instance, if an organisation holds a database which records the phone number and address of its customers, a process needs to be put in place which allows customers to change or update their details.

Ask yourself: when was the last time you updated your customer database?

5) Appoint a policy offer and train employees to mitigate security risks
Monitoring employees to ensure that privacy policies are applied will be very hard to manage on a daily basis. Transferring knowledge to your employees will identify weakness and help mitigate security risks. This is no simple task. Look at appointing a policy officer that trains employees and regularly monitors content and activity to prevent any violation.

Ask yourself: is it worthwhile hiring a policy officer to ensure that a breach does not occur?

But this is just the beginning. Let’s throw a spanner in the works.
Consider all of these advances in the context of data stored in cloud. The list of considerations and concerns gets infinitely bigger. There are different approaches to how privacy is interpreted when it comes to data stored in the cloud space. The following is a general starting point, but not specific advice, as individual circumstances vary and need to be looked at in more detail.

– The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model, where the service provider is responsible for housing customer information and is not involved in any handling or processing of personal information. In this case all obligations to privacy are held with the customer.

– Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where the service provider is responsible and plays an active role in handling and managing customer’s personal information. In such cases, the service provider needs to obtain consent from the customer to hold and or use this information.

– Platform as a Service (PaaS) model, where the service provider delivers tools to enable customers to deploy applications. The service delivery model means that customers need to use best practices and privacy–friendly tools.

Privacy remains a critical component for Australians doing business or simply engaging online. We are entering a challenging new era as tougher privacy laws come into effect. While some Australian companies have already initiated the ground work, others have simply turned a blind eye.

Business owners who want to mitigate risks without sacrificing their ability to do business need to start addressing where they currently stand in relation to digital privacy. Assessing the business structure now will identify strengths and weaknesses, and set the wheels in motion for the new privacy approach.

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Seven technology predictions for 2014

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The year 2014 will be where current trends will accelerate the transformation already underway in how we consume information and do business and live. Organisations will need to evaluate their information strategy to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.

Here are seven trends to consider in the New Year:

Trend # 1 – the era of personal cloud

The cloud has exploded in popularity over the past few years, as companies exhaust backup, storage, network, security, and management systems. Consumer awareness of cloud storage is now increasing and usage is following suit.

Despite concerns that many industries have about cloud storage ability and their willingness to keep information secure, consumers will have little choice but to keep more information on these systems as opposed to their hard drives.

The push for more personal cloud technologies will shift toward services and away from devices. As mobile applications crowd the market, personal cloud services will become the new hub for content.

The risk for organisations is that being a consumer and being an employee is separate, but will the use of personal cloud be? Will someone taking a Friday off to work from home save documents to their personal cloud, which has different security measures to the organisations cloud, and put at risks the secrets of the new client pitch or new product development?

For 2014: Consider how personal and organisational cloud will interact for your business. Could they be at loggerheads before you have time to prepare your policies and inform your employees accordingly?

Trend # 2 – biometric authentication to replace passwords

Long gone are those days where a single password acted as a secure means of authentication. Today, a basic password takes minutes, if not seconds to break through. A string of characters can no longer keep your accounts and devices secure.

When was the last time you created a new password? As you were typing it in did a bar on the right hand side tell you whether it was weak, medium or strong? How many upper case letters or numerals did you include? Did I use the dog’s name or my favourite summer holiday spot for my internet banking password?

We are in the age where each and every person needs a little black book for their infinite passwords. But what happens if we lose the book?

The rapid proliferation of new devices has created additional security requirements for organisations attempting to increase its presence in the online market.

For enterprises that have not revisited their authentication strategies in several years, it may be time to take a fresh look. As identity becomes the driving force behind new security paradigms, biometric authentication will become the new practice as fingerprint and eye retinal scans become a part of our everyday activity.

For 2014: Be prepared! Adopt a security strategy built on advanced authentication techniques that will manage user access. Encourage regular password updates and educate your employees on what a strong password looks like. No dog names allowed.

Trend # 3 – out with the old and in with the new: embedded technology

Embedded systems are part of our daily lives. Can you imagine your life today, without a smart phone for communication?

2014 will see an uptake in embedded technology as the pressure will be on to add more intelligent functions into devices. The technology that initially drove mobile phones is now driving the adoption of smart devices. Touchscreens, smaller gadgets, and high performance sensors are just some of these innovations.

Wearable technology is a trend that will embrace the workforce. It is already starting. There will be more productivity apps in wearables as medical professionals begin using devices that overlay images on goggles. Google Glass is just the beginning, with other inventions to monitor, anticipate and feedback, well on their way.

For 2014: Anticipate the evolution of everyday products as technology becomes cheaper, smaller and more energy efficient. Technology will lead to automated homes, intelligent automobiles, smart buildings, and ubiquitous measure / control systems. How can your business embrace and jump on board?

Trend # 4 – go mobile or go home

The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend has completely changed the way businesses work. Executives using devices such as smartphones and tablets to access the corporate network is quickly becoming ubiquitous with an uptrend in remote working.

According to a report by Gartner, 70 per cent of mobile professionals will conduct their work on personal smart devices by 2018. The increase in mobile devices will challenge technology and finance departments as they try to manage mobile devices. But what type of personal smart device? Where are the tablet / smart phone headed? We are at the beginning of what the future world of personal smart devices might look like. If left unmanaged, BYOD can lead to data leaks and loss of control, which could potentially result in legal penalties.

With BYOD, the genie is out of the bottle as users expect to be online in more places at high speeds and with robust security levels. With the right solutions in place, BYOD can create new exciting opportunities.

For 2014: Create a clear policy around BYOD strategies that encompasses enabling secure, trusted, and convenient access. Be sure to implement a security model that has minimal impact on an employee’s experience, whilst maintaining the same security standards that your organisation upholds.

Trend # 5 – do more with less: the future is in M2M technology

Machine-to-machine’ (M2M) communication has given businesses the capability to monitor, control, or manage the operation of remote equipment. Today, M2M services have entered a renaissance period, playing a significant role as new products communicate with each other wirelessly without any human intervention.

This deregulation in the market will eventually garner new opportunities making it possible to map and monitor an entire system of remote hubs which could be anything from a building to a vehicle, to a fully armed security system.

The Internet of Things will enable devices to communicate with each other, while working out problems without interference. For instance, an M2M device will be able to automatically control the temperature of an air conditioner, while switching it on or off when required. These core capabilities will reduce error, save time, increase efficiency, and generally optimise the performance of any physical system.

For 2014: Maintain a strong and clear position in the market by developing plans and procedures that incorporate M2M technologies NOW rather than later. Prepare your organisation for change.

Trend # 6 – the new age of apps

With the continued growth and inescapable presence of BYOD, individuals have the capability of accessing all sorts of applications and information they need using their own devices anytime and anywhere.

Consumers are more technologically savvy and flock to app stores linked to their mobile platforms and devices while companies are investing in apps almost every day.

From 2014 onwards, there will be an app for almost everything, from everyday bills to mobile banking and much more. Something as simple as karaoke, which used to be entertained in restaurants is now a downloadable app. The same applies to music, where consumers can listen to unlimited songs using the appropriate app. This innovation will continue to increase, with the app market expected to reach $38 billion in just two years.

Propriety apps will become common, as more and more employees create and develop apps that support their business.

For 2014: Consider individual user’s needs for mobility, and get involved in the discussion. Organisations need to adapt their digital marketing campaigns to fit the small screens and the evolution of the app world.

Trend # 7 – the social dimension where everything is shared

We have reached a new communication age where social media is well established. Today, technology has enabled us to profile any individual or business by simply tapping into the material available online on social networks. Facebook itself has approximately 1.19 billion active users and roughly 507 million daily active mobile users, while twitter has roughly 554 million active registered users, with approximately 58 million tweets a day.

With the popularity of social networks it becomes easier to share information across the globe with a simple click of a button. This takes on a new level of urgency as organisations shift from an information age to a communication age. Facebook itself revealed what is known as “frictionless sharing”, which automatically posts updates on your page from everything you listen to, read or watch.

The concept of 3D printing is another trend that will explode the marketplace in 2014 and will assist in local and custom fabrication. New competition will enter the market using 3D Printers to challenge business models. Users will take advantage of new paradigms in replicating products, designs, and devices.

For 2014: Be careful with what information you disclose and to whom you disclose this too. Businesses need to pay close attention to ensure that all information or objects shared are subject to copyright or is trade market protected.

2014 will see an uptake in the adoption of smart technologies, innovative devices, and a plethora of cloud applications. With new technologies seemingly always on the horizon, keeping a hold over IT systems is becoming increasingly complicated. It is therefore important that businesses embrace the new trends and prepare for the opportunities ahead.

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Technology predictions for 2014 & beyond

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predicting technology futures – what’s in store for 2014?

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2013 has seen a number of technologies enjoy varying levels of success and growth, with mobile devices, cloud computing and enterprise app stores all continuing to gain momentum. As I have written about throughout the year on this blog, these technologies have all had that disruptive business model impact which makes them popular and shakes up the existing landscape.

As we approach the end of 2013, I see no reason to expect 2014’s emerging technologies and trends to be any different. So what do we have to look forward to?

wearable technology and absolute mobility

Mobile everywhere and mobile for everything. 2014 will be the year that mobile is ubiquitous, smarter, faster and our reliance on mobile connectivity becomes absolute.

2013 saw the emergence of bring your own device (BYOD) as a mainstream concept, with end-users pretty much eschewing the notion of work/life balance and taking their smartphones and tablets into the workplace as a matter of course and taking their work on the move with them, presenting companies with new security challenges. But the trend will continue and 2014 will see users expecting to be online in more places than ever, at high speeds and with more robust security levels.

This increased mobility will continue to be driven forward by the latest advances in mobile devices, with wearable technology to the fore. The announcement that Burberry’s chief executive has just jumped ship to join Apple is a good indicator of how technology and fashion will merge over the coming year.Google glass, smartwatches and other wearable devices will all connect to the internet and each other through the Cloud like never before. And speaking of the connected planet. . .

the Internet of things goes mainstream

The internet is dead, long live the internet of things. There are now more networked devices and machines on the planet than there are people and 2014 will see still more devices, appliances and vehicles come online and begin communicating with each other.

The internet as we know it has already changed the world and many aspects of our daily lives. It has benefited businesses, individuals and nations, often helping to transform the way governments deliver education, health and social services and making information more democratically available. The internet of everything addresses the next generation of networked devices, with machine-to-machine (M2M) communications powering new ways of doing everything. Right now our phones and tablets are our most common networked devices, but the internet of things will see the networking of cars, homes, appliances, televisions, meters, indeed most electrical and electronic appliances and devices. There is even a company in the Netherlands that has helped a farmer to connect his cows.

Forecasts vary, but recent research projects that by 2020 there will be 75 billion ‘things’ connected to the internet and communicating with one another. 2014 will be the year that everything being networked goes mainstream.

hybrid cloud and XaaS model

2014 will see IT architectures continue to evolve and bring greater flexibility to companies and end-users. In previous blogs I have written about the future impact of cloud computing on various IT disciplines, notably procurement, storage and business continuity and even the role of the traditional CIO.

The cloud will continue to transform throughout the coming year, and the direction it will take will be that of hybrid cloud. Companies with private cloud architectures in place should be ready to embrace personal cloud and make the shift to the hybrid model. The hybrid approach gives organizations greater operational flexibility and optimized costs without compromising security. Network performance is improved too.

The ‘as a service’ (XaaS) model will continue to grow in popularity as well, as organizations adopt its agility and flexibility benefits while also recognizing that the OPEX model carries major advantages over the traditional CAPEX, investment-up-front approach.

software-defined architecture

Software-defined architecture will also come to the fore in 2014 – a practice whereby the software or the application defines the purpose of the device itself. This can be a storage device or a server, or a personal device such as the music boxes or wristband and apps that tracks how you sleep, move and eat—then helps you use that information to feel your best. The function defines the form.

The software-defined approach can help revolutionize the way we program, use and interact with devices because it makes them completely customizable. Devices of any kind will become defined by their apps, making them directly programmable, more agile, centrally managed and configurable and giving us greater control.

share, share and share again

End-users are now, thanks to the rise and rise of social media, so used to sharing that it is second nature. There are now 1.15 billion active Facebook users and over 288 million active Twitter users, all sharing thoughts, information, news, opinions and more, all the time. There have been more than 16 billion photos shared on Instagram. And this is just the beginning.

3-D printing is one area where the sharing of ideas and designs is going to take off in a big way in 2014 and beyond. Sales of 3-D printers are forecast to grow by 75 per cent in 2014, as the technology takes hold in the mainstream. 3-D printing could have a massive impact on many industries, not least the manufacturing sector. It represents a new way of sharing, with companies no longer needing to produce things the same way. For example one company or individual can come up with a design or bright idea one day and that design can be shared and copied tomorrow. Manufacturing, product development, design and prototypes – all of these disciplines could be hugely affected. This does of course present a challenge similar to that faced by the music and movie industries; when you have moved from the physical world to the virtual, and people are so used to sharing, how do you protect intellectual property? Innovative smart machines may be the solution to that. But that’s for another blog post.

Happy 2014.

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Digital Futures

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Today cloud is about more than “just‟ cost reductions.

Research shows that 74% of companies that invest in were more competitively agile.

<div style=”margin-bottom:5px”> <strong> <a href=”https://www.slideshare.net/gordonmakryllos/digital-futures&#8221; title=”Digital Futures” target=”_blank”>Digital Futures</a> </strong> from <strong><a href=”http://www.slideshare.net/gordonmakryllos&#8221; target=”_blank”>gordonmakryllos</a></strong> </div>

More details can be found at ……    Digital Futures 

Cloud is home to next generation storage and business continuity

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I’ve written several times recently on the disruptive nature of cloud computing and how its omnipresent nature is removing complexity from traditional business processes and practices. Another increasing trend I am seeing is significant change in business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) options driven by cloud technologies.

Most senior business leaders have been involved in some level of ICT disaster recovery at one time or another throughout their careers, and they can be stressful times. Sensitive corporate data is thrown into the wind, private employee information can also be put at risk, and daily business operations are disrupted by something more often than not beyond your control.

The key to ensuring smooth BC in the event of an unforeseen emergency is to have backup systems in place in at least one other location to allow your organization to transfer operations and processes – and today the cloud is providing a truly viable, cost-effective and flexible alternative location.

a question of costs

The cloud did take a little while to gain the trust of business owners and leaders, particularly when it comes to the storage of sensitive and confidential company information. There was a fear factor in place for quite a long time, but as the cloud continues to become an accepted mainstream tool, that attitude is changing.

With greater acceptance, more organisations are exploring cloud storage for BC and DR purposes. A number of cloud service providers now offer Backup “as-a-Service” and organisations are considering the many benefits of this option for cloud-based BC and DR  for servers and PCs, which can be scaled up or down depending on customer need.

It is this flexible nature which, as with all things cloud, is proving popular; customers want to control their costs and a cloud-based backup solution helps them to reduce their CAPEX outlay. There is no need for unnecessary in-house infrastructure for backup and storage since it is hosted in the cloud under the as-a-service model, freeing up budget and also internal data center capacity for other purposes.

gathering momentum and trust

BC and DR “as-a-Service” offers  real opportunity, and one which is only really beginning to be fully understood by customers who have long been used to the off-site but on company premises backup approach. We are in the Big Data era, meaning that as companies continue to build up more IT assets – laptops, PCs, tablets and smartphones – they are generating more data than ever before. As such more storage than ever is needed and storage costs are escalating.

So as organisations look to manage these escalating storage costs, one of the options is to engage with a cloud provider to investigate alternative storage and backup systems.  Cloud providers who can mutualise their costs across multiple user organisations and reduce costs can offer significant savings (in some cases as much as 50%) by taking BC and DR strategy into the cloud. But as with any other disruptive technology, there is a learning curve involved – some companies still need to get out of their comfort zones to reap the benefits of the cloud. The positive side for them is that in many areas of their business they are already doing just that; most organizations already engage with numerous third-party suppliers for business-critical services and processes. So the step into BC and DR in the cloud need not be such an intimidating one.

Industry research backs up the trend. IDC predicts that over 102 exabytes of external storage capacity will be sold in 2017, up from 20 exabytes in 2012, while the next four years will see external storage space purchased by companies grow by between 30 per cent and 40 per cent.

picking the right way forward

But companies need to decide the right way forward for their needs. Having decided to place BC and DR in the cloud, should they choose public, private or hybrid? There are many different options available on the market, but organizations must be wary of merely selecting an anonymous black box – their cloud storage solution can end up being based on no relationship with the supplier, without any visibility and only interacting via a web interface.

So it is worth evaluating the hybrid cloud approach which gives you a more traditional relationship with your supplier, including SLAs, greater trust and an on-going partnership – global enterprise organizations in particular need this kind of underpinning.

be aware of the pitfalls

So while evaluating the many benefits of BC and DR in the cloud, companies do still need to be aware of the potential hazards. Since breaking onto the scene as a disruptor, the cloud has almost become something of a drug. We utilize the cloud for so much of our daily lives now, both personal and professional, that it can become second nature and somewhat taken for granted. Consider the many stories of tourists going on holiday only to return home to massive roaming charges from their mobile service provider – this second nature of the cloud can mean racking up out of sight, out of mind bills.

So once you decide to take an as a service approach to storage and backup, be aware that you are now in the massive content and data generation era. A staggering 90 per cent of all the data generated ever has been generated over the last two years, and it all needs to be stored and backed up somewhere. We are creating more and more data all the time, and show no sign of stopping any time soon. But with organizations needing to manage this on-going data explosion on a cost-effective basis, I believe that the era of cloud storage and backup based on the OPEX model has truly arrived.

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Unified communications: leading the cloud revolution

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The term unified communication (UC) is a popular subject that has been floating around the workplace for some time….but is it really an essential component for businesses today? Do employees, or businesses for that matter, really understand the pros and cons?

The problem with the current workforce is that it is dependent but scattered: 78 per cent of workers are part of global teams that can be scattered across the world.

Being part of the global workforce isn’t in itself a hindrance: technology allows communication. It is estimated that the average worker carries 2.9 devices, increasing their accessibility. While having multiple devices – from email, to mobile phones, to desk phones, to videoconference and beyond – should make getting in touch with someone easier, it can actually hinder the process.

A simple example is this: calling someone on their office phone could see you leaving a message at reception, to be emailed to their inbox with the request to call you back. Ultimately, the excess in opportunity to contact someone wastes time and resources.

Unified communications (UC) is a solution that streamlines this process, uniting full time employees, managers, top level staff and part time workers to communicate in a new way, across broad geographic space and time zones.

UC integrates a variety of communication tools, from the traditional non real- time to the advancing real- time. Simplified down, a unified communications system should have five core capabilities: email, telephony, real time communications, calendars and directory services.

Originally, UC was the natural progression for a world where multiple communications channels could be accessed all at once. Now, however, it is a strategic business choice which enables easier workflows and more efficient workplace operations. According to a report by Frost and Sullivan, globally, the UC market is expected to grow from US$1144.8 million to US$2287.6 million by 2019.

The network effect

Regardless of the catalyst, as an organisation moves to UC, a platform can be adopted to integrate with existing frameworks – be it emails with a particular provider or a cloud solution. The UC platform, Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), intrinsically changes processes within an organisation. As UCaaS takes hold, employees begin working more efficiently, adapting to the ease of communicating in real time via a single interface, but across multiple communication styles.

This hyper connectivity will benefit performance and capability but could also cause network performance issues. Things that need to be considered are:

– An increase in network traffic and applications and the need to address incidents
– Monitoring UC components to assess if they are working correctly across the network
– In-depth or packet level monitoring

With the growth of unified communications and additional new applications, the management of each new service is becoming far too complex for IT departments. Finding the right UCaaS provider can actually address all of these issues, by generating a customised and optimised solution strictly for your business.

If UCaaS is running optimally, the benefits to the end user and the broader business are extensive. Shorter time frames and less follow-ups results in increased productivity. The allowed interactivity can also increase decision making, reducing time lines, and increasing satisfaction and budget delivery.

Data, cloud and the security conundrum

These benefits are undeniable, which largely explains why 88% percent of enterprises have deployed or are planning UC deployment. Increasingly, UCaaS is deployed across a hybrid cloud scenario. In any business running UC, unstructured data is being created, and at a rapid pace. When UC is run either wholly or partially via the cloud, this data and the security risks alongside it increase.

The cornerstone of a successful UC implementation is having up-to-date accurate user information. This raises the question of security and privacy. Do I really want others to see my personal details?

The implementation of UC also changes business workflow and the need of a middle man to assign telephony UC. Some other core security threats include:

• Host and network-based intrusion – something that we have lived with since the dawn of computer technology.
• A VoIP-enabled form of phishing – basic phishing techniques are applied to the UC suite, meaning confidential information can be revealed over the phone by appearing to call from an official location, but actually infiltrating the organisation.
• Toll fraud – the incorrect lodging and pricing of media traffic (images, videos etc.) and voice and video calls. Toll fraud means that attackers can create a video call, but it appears as a telephone call. This misrepresentation means incorrect charging and scamming the system.

The top concern for organisations is the tapping of endpoint UC devices – laptops, smart phones etc. These breaches could infiltrate VoIP, IM or other traffic, potentially unleashing not only sensitive organisational information in the form of documents, but intercepting telephone calls, and sensitive emails. While this is the base level risk of unauthorised access, the next step is an organisation’s full network security being compromised. If a hacker infiltrates the network, there is the potential to not only access information but launch attacks and alter network settings – jeopardisinge the organisation on many levels.

These kinds of malicious attacks can come in many forms. Two common ones are denial of service attack and platform compromise. While different styles of attacks, both disrupt the communications infrastructure on different levels and in different manners.

Companies of all sizes are adopting unified communications and the collaboration capabilities it fosters to boost productivity and innovation, increase mobility and enhance flexibility. However the risks apparent in the cloud environment are also booming in.

UCaaS is the turning point for communications as we know it, and the way the cloud is utilised. At the beginning of this, the cloud revolution, we are looking to a more interactive, available yet accommodating time. To ensure that as UC takes hold of business it maintains the same robust nature and safety standards we are used to, the same considerations need to be at play. The same guidelines need to be put in place, including:

1. Develop a strong defence strategy
Assess the enterprise infrastructure and identify where vulnerabilities lie and how infiltrations could occur. Look at servers, endpoint UC devices and the actual network. Your security strategy should already address these core areas, but launching into the field of UC only enhances the demand.

2. Secure your infrastructure
As UCaaS becomes a reality, your organisation needs to build a secure infrastructure. This includes all aspects of ‘locking down’ your organisation, from data regulations, to securing PCs and tablets to the phone network and the protection, integrity and confidentiality of calls.

3. Check the legal side
The platform that you deploy UC on might be stock standard or could be strategically developed for your organisation. In any scenario, you need to ensure that the platform complies with all relevant laws and regulations of your region.

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Unified Communications: Leading the Cloud revolution

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The 101 of UC

The term unified communication (UC) is a popular subject that has been floating around the workplace for some time….but is it really an essential component for businesses today? Do employees, or businesses for that matter, really understand the pros and cons?

The problem with the current workforce is that it is dependent but scattered: 78 per cent of workers are part of global teams that can be scattered across the world.

Being part of the global workforce isn’t in itself a hindrance: technology allows communication. It is estimated that the average worker carries 2.9 devices, increasing their accessibility. While having multiple devices – from email, to mobile phones, to desk phones, to videoconference and beyond – should make getting in touch with someone easier, it can actually hinder the process.

A simple example is this: calling someone on their office phone could see you leaving a message at reception, to be emailed to their inbox with the request to call you back. Ultimately, the excess in opportunity to contact someone wastes time and resources.

Unified communications (UC) is a solution that streamlines this process, uniting full time employees, managers, top level staff and part time workers to communicate in a new way, across broad geographic space and time zones.

UC integrates a variety of communication tools, from the traditional non real- time to the advancing real- time. Simplified down, a unified communications system should have five core capabilities: email, telephony, real time communications, calendars and directory services.

Originally, UC was the natural progression for a world where multiple communications channels could be accessed all at once. Now, however, it is a strategic business choice which enables easier workflows and more efficient workplace operations. According to a report by Frost and Sullivan, globally, the UC market is expected to grow from US$1144.8 million to US$2287.6 million by 2019.

The network effect

Regardless of the catalyst, as an organisation moves to UC, a platform can be adopted to integrate with existing frameworks – be it emails with a particular provider or a cloud solution. The UC platform, Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), intrinsically changes processes within an organisation. As UCaaS takes hold, employees begin working more efficiently, adapting to the ease of communicating in real time via a single interface, but across multiple communication styles.

This hyper connectivity will benefit performance and capability but could also cause network performance issues. Things that need to be considered are:

– An increase in network traffic and applications and the need to address incidents
– Monitoring UC components to assess if they are working correctly across the network
– In-depth or packet level monitoring

With the growth of unified communications and additional new applications, the management of each new service is becoming far too complex for IT departments. Finding the right UCaaS provider can actually address all of these issues, by generating a customised and optimised solution strictly for your business.

If UCaaS is running optimally, the benefits to the end user and the broader business are extensive. Shorter time frames and less follow-ups results in increased productivity. The allowed interactivity can also increase decision making, reducing time lines, and increasing satisfaction and budget delivery.

Data, cloud and the security conundrum

These benefits are undeniable, which largely explains why 88% percent of enterprises have deployed or are planning UC deployment. Increasingly, UCaaS is deployed across a hybrid cloud scenario. In any business running UC, unstructured data is being created, and at a rapid pace. When UC is run either wholly or partially via the cloud, this data and the security risks alongside it increase.

The cornerstone of a successful UC implementation is having up-to-date accurate user information. This raises the question of security and privacy. Do I really want others to see my personal details?

The implementation of UC also changes business workflow and the need of a middle man to assign telephony UC. Some other core security threats include:

• Host and network-based intrusion – something that we have lived with since the dawn of computer technology.
• A VoIP-enabled form of phishing – basic phishing techniques are applied to the UC suite, meaning confidential information can be revealed over the phone by appearing to call from an official location, but actually infiltrating the organisation.
• Toll fraud – the incorrect lodging and pricing of media traffic (images, videos etc.) and voice and video calls. Toll fraud means that attackers can create a video call, but it appears as a telephone call. This misrepresentation means incorrect charging and scamming the system.

The top concern for organisations is the tapping of endpoint UC devices – laptops, smart phones etc. These breaches could infiltrate VoIP, IM or other traffic, potentially unleashing not only sensitive organisational information in the form of documents, but intercepting telephone calls, and sensitive emails. While this is the base level risk of unauthorised access, the next step is an organisation’s full network security being compromised. If a hacker infiltrates the network, there is the potential to not only access information but launch attacks and alter network settings – jeopardisinge the organisation on many levels.

These kinds of malicious attacks can come in many forms. Two common ones are denial of service attack and platform compromise. While different styles of attacks, both disrupt the communications infrastructure on different levels and in different manners.

Companies of all sizes are adopting unified communications and the collaboration capabilities it fosters to boost productivity and innovation, increase mobility and enhance flexibility. However the risks apparent in the cloud environment are also booming in.

UCaaS is the turning point for communications as we know it, and the way the cloud is utilised. At the beginning of this, the cloud revolution, we are looking to a more interactive, available yet accommodating time. To ensure that as UC takes hold of business it maintains the same robust nature and safety standards we are used to, the same considerations need to be at play. The same guidelines need to be put in place, including:

1. Develop a strong defence strategy
Assess the enterprise infrastructure and identify where vulnerabilities lie and how infiltrations could occur. Look at servers, endpoint UC devices and the actual network. Your security strategy should already address these core areas, but launching into the field of UC only enhances the demand.

2. Secure your infrastructure
As UCaaS becomes a reality, your organisation needs to build a secure infrastructure. This includes all aspects of ‘locking down’ your organisation, from data regulations, to securing PCs and tablets to the phone network and the protection, integrity and confidentiality of calls.

3. Check the legal side
The platform that you deploy UC on might be stock standard or could be strategically developed for your organisation. In any scenario, you need to ensure that the platform complies with all relevant laws and regulations of your region.

 

Next-generation IT procurement

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I’ve blogged several times recently about the impact of ‘disruptive’ technology on the world and on the IT industry, and with good reason; disruptors are the new trends and practices which re-define the ways in which we work, communicate and pretty much conduct our daily lives.

One of the latest disruptive developments in the IT world is in consumption – how we acquire and utilizeIT products and services. And as with so much else just now, it is being disrupted and driven forward by cloud computing.

a shift in procurement thinking

Traditionally IT procurement has been driven by the CAPEX model, whereby vendors agree deals with customers for products or services which see the customer pay around 70 per cent of the project cost up front. Great business for product vendors, guaranteed money up front and happy vendor CEOs. This has meant that the risk and the responsibility lie with the customer to leverage the product capabilities.

The industry is now fast headed in the direction of the OPEX consumption model – essentially pay-per-use – which puts things very much more in favour of the customer who is buying the technology, rather than the vendor.

As with all things in IT, the shift in thinking and evolution of business practices faces a number of key barriers to implementation – in this instance, cost, complexity, adoption and risk. And it is in addressing these barriers where success in next generation IT procurement lies.

changing the model

What this OPEX consumption approach does is to change the game from a vendor perspective and make services more important than product sales. The saying was always that ‘the customer is king’, but that has become ever more true today thanks to cloud computing and services empowering customers and end-users like never before.

This new subscription model, powered by the cloud, has transformed IT provision into a service versus product approach. The OPEX model reduces both customers’ costs and risk, and allows them to experiment in a more risk bounded environment. They can start small and try solutions and services out, and if they gain business benefit, then they can and will expand their usage of that technology. This is the beauty and attraction of the cloud computing and managed services approach – simplicity. In the age of the iPhone, IT mobility and personal empowerment, end-users just love simplicity.

So vendors need to change their thinking in response to this shift in procurement mentality. There are examples in the market now of vendors offering a ‘try before you buy’ approach to encourage potential customers in. Customers no longer want huge implementation costs – smartphones for example don’t come with a thick user manual – and simplicity is key. The simpler the user engagement, the more managed the service such as SaaS or IaaS, the lower the risk from the customer perspective, the more likely the increase in adoption.

the consumption gap

Much of this new procurement thinking has been driven by the consumption gap. Customers grew tired of wasting money on products and services features they simply never used, or in fact, ever really needed in the first place.

Under the CAPEX model, all the challenges and the risk were placed on the customer. They had tointegrate the solution into their operation, maintain it and so on. They were forced to buy separate layers of systems and applications for a premium price and then only used a small percentage of their capabilities, since many of its functions might not be necessary to their business. The move to the cloud-based model, or try before you buy, reduces the impact of this and gives organizations much more agility. In effect, the iPhone apps model has been duplicated within enterprise IT. So customers find that they have more choice – and they are responding to that.

The demand is undoubtedly there; IDC recently surveyed organizations in Australia and found that 86 per cent of Australian enterprises are now using cloud computing, up from 71 per cent the previous year. The global cloud market will be worth $240 billion by 2020. As IDC called it, cloud is now “business as usual.”

staying at the cutting edge

The old adoption model also meant engaging in a long procurement cycle – often several years – to specify, commission, build and integrate an IT solution into operations. The consumption model enables organizations to circumvent this. If they spot a trend they have the agility to respond to it immediately and get systems in place more quickly.

This is one of the key benefits to customers under the managed services and cloud delivery model; they can enjoy fast adoption based around mobility and rapid roll-outs. Companies can always enjoy the most up to date models and versions – for example many organizations remain locked in to out of date email applications. The cloud enables them to always be in a state of upgrading, always enjoying the benefits of the latest and greatest version.

customer simplicity, vendor complexity

So the next generation procurement model makes life easier and more predictable for the customer – but for product vendors, there are challenges to overcome. Under this service versus product approach, customers are able to keep things as simple or as complex as they choose. They can procure and use a device or technology at the top level and enjoy value from it, or delve further down into its capabilities and enjoy much greater benefits. Vendors will need to adapt to this.

Similarly, the managed services approach also gives customers simplicity in support terms; end-users don’t like complexity and prefer simplicity in IT support. Under the subscription model, their provider can use in-depth analytics and Big Data to provide them with the quality of service and support that they demand. The cloud even means that IT support has moved online, and all these new provisions are being powered by end-user demand. The consumer is making the decisions now. And cloud delivery and the subscription or pay-for-use model is how they want their IT.

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Managing trouble if your Cloud is in a Storm

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Cloud computing comes with many key decision and considerations. There are decisions to be made around whom to choose, what to look for and what specific service it is that you ultimately need for your organisation.

When an organisation starts to think about moving to the cloud, the driving force is usually twofold: achieving a competitive edge in business and the cost saving benefits the cloud promises. While these are the incentives, the considerations when choosing a cloud service provider (CSP) need to be a lot more detailed. You are migrating your business from one form of technology to a newer and still developing one, and hence must consider scalability, control and security.

This can be a long, slow and painful process. CSPs are, ultimately, still subject the same cyber problems as your company was back when the humble server was the apple of the CIO’s eye. You may have decided on a CSP boasting near 100 per cent up time. But what about errors in the file system, misconfigurations, abuse attempts, programming errors and bugs? When they hit, service outages happen. Maybe not every time, but they can happen.

The Australian Government Department of Defence, Intelligence and Security have an online resource dedicated to advice for “Cloud Computing Security Considerations”. Aimed to assess the benefits and risk associated to cloud, the site also investigates the potential disasters associated when cloud provider drop outs occur.

The question the site raises is this: what happens if your data is housed in the cloud and your cloud service provider, for some unknown reason, becomes unavailable?

And this is one of the true problems of cloud computing. By placing your organisation’s data, information and trust in a service provider, you ultimately lose the ability to directly and independently fix problems if and when they occur. There is a whole world of security threats floating around that have the potential to wreak havoc with a business’ critical data and applications, and that can damage an organisation’s reputation and bottom line.

And, even more concerning, what happens if your trusted CSP unexpectedly goes out of business. Where does your data go? Who has rights to it? How do you recover it? Is it still secure? The plethora of questions that this potential situation brings up is enough to warrant serious concern, consideration and preparation.

So, below are five tips which you need to consider if and when, and ideally before, you migrate to the cloud to ensure that business can go on as usual if your provider becomes unavailable.

1. Demand connectivity and availability

The Cloud Computing Security Considerations highlights availability, bandwidth, latency and packet loss as the four key concerns when looking at network capacity from vendor to organisation. If there is inadequate connectivity, then ultimately your organisation will reduce its capacity to function as it should when working on the cloud. Similarly, you need to understand the provider’s availability. Availability can be affected by a host of things: targeted attacks, unsuccessful an ineffective maintenance, hardware problems and so the list goes on. As always, doing due diligence on your cloud service provider is critical. You need to ensure that the provider will meet your organisation’s cost, quality-of-service, regulatory compliance and risk management requirements.

The system housing your organisations information and identity must have capacity and ability to deliver a connected and available service, otherwise the CSP is redundant.

Ask yourself: is there any room to compromise on connectivity and availability when looking at my service provider?

Understand the service level agreement (SLA) so there is no confusion around the level and quality of service you are signing up for.

2. Be realistic – the threats are largely the same

Physical systems in offices can crash and fail – losing your data on site and in your office. Whether you have just migrated to the cloud, or have been a long-time resident, the risks you now face are the same as those you faced with a server purring in the back room. The loss of important data is another concern that businesses ignore at their own peril. A hacker or a disgruntled employee could delete important data. However, hackers and employees are not the only ones who might be responsible for such a circumstance. Important, mission critical data can be lost due to the negligence of a cloud service provider.

So what was your plan then? Assess the guidelines you had in place before migration, and then adapt these to the new technology.

Ask yourself: What are the bottom line security standards our organisation needs? Understand your key areas of weakness so you can develop a plan to protect them.

3. Back up. Again. And again.

Moving data to the cloud means it is no longer housed underneath your organisations roof. It is housed in a data centre somewhere across the globe. To future proof your data and ensure that you are not left in the lurch without important information and applications; your best option is to work with two cloud suppliers and house your data in both. This means that when one provider goes down its extremely unlikely the other will.

Either way, the cost is generally a good investment for peace of mind.

Ask yourself: is it worthwhile spending additional money on a second back up to ensure that business can run as usual if one CSP goes down?

4. Your SLA: The scheduled, the unexpected and the unsaid

Any service level agreement (SLA) will have listed the maximum possible unscheduled downtime that can occur without breaching it. The Cloud Computing Security Considerations notes that “typical SLAs that guarantee 99.9% availability can have up to nine hours of unscheduled outages every year without breaching the SLA”. 9 hours may sounds small in the scheme of things, but timing and deadlines could potentially render an ‘unscheduled outage’ catastrophic.

Likewise, your SLA should have an estimate on scheduled downtime, for key activities like maintenance. Understand what notice your contact says you will be given and what the parameters are here.

Another key consideration when it comes to SLA is compensation. Downtime can have huge effects on your businesses functionality and depending on severity could tarnish reputation.

By understanding your SLA you are more capable to assess the potential impact an outage could have, what you should expect in relation to downtime and if your organisation could manage this in day to day workings.

Ask yourself: how much time out can your business take without your business suffering. Is it an inconvenience or a hindrance?

There are huge discrepancies across SLAs for CSPs. Understand your SLA, and be aware that it is likely skewed in the providers favour. Knowledge is power.

5. Good relationships are founded on trust

You are putting sensitive data and critical applications in the hands of your provider. You need to have trust that if they can manage this data, they can manage to get you back on board in a reasonable time frame and without real stresses to your business.

Your provider needs to be reliable and secure, and ultimately be able to protect your data even when there is down time.

There should be minimal doubt when you sign that dotted line.

Ask yourself: what do you know about this provider, their history and their capacity. Understand your demands and their solutions. Do your research, and if you find any red flags, don’t hesitate to ask.

Original publication on CSO.

Cyber security threats through the Cloud

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As with most of technology, security goes through periodic changes, cycles and generations. Hardware, software, applications and methodologies all arrive, become commoditised and standardized to the point of being invisible, and then come back in a new evolved form. New platforms and new devices create new opportunities but are also subject to new evolved threats – something that remains true of security.

Cloud Computing: a brand new landscape for threats

IT security threats evolve and adapt to the new IT environment. As corporate and personal IT usage habits have changed, so too have the types of security threats present in the world. New IT practices like Cloud Computing give end-users great benefits in terms of mobility, flexibility and productivity, but they also give malicious third parties new routes to breaching security and increase risks. So while the Cloud has given users a whole new world of mobile computing, it has also created a whole new landscape for hackers and viruses to attack from.

The rise and rise of mobile usage and the Cloud have seen third party attackers change their approaches. Cloud services, social media websites and Android operating system devices have all become new targets, while traditional user data and website denial of service hacks remain popular.

Recent malicious examples in Australasia have included the damaging loss of over 20,000 customer passwords by surf wear brand Billabong and Web giant Google having its Australia office’s building control system hacked into. Similarly it was revealed recently that the Reserve Bank of Australia wascompromised by a phishing attack, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia recently stated, in the light of hacking attacks on Australia Security Intelligence Organization, that cyber security is among its top concerns.

The risks posed by hackers and phishing attacks haven’t gone away, they’ve just evolved.

the ever-changing nature of the cyber security threat

Cyber security attacks and the ways in which they affect people and organizations are always in a state of transformation. As one IT specialist finds a solution to a particular problem or type of attack, so the creative hackers out there come up with something new and improved.

So as the Cloud has played out its role as both a disruptor and an enabler in the technology world, so too new threats have emerged from it. The leading threat to both organizations and individuals is data breaches. Companies fear sensitive corporate data falling into the hands of competitors, private citizens fear their bank details and credit card information being misappropriated and abused. This is of course not a new threat in itself, but the Cloud enables new routes to the hack, virtual machines and poorly-designed multitenant databases both offering different access points.

In addition to data breaches and data loss, there are the ever-present threats of account hijacking and denial of service, both of which can now be attempted differently thanks to the Cloud. API keys – the coding that Cloud applications use to identify each other – are another tool in the hacker’s armory, allowing malicious parties to launch denial of service attacks or accumulate fees and charges on a victim’s account.

cyber security: a critical business issue

So while the threat is still similar in nature to previously, the avenues to getting in have increased. What this means is that it is time for companies to start thinking about security as a defined strategic issue.

Data security threats and attacks are major factors in successfully achieving regulatory compliance, whatever industry a company might be in. Non-compliance through having inadequate protection of corporate and customer data is a terrifying thought for any company director, so cyber security now really needs to sit at the top of any senior executive’s ‘to do’ list.

but end-users suffer too

At an individual level, the Cloud has helped to bring phishing into the mainstream of cyber security threats. Phishing was previously quite an insidious tactic, but today it has become incredibly brazen and up front, particularly in the mobile world. Because people now use their mobile devices by second nature, often inputting their password dozens of times a day, users are simply less vigilant.

It is estimated that mobile users look at their devices for one reason or another up to 150 times per day – this means entering that precious four-digit PIN code repeatedly – and how many end-users are really certain about what site they are distractedly tapping their password into?

changing threats mean changing strategy

To address this ever-changing security threat, a change of thinking is required. For many years companies and governments acknowledged the need for IT security, were both aware of and concerned about the threats involved, but were still very reactive. So this change in thinking means no longer considering IT security as ‘just’ an IT issue. The focus must change to making cyberspace a strategic asset which requires as much security as physical borders and buildings do.

The Australian government has recently taken the proactive step of investing in cyber security, identifying the threat as a strategic one which affects not just ‘the Web’, but the country’s entire economy, infrastructure and the nation’s future prosperity. It has been estimated that during 2012, 5 million Australians were affected by cyber security issues, at a cost to the country of around $1.6 billion. So it is to the government’s credit that even in an election year it has given the problem due consideration and taken the initiative, ploughing money into cyber security. That’s how significant an issue cyber security and the new threats available through the Cloud have become.

risk management is required at all three levels

The evolution of cyber security threats to the new environment means that the threat exists at three different levels

  • the personal
  • the organizational
  • and the nation state or community level.

At each of these levels the consequences can be dramatic and risk management is required at all three levels.

Original Publication