By Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i
In 2019, data security and protection continued to expand and
play an ever-increasing role in IT and business operations decision-making.
This is not a shocking revelation, as virtually every IT and business
professional, as well as most laypersons, are well aware of the prevalence of
data breeches, ransomware and other cybercrimes.
Likewise, the question of whether a business could withstand
a disaster - manmade or natural - remained at the forefront, on the minds of IT
and business alike. After all, having the right disaster recovery (DR) plan and
technology to back it up, continues to be the difference between remaining
operational versus your business taking a devastating if not fatal hit.
New Year, New Hackers,
New Threats?
Here we are in 2020 - a fresh decade - with the hyper-focus
on data security and DR showing no signs of waning. And, that's a good thing.
In fact, when it comes to these two critical technology areas, I have some predictions
relating to Raspberry Pi (RasPi) and cloud-based DR. These forecasts are based
on more than conjecture-they are clearly linked to a convergence of a number of
industry trends.
Prediction 1: In 2020, anticipate seeing enterprises
across varied industries start to employ in tandem two cutting-edge solutions:
-
RasPi, a small computer that has become the go-to
for building Internet of Things (IoT) platforms
-
Software
defined perimeter (SDP) software, which offers security to RasPi
platforms (in addition to other environments), resulting in protection for IoT
networks
Prediction 2: In addition, in 2020 anticipate seeing
a disruption in the cloud DR market in the form of a new class of DR software that
integrates SDP security. This new enhancement will deliver tremendous advantages
over historical network perimeter security methods, like virtual private
networks (VPNs) - which are typically
complex to set up and manage, introduce probable performance problems, and are expensive
due to the requirement of costly dedicated appliances and routers. The new
class of cloud-based DR will enable organizations to construct DR environments with
smart endpoints, whether DR is required on-premises or in a hybrid or
multi-cloud environment.
Let's dig down a bit more into what's behind these
predictions and explore their implications:
The pros and cons of
RasPi platforms. Introduced
in 2012, these super small, lightweight, dual-display computers have continued
to increase in popularity around the world. No bigger than a credit card, these
single-board computers-which were developed as an educational tool that anyone
could learn-make it relatively easy for beginners to professionals to create
IoT devices. In addition to their flexibility and adaptability in running Linux
and putting users in charge of electronic components, RasPi platforms are also appealing
from a budgetary perspective, as RasPi boasts a low entry price as well as
highly affordable ongoing maintenance costs. It's therefore completely
understandable given these benefits why RasPi computers are booming globally, appearing
not just in homes and schools with creators and educators, but also in
countless industries as businesses of all sizes jump on the bandwagon.
These benefits of this ideal IoT platform are also what can lead
to problems from a security standpoint. While IoT was invented to connect
everything in the world, the threat to these connections is that data that
hasn't been adequately secured becomes vulnerable to hacks and attacks. As
Alasdair Gilchrist pointed out in his book on IoT Security Issues, when it comes to IoT development, "product comes first and
security second," noting that "lax security processes" are often to blame for
the security troubles plaguing organizations worldwide. In other words, inadequately
securing a RasPi computer leaves it highly vulnerable to hackers.
Safeguarding RasPi with
SDP. SDP software
can help to prevent this and provide RasPi platforms with dependable and
consistent data security (please see my first prediction). In tandem with
RasPi, SDP can safeguard IoT networks cost-effectively, disguising the network
presence of an IoT device and eliminating the wide attack surfaces inherent in VPNs,
which were simply not ever intended to secure the perimeter-less, cloud-based
world in which we now find ourselves. With application-level segmentation that
creates a Zero Trust environment (not automatically trusting any user, whether inside
or outside the network), SDP forms an encrypted network in which assets are invisible
to unauthorized parties.
Shoring up DR strategy. Outside the data security challenges
of RasPi, there are numerous other prospective challenges that today's modern
enterprise must deal with in this arena. Consequently, many organizations have turned
to cloud-based
DR (please see my second prediction) to augment or fully replace what they have
been using for DR-especially if their present strategy is based on a traditional
VPN platform for data protection.
2020, Its Finally Here
The year 2020 has long captured our imagination as an
envisioned time of technological wonder. And now its finally here, and in
truth, IoT, SDP, and RasPi hold all of that promise and more... that is... if we
take the necessary steps to secure and protect the data that goes hand in hand
with this new world of unprecedented connection.
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About
the Author
Don
Boxley Jr is a DH2i co-founder and CEO. Prior to DH2i, Don held senior marketing
roles at Hewlett-Packard where he was instrumental in sales and marketing
strategies that resulted in significant revenue growth in the scale-out NAS
business. Don has spent more than 20 years in management positions for leading
technology companies, including Hewlett-Packard, CoCreate Software, Iomega,
TapeWorks Data Storage Systems and Colorado Memory Systems. Don earned
his MBA from the Johnson School of Management, Cornell University.