The security approaches of yesterday won’t work in the cloud world of today and tomorrow.

Mike Milner, Cofounder & CTO, IMMUNIO

September 16, 2016

3 Min Read

Cloud adoption is in full swing across all organizations and enterprises large and small. Availability, agility, and cost are top of mind for C-suite executives when it comes to their IT capabilities, and large-scale cloud adoption is seen as the solution. This trend is only starting to grow: IDC predicts cloud IT infrastructure spending will be 46% of total expenditures on enterprise IT infrastructure by 2019, reaching $53.1 billion.

As cloud adoption becomes the new norm, developers are now tasked with creating innovative applications at an accelerated pace, making it harder to overcome security challenges. As hacks evolve by the hour and cloud software becomes increasingly sophisticated, DevOps teams must update old platforms and develop new ones, all while hoping their applications are protected. 

As we continue to embrace the cloud, the question becomes: How do we secure such a fast-acting infrastructure that is evolving and changing in a matter of seconds?  

To achieve security success today, you need more than just a new team name. Organizations must rethink their entire approach and workflow for cloud application security.

DevOps In The Cloud  
Considerable change occurs when ownership over a cloud application’s qualities, capabilities, and vulnerabilities stretches across an entire team. The concept of DevOps represents a valuable initiative that can improve application time to market, and application durability in a rapidly changing technological environment — when done correctly, that is.

So, who should you consider having aboard to protect and efficiently run your platform in the cloud?

  1. A strong-minded CIO to confidently lead the effort and strive for reform within the team. When embracing the cloud, leadership must understand the constant need for investment in both pretransitional and posttransitional security processes and support for hiring the right employees to make the move to the cloud happen.

  2. A security champion on the DevOps team to help create applications with ongoing protection in mind. By bringing this expertise to the team that’s building from the ground up (and not inserting security as an afterthought), the ongoing protection of the platform will be easier to manage in a hybrid cloud system.   

  3. Smart operators who may not understand the ins and outs of coding but can manage security that operates in real time within applications. With the cloud enabling fast development and even faster hacking, software and automated security solutions are key to staying protected, but you need someone who understands those platforms to ensure success.

  4. Data-driven perfectionists who understand the importance of continuous application improvement and a steady process flow. By keeping tabs on how existing platforms are running and ensuring communication across team members when hacks are identified, these individuals will help bridge the gap between development and operations in their quest for the unhackable.  

Organizations set up for success in today’s public cloud world aren’t afraid to rethink how they hire and what technologies they use to manage day-to-day protection of applications. The approaches and teams of yesterday won’t be able to do the job that organizations need to keep hackers at bay, so don’t fall victim to repetitive processes. Businesses that figure out how to go beyond the DevOps name and truly unite those that build the application and those that maintain it will be much more prepared when an attack or emergency situation arises in a public, cloud-based infrastructure.  

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About the Author(s)

Mike Milner

Cofounder & CTO, IMMUNIO

Mike Milner is the cofounder and chief technology officer at IMMUNIO. While Mike has witnessed the breadth of opportunities technology and data intelligence have created for business and government, his focus has always been on the vulnerabilities.

Between fighting cybercrime for the Canadian government and working for security agencies overseas, Mike has developed a deep understanding of the global security landscape and how the underground economy dictates hacks and ultimately drives breaches. This unique experience paired with his robust technical prowess helped Mike uncover what the next generation of security software should look like in IMMUNIO.

Prior to founding IMMUNIO, Mike was a lead member of the technical staff at Salesforce.com where he gained insight into the business side of Web applications. He also served as a software engineer at Canonical, working on the world's most popular free operating system, Ubuntu, following his time serving both the Canadian and UK Government.

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