security
THE DATA DILEMMA
Michael Winterson of Equinix Services explains how interconnection offers answers to the security challenges facing today ’ s businesses .
The Internet today plays host to more business , devices and traffic than ever before . That means more opportunities for individuals to connect and for businesses to grow – but it also means the possibilities for hackers , fraudsters and cybercriminals increase every day .
Traditional security systems are struggling to keep up with the increasingly sophisticated attacks launched across the globe . Fortythree per cent of all companies experienced a data breach in 2014 – a 10 per cent increase on 2013 – with 65 per cent of those companies saying the attackers evaded their existing safeguards . And if the average cost to US companies of a single breach ($ 3.5 million ) isn ’ t alarming enough , you also have to consider the damage inflicted to the company ’ s reputation when a successful hack is made public .
The security dilemma For modern businesses , the age of the firewall with the Virtual Private Network log-in is dead . With cyberattacks growing more powerful and complex by the day , companies must invest in multi-layered security solutions that provide robust and ever improving defences .
This need to bolster data security , however , must be balanced against the fundamental need for businesses to be as connected as possible to their customers , clients and partners . Business leaders grasp the importance of shifting to the cloud for all-round business agility and performance gain , but struggle to overcome the fear of losing ‘ on-premises ’ data control .
Interconnected business The solution to this security dilemma , for all its complexity , comes in the form of a very simple maxim : there is no connection more secure than a direct connection . Bypassing the public Internet can eliminate many of the data liabilities which keep company bosses awake at night . Not only this , it can cut latency times and boost infrastructure reliability .
At Equinix we developed our Cloud Exchange to allow companies to interconnect with multiple cloud providers directly ; dramatically lowering the risk profile compared with the public Internet . When companies connect directly through the exchange , they shrink their potential ‘ attack surface ’, reducing the number of vulnerable data hops and closing off attack points . We offer direct connections to Amazon and Microsoft ’ s cloud platforms to give our customers access to the largest providers .
It ’ s understandable that many companies are reluctant to move key data away from their direct control ; feeling that colocating at a data centre makes it less secure , or that it will require the reduction or removal of carefully crafted security measures . But data centres can be built to complement a company ’ s specific data security policies , and should come complete with several stages of physical security and two factor authentication – ideally passcodes / swipe cards and biometrics – at every single level of access . And for those already forging ahead , looking to more agile hybrid cloud architectures , a mechanism like the Cloud Exchange can offer direct , on-demand and simultaneous connections to multiple cloud providers via multiple networks from a single port .
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