Rethinking Thin Clients from a Security Perspective

The recent events surrounding the treacherous activities of Edward Snowden should make most of us think long and hard about the measures we are taking to secure our corporate data. Are we giving our administrators too much access? Do we fail to audit and report on how the data is being accessed and used? Is our data just too mobile? Unfortunately the answer to all three of these is yes.

End User Computing within the Secure Hybrid Cloud

When we look at the secure hybrid cloud, the entry point to the hybrid cloud is the end user computing device, whether that device is a tablet, smart phone, desktop, laptop, google glass, watch, etc. We enter our hybrid cloud from this device. From there we spread out to other clouds within our control, clouds outside our control, or to data centers. How these devices authenticate and access the data within these various places within the hybrid cloud becomes a matter of great importance and has been a concentration for many companies. How we protect the data that ends up on the end user computing device is also of great importance.

Can Microsoft succeed as a DaaS provider with Mohoro?

The recent rumors of Microsoft working on a hosted virtual desktop (DaaS) solution to add to their cloud services offering may actually end up being one of the most viable options for organizations who already rely heavily on Microsoft infrastructure to run their business. Having all of your core services being delivered from a single location and provider could ease the operational concerns of some who find running a hybrid of on-premise and hosted solutions still requiring the same amount of operational support.

Cyber Defense: Using Virtual Desktops?

There was recently a rather heated twitter discussion between @Guisebule, @VirtualTal, and @Texiwill (myself) about using virtual desktops as a part of cyber defense. While this could be true, there is a need to ensure you know where your virtual desktop(s) start and end, not only within the network, but your applications in use. In addition, it is very important to fully understand the scope of a virtual desktop architecture as well as use.