Trend Micro has provided a very interesting and useful info graphic on the journey to the Cloud, entitled A Walk in The Clouds. This info graphic contains not only a list of their tools which can be used to secure each step of the Journey, but also a list of the issues and considerations as you step along the path to the Clouds. These steps are well thought out and are useful to everyone as they look at their virtualization and cloud security options moving forward.
The info graphic also provides great starting points on discussions of virtualization and cloud security.
The info graphic is displayed to the right. View the entire info-graphic by clicking on the image and login or register (it is free). The journey steps outlined are:
- Physical Servers – The original datacenter! All your original security issues and concerns.
- Virtual
- Virtual Servers – Started with low hanging fruit but has moved to the virtualization of tier 1 applications where workloads are commingled upon a virtualized cluster
- Virtual Desktops – End-user environments being pulled into the data center
- Private Cloud – IT as a Service where users (not administrators) can order applications from a service catalog. Which includes heavy use of orchestration and automation.
- Cloud
- Private Cloud – The cross over point between the virtual environment and the cloud.
- Hybrid Cloud – A mixed environment where part of the environment is within the enterprise and has a component within a cloud provider.
- Public Cloud – The public cloud with all its glory and issues.
This journey is one that many people start yet may never reach the cloud as they are on the cusp. Acceptance of the cloud is usually balked at by security groups, politics, and/or misunderstandings. The concepts and tools provided will:
- provide talking points to begin discussions for moving forward
- educate people about the steps in the journey to the cloud
- provide security professionals a list of applicable tools
It is my firm belief that Security professionals should never be the bottleneck for virtual or cloud adoption but the enablers by reviewing these tools and others such as those mentioned in the End-to-End Virtualization Security Whitepaper.
Click on the image to see the entire info-graphic. It is well worth the review to see the current security issues with the journey to the cloud as well as solutions. The info graphic makes a good starting point on the discussion of virtualization and cloud security as you can then fill in your particular concerns for each step (or phase) as they relate to your organization.