Grazed from CIO. Author: John Moore.

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging field, subject to some confusion and very much an early-adopter exercise at the moment. Channel partners-resellers, systems integrators and consultancies-often carve niches in such immature fields, providing advice and deployment help to customers who lack sufficient in-house knowledge. That tendency is beginning to play out in SDN. Technology vendors have already started recruiting integrators and other channel allies. The companies that seek to populate the SDN channel say they are studying the technology so they can be in a position to assist customers.

IT managers, however, suggest SDN adopters may or may not need channel support. Cloud service providers and academic institutions-who are considered the first wave of SDN deployment-typically possess deep technical skills and prefer to accumulate their own expertise rather than hire outsiders…

Grazed from CloudTech. Author: Editorial Staff.

If you’re like most, cloud is going to be a big part of your life in 2013. So to help you start the year off right, we’ve prepared the following tips for securing your cloud servers. Here are your 5 cloud security tips for 2013 (in no particular order):

Tip #1: Lock down the server firewall

Big surprise – a firewall management service provider telling you to lockdown the firewall, but putting aside the brand of our soap box, the firewall is the front-line defence for all security. In fact, 73% of IT professionals agree, according to the Ponemon Research study on cloud security. But while there’s a general consensus to use the firewall, few know how to do it properly. So here’s one little tip from the experts: Make sure you only open admin and other service ports when, for whom/what, and for as long as you need. Don’t, for example, leave SSH open to 0.0.0.0/0 or every bad guy out there will be brute force attack your servers. The same is true for RDP (which is often vulnerable to zero-day attacks (see Morto worm) and other protocols…

Grazed from PRWeb. Author: PR Announcement.

3Lions Publishing, Inc. (3LP), the owner/operator of the HIPAA Survival Guide, is pleased to announce Release 1.0 of its HIPAA Cloud, Social Media, and Mobile Checklist under HITECH. The Checklist is available for purchase in the HIPAA Survival Guide Store. Cloud Computing, Social Media, and Mobile Devices (“CSMM”) are only a small subset of an organization’s compliance initiative, but represent significant potential liability. Addressing CSMM sooner rather than later can dramatically improve your compliance ROI.

3LP’s CSMM Checklist provides policies, processes, and tracking mechanisms to help covered entities (health care provides, health plans, etc.) and their business associates deliver visible, demonstrable evidence of HIPAA compliance. The Checklists are H2 Compliance Scorecard™ ready, which provides a powerful mechanism for reviewing an organization’s Checklist progress and facilitates compliance reporting. In addition to implementation guidance, 3LP’s CSMM Checklist provides model out-of-the-box and ready to use Cloud Computing, Social Media, and Mobile Device policies that are readily customizable…

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: David Linthicum.

I always pay attention to business publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, when they write about cloud computing. Their writing is very reflective of how business sees this technology and will ultimately play a part in the success of cloud computing.

Recently, the Journal wrote: "For many small businesses that have used the cloud for a few years, the experience has largely been positive, but not without drawbacks. Cloud services run by companies like Google, Amazon.com, Microsoft Corp., and Dell attract entrepreneurs because of their convenience and low startup costs. But some customers complain about security measures and entrepreneurs’ lack of control over data."…

Grazed from Technorati. Author: Geoff Simon.

Finding the right cloud storage provider is now easier with small business and consumer review site NextAdvisor.com, who announced a cloud storage category offering consumers its top picks. It also allows visitors to compare cloud storage services like SugarSync, mozy, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Dropbox side-by-side, looking at price, features & benefits as well as actual user reviews in one place to help people make more informed decisions.

According to a study by IHS, a global economic and market information company, personal cloud-storage subscriptions are set to jump to 625 million this year, a 25% increase over 2012. The same study also anticipates uninterrupted double-digit growth through the year 2017, where it forecasts about 1.3 billion subscriptions to cloud storage services. "With all of the cloud storage services out there, it can be hard for consumers to choose which one works best for them," says NextAdvisor.com’s President Erik Larson. "We want to make it easier for them by providing a hands-on and informed opinion so people can find the option that provides them the best value."…

Grazed from Defense.gov. Author: Claudette Roulo.

The Defense Department’s information technology infrastructure is on a journey of consolidation, standardization, security and access, the Defense Department’s principal deputy chief information officer told attendees at a cloud computing panel discussion today. The department is reducing the number of data centers from about 1,500 to “a number far below that,” Robert J. Carey said, and is implementing a coherent and consistent architecture across thousands of computing environments.

This process is taking place in part because of the current era of fiscal austerity, but also because it makes sense when it comes to securing data within the network, Carey said. In addition, DOD, along with much of industry, is shifting toward a cloud computing posture: the collection of data and use of related computing services via remote servers accessed through the Internet. Cloud computing isn’t without its risks, Carey said, but the department is moving the paradigm of security from the infrastructure to the data layer. This includes continuous monitoring and cryptography, he added…

Grazed from Business Insider. Author: Michael Kelley.

The U.S. has been very aggressive in deploying cyber attacks in recent years, and it appears that subsequent concerns that America invited attacks on vulnerable U.S. networks were well-founded. In fact, U.S. companies are just beginning to realize the increasingly novel dangers of all-out cyberwarfare.

Last week Nicole Perlroth of The New York Times reported that a recent cyber attack on major U.S. banks were so powerful because they were directed through hijacked data centers (i.e. the cloud) around the would instead of individual computers…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Abdul Salam.

Security is always an issue whenever sensitive data is involved no matter what era it is; this was true during the time of the Greeks and it is true now. The problem, however, is compounded by an ever increasing complexity of technology and the sheer number of hands that have access or may gain access to that data in one way or another. There is a big piece of mind that a large metal box with equally large locks affords when it comes to security; the internet is the opposite. With millions of people having access to the internet and by extension potential have access to all your data, a few of them will bound to have some interest in that data and may possibly have the skills and means to acquire them.

This is the fundamental fear that CISO’s (Chief Information and Security Officer) and system administrators possess towards cloud computing, the public kind. A private cloud can be very secure because outside access can be limited or entirely removed, but that would really not be considered cloud computing in essence even if the same technology is used, it would simply be a private network where benefits like scalability and affordability remain untapped…

Grazed from HomeToys. Author: Editorial Staff.

THINKstrategies, Inc., the leading strategic consulting company focused on the business implications of the on-demand services market, announced today that dinCloud has been named the latest winner of THINKstrategies’ Cloud Computing Business Value (CCBV) Awards program, which is aimed at promoting the measurable business benefits being delivered by today’s cloud computing solutions.

The CCBV Awards program was launched in 2010 to recognize Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) providers delivering tangible business benefits to specific user organizations. These benefits include lower costs, faster deployment times, greater profitability, etc. The CCBV Award program builds on the success of THINKstrategies’ Best of SaaS Showplace (BoSS) Awards program which was initiated in 2009…