< Previousnetworks, and more logins than ever before, sensitive data may be at risk out of sight and beyond the reach of security teams. Gaps in security policy and process will always exist and a policy of ‘building walls’ with strong perimeter-based security, authentication, encryption and more will sometimes fail. The four key gaps in information security architecture There are four key gaps in information security architecture that revolve around employee and external partner behaviours, and can only be remedied with data-centric security practice (and by engendering a solid security culture within the business). For CISOs these pain points pose serious risks in terms of maintaining compliance and can create a reactionary environment of playing continual catch-up. The Behaviour Gap: Usability poses a major challenge to CISOs. People simply want to find the fastest, most convenient way of doing something. In fact, human error is still the number one cause of data breaches in 2021. Sensitive files will be added to USBs or data copied to unsecured documents, secure FTP servers may be bypassed, and people may not always adopt the security processes in place. The Visibility Gap: Sensitive data travels. Average employees send emails in their tens of thousands per year and many receive files they were not meant to see. IT Governance lists a staggering number of serious enterprise data breaches in March 2021 alone. People want to find the fastest, most convenient way of doing something, but human error is still the number one cause of data breaches in 2021. data-centric security www.networkseuropemagazine.com 60Who accesses data once it’s shared beyond a business’s devices, networks and applications and how it is used is beyond your control and lies outside of your monitoring, auditing, and tracking technologies. Where files and data are shared outside your organisation, the nature of the information within them cannot be tracked or audited once it leaves your server. The Control Gap: Lost files or leaked information can go beyond an organisation's control. Identity and Access Management, Mobile Device Management and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems, all help to monitor and control employee access to data. But data that leaves the systems and networks within your sphere of influence is effectively out of your control. Lost or leaked information can bear serious consequences with no way to shut down the information once leaked, and potential violations that must be reported with implications around compliance. The Response Time Gap: There is a time lag between the uptake of a new application or behaviour and the ability of CISOs to understand and respond. It's what puts security teams into reactionary mode and can take weeks or months to identify, during which time you don’t know what’s happening with sensitive information. Technology changes quickly and in many organisations employees bring their own devices, applications, and expectations of how to work. Departments purchase applications and devices, which in turn generate more sensitive, proprietary information. In the rush to get business done, security is often left to play catch-up and security breaches may be the unintended consequences of this gap. Security needs to operate at the speed of business, with the flexibility to adapt to the unknown. Your Response Time Gap may be measured in days, weeks, months, or quarters. The longer it is, the greater the risk of people taking measures into their own hands, or of sensitive data going untracked into new applications. Closing the data security gap with data-centric security strategies Collaboration, innovation, partnerships, and business development are the behaviours that drive business growth and all are dependent on trusted exchanges of vital information. When these new unforeseen breaches take place, CISOs must respond by evolving from infrastructure-centric security measures with multiple layers of defence, to data-centric approaches that protect what really matters: the data itself. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions, data encryption solutions and Digital Rights Management (DRM) tools often take a limited view of the data to be protected, for example, files on a server or emails leaving the network, and they still depend on the idea of walls — systems, devices or networks that enclose data. Businesses need to be able to guarantee file level security — to secure, track and share any kind of data, no matter where it’s stored or located, with robust policy enforcement, strong encryption and strict access controls. Data-centric security solutions also enable employees to collaborate freely while ensuring a high level of security and visibility and even revoke access to sensitive data that has been shared by email mistakenly. Further, by adding a cloud- based tether, access to data can be managed with access rights and the data decrypted if the person is approved. Data is the lifeblood of business and, by locking it down too tightly, business slows down and potentially diminishes its value. CISOs should adopt a data-centric security solution that secures sensitive data through its entire life cycle; everywhere it travels, no matter who has it or where it’s stored. By adding in this additional layer of security, data is protected in motion, in use, or at rest, inside or outside the organisation. n Who accesses data once it’s shared beyond a business’s devices, networks and applications and how it is used is beyond your control data-centric security www.networkseuropemagazine.com 61A safe pair of hands Why experience is critical in choosing a post-Covid data centre provider datacentre experience www.networkseuropemagazine.com 62Data centres may not have been a discussion beyond the IT department in many Enterprise organisations, but most now realise they can ’t take any risks with their data centre plans and that they can be make or break for their business success. For some, it has fast become a top priority to choose a colocation partner that can support the business for the long term - whatever the future may bring. The good news is that there’s currently plenty of choices available; the challenge is to know what to look out for. Today’s selection of data centre providers range from one-size-fits-all hosting services to highly customisable colocation arrangements. Service level agreements (SLAs) allow customers to address their power and network needs, meet their redundancy and reliability expectations, access high-end disaster recovery capabilities, and fulfil nearly any other data centre demand. There are plenty of eye-catching new builds and new names in the market. The array of options can, however, make for a difficult selection experience. So, how do businesses go about choosing a data centre partner? What should they prioritise? And is experience a key priority? As a global community, our reliance on digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need of robust IT strategies, and boardrooms are now discussing how to support their business now and in the future. Darren Watkins Managing Director VIRTUS Data Centres datacentre experience www.networkseuropemagazine.com 63Supporting remote working for the long-term While office closures and lengthy lockdowns meant that 2020 was widely known as “the year of remote work”, for many organisations, the trend is here to stay. Some companies used to offer the ability to work from home as a perk, it has now become the norm for most businesses as they capitalise on productivity and wellbeing benefits, cost savings, as well as the ability to widen their talent pool significantly. By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month. However, all this extra online traffic puts intense pressure on the infrastructure - security, servers, storage and network - of any organisation. IT departments need to deploy more forward-looking capacity management if they are to proactively meet their current and future needs. This means selecting a data centre partner that can provide enough capacity for their customer’s digital requirements and adapt and flex to their constantly changing needs. Is going green just a gimmick? The data centre industry is notoriously energy-hungry. Data centre power consumption amounts to around 416 terawatts or 3% of all electricity generated on the planet. What’s more, data centres generate 2% of the world’s 50 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gasses every year. It’s no surprise then, that sustainability of the industry is a priority for all - and there’s much good work already being done in this arena. Despite rising demand for data, electricity consumption is staying nearly flat, as increased internet traffic and data loads are countered by increased efficiencies including the widespread use of renewable energy and innovation in power-hungry tasks like data centre cooling. However, in assessing providers’ sustainability promises, experience is once again crucial. The most experienced providers are committed to delivering a “cradle to grave” sustainability strategy, where environmental ambitions are built into every step of data centre construction and operational management – rather than relying on discrete initiatives or green “bolt-ons”. Experienced providers are aware that there are many “shades” of green to be considered both during the design and construction phase of the data centre and the ongoing operation of the facility. It’s important to look beyond the public promises and commitments to assess a provider’s track record in meeting sustainability goals. datacentre experience www.networkseuropemagazine.com 64Robust disaster recovery credentials Mention the words “disaster recovery” to infrastructure and operations personnel and heads will nod in agreement about the importance of plans to restore operations after a worst-case scenario, such as a fire or an earthquake. And, while too many organisations don’t have a disaster recovery plan or don’t test the ones they have at all or frequently enough, most rely on their data centre partner to have rigorously tested, fail-safe backup if things go wrong. Once again, experience can make a critical difference. Although many providers promise comprehensive disaster recovery, those who have extensive experience have evolved monitoring, reacting and operating procedures - over significant time periods – and can highly mitigate customer experience isn’t negatively impacted when these types of events occur. Only with experience and longevity can providers build robust processes, tried and tested in live scenarios, to ensure the best possible levels of service. Prioritising long-term innovation As with most sectors, the data centre industry is fast evolving and continually innovating. Trends like immersion and adiabatic fresh-air cooling, backup power and generator solutions are all priorities for the most forward-looking providers, whilst sustainability also remains an important objective. Other areas under review include alternative sources of backup power and the wider adoption of fuel cells as a standby energy source. Innovation must be a priority not just now, but also into the future. Data centre providers must keep using their first- hand experience to innovate if they are to meet the needs of both their new and longest-serving customers. Once again it is only the most experienced providers that are positioned to take the learnings of their design, build and operations to develop best practice and new strategies. Get the data centre strategy right and your business is primed to seize the opportunities of the digital economy, to scale and to grow. But get it wrong, and you’re likely to be hamstrung, with growth and flexibility stymied. This is why selecting an expert provider that can not only meet your demands – but that can prove its credentials based on past experience – is now, more than ever, a business-critical decision. And when it comes to the right partner, more than anything, experience matters. n datacentre experience www.networkseuropemagazine.com 65Cloud connectivity: why most UK business leaders have turned to NaaS Eric Troyer CMO Megaport The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the rate of cloud computing adoption for many enterprises. The Forrester Consulting 2021 Cloud Connectivity Buyer’s Guide, commissioned by Megaport, suggests that the pandemic “reinforced the substantial value and necessity of cloud technology. Senior decision-makers have realised that networks are ‘the central nervous system of their businesses.’” With cloud technology playing such a vital role, organisations must now turn their focus on optimising their investments in the cloud – and to do so, they must think about cloud connectivity. As organisations increasingly adopt numerous cloud-based solutions, IT leaders must ensure they can easily connect to the cloud, while simultaneously managing and connecting multiple clouds together in a secure, reliable, and cost-effective way. Connectivity to the cloud is now considered as critical as the cloud itself. Reaping the rewards of NaaS For this reason, many organisations are looking to Network as a Service (NaaS) providers for their expertise in cloud connectivity. NaaS providers offer network connectivity services to companies that can’t or don’t want to build their own infrastructure. NaaS can include services such as Wide Area Networking (WAN) connectivity, data centre connectivity, Bandwidth On Demand (BOND), security services and other applications. Many of these offerings are delivered virtually, thanks to network virtualisation. According to Forrester’s Business Technographics Networks and Telecom Survey from 2020, the majority of businesses in the UK have already recognised the importance of NaaS – 62% of UK telecommunications technology decision-makers confirm their firms have deployed NaaS solutions and a further 16% said they were planning to do so in the next 12 months. IT leaders across the UK say they are already reaping the benefits of NaaS by simplifying their IT network (42%), creating a more flexible approach to IT (39%), and mitigating risks of technology changes (34%). These numbers are even higher for UK firms that have indicated that one of their top priorities is to shift to a digital business. Unlocking innovation with cloud technology Cloud computing has made compute-heavy development and innovation far more efficient and faster than ever. Whether it’s software dev and test environments hosted and managed in the cloud, automotive manufacturing and design simulation, or motion-picture visual effects rendering using High-Performance Computing (HPC), businesses in all sectors are unlocking new ways to innovate by using the cloud. Cloud connectivity plays a crucial role in enabling this innovation. Businesses that use traditional connectivity methods such as VPN tunnelling over the internet to the public cloud will struggle with bandwidth constraints and reliability from best-effort internet connectivity – slowing development and time-to-market. If businesses decide to connect to the cloud with private lines from their ISP or telco, they’ll struggle with scaling bandwidth up and down based on their day-to-day needs because provisioning times with ISPs and telcos can range from 30 to 120 days. Also, this option doesn’t give them the flexibility to change or add additional service providers in real-time as and when required. Visual effects Framestore, the award-winning creative studio behind The Avengers and Harry Potter movies, experienced exactly this problem. They used VPN tunnels to get their creative team’s visual effects work into the cloud, only to find that they needed to manage over 100 tunnels 24/7 to keep those cloud connections up and running. With a NaaS solution, they were able to establish private, direct cloud connectivity on-demand and in a point-and-click manner, provisioning reliable bandwidth in minutes, instead of months. They were also able to select and move to a diverse spectrum of cloud providers to follow a best- of-breed technology approach. cloud connectivity www.networkseuropemagazine.com 66y: aaS Connectivity across the globe If a global business wanted to deploy a newly built application on-premises via private cloud, it will need to design its WAN to support reliable global connectivity to the cloud services deployed. A NaaS provider with a global footprint can help businesses ensure that their applications run reliably wherever their users are based. In the case of ICE, the Fortune 500 financial marketplace operator that owns the New York Stock Exchange, they were able to deploy their new cloud-based market data service IGN Cloud Connect using a global, private NaaS purpose-built for capital markets. ICE’s offering is available in 24 countries and gives their customers secure and low latency access to ICE’s data services in the cloud. The network matters more than ever No longer just a commodity, modernised network connectivity has become the fabric of digital business, as Forrester argues in its 2021 Cloud Connectivity Buyer’s Guide. Network connectivity will play a critical role in enabling innovation for businesses and unlocking the value that cloud technology brings. n cloud connectivity www.networkseuropemagazine.com 67malicious emails www.networkseuropemagazine.com 68Malicious emails are one of the biggest threats facing organisations around the world today. Cybercriminals are continuing to target the workforce as the weakest link in any company’s defences, and enough of these attacks are hitting the mark that email has continued to reign as one of the most successful and lucrative attack methods. Phishing emails, along with variants such as smishing and vishing which use text and voice channels, were by far the most prominent type of cyber attack reported in the most recent FBI IC3 report, with over 241,342 reported to the agency in the course of 2020. Criminals continue to successfully deceive their victims into sharing login credentials and other data, paving the way for major cyberattacks like ransomware, fraud, and a multitude of other crimes. Attackers know that if they can get past email security solutions, the same handful of tricks will work against their human targets. The most dangerous form of malicious email is Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks where the criminal will assume the identity of a trusted contact within the company, usually a senior executive. The FBI reported losses of $1,866,642,107 due to BEC over the last year, dwarfing any other kind of attack. The growing email threat Email has long been the favourite delivery method for cybercriminals for precisely the same reason legitimate sales and marketing teams rely on it – it’s a low-cost and accessible way to message thousands of contacts without any need for a prior relationship. The prominence of malicious emails has only increased in recent years as organisations progress their digital transformation agendas. With the COVID-19 pandemic drastically accelerating the need to digitise business operations, email attacks also saw a huge boost. Google reported a record two million new phishing sites in 2020. In the UK, HMRC saw a 73% increase in phishing emails as criminals took advantage of the confusion and sought to scam individuals and businesses seeking financial support. Even once the initial tumult of the pandemic settled down, the new digital environment proved to be fertile ground for cybercriminals. Remote workers are more susceptible to social engineering tactics as they are often more isolated and cannot simply turn to their colleagues and ask them to look over their shoulder at a suspicious email. The increased digital presence of businesses has also been a boon to the fraudsters. Thanks to a booming market of accessible, low-cost cloud hosting services, it has never been easier for a business to get online and connect with prospects and customers. Cybercriminals are exploiting these same services to disguise themselves as legitimate, trusted companies. Exploiting legitimate web tools Website builders and content management service (CMS) platforms such as Wix, Weebly and Squarespace are simple, accessible, and inexpensive. Even the smallest and least- tech savvy businesses can quickly get online and build an attractive and simple web page. However, these platforms offer a number of opportunities Lior Kohavi Chief Strategy Officer & EVP Advanced Solutions Cyren Is the workforce is the key to fighting them? Deceptive email attacks are on the rise malicious emails www.networkseuropemagazine.com 69Next >