As enterprises race to adopt cloud technology, they also encounter a combination of new possible threats from the rapid and frequently unorganized deployment of different cloud-based technologies. Particular concerns surround the adoption of so-called hybrid cloud technologies, Sean Metcalf, founder of cloud security advisory company Trimark Technologies told the attendees of DEF CON Safe Mode last week.
The hybrid cloud is a blend of on-premises infrastructure combined with cloud-hosted infrastructure (infrastructure-as-a-service, or IaaS) and services (software-as-a-service, or SaaS). The IaaS providers are usually giants such as Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure or Google’s Cloud Platform. Extending on-premises data centers into the cloud basically means the cloud is effectively operating as a virtualization host like VMware or Microsoft Hyper V, Metcalf said.
