Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Cybersecurity

    Firehost Adding Military Discipline to Cloud Hosting Security

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    June 1, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      cloud security

      If the modern landscape for information security can be described as a battleground, then it makes sense that the right people to lead technology security efforts have military backgrounds. To that end, cloud hosting vendor Firehost last week announced that retired U.S. Army Col. Jeff Schilling is now the company’s new chief security officer (CSO).

      Schilling is well-known in military circles as the former director of the U.S. Army’s Global Network Operations and Security Center, which falls under the U.S. Army’s Cyber Command.

      “I was the guy that on a daily basis was working with people who were doing hands-on security both for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army,” Schilling told eWEEK. “What I bring to Firehost is the great attributes that any experienced military officer would bring to a company, which is an understanding for how to conduct operations and to apply technology and people to operations to achieve objectives.”

      Firehost has positioned itself as a secure cloud hosting vendor and raised $25 million of new venture capital funding in April to help grow the business. One of Firehost’s most notable customers is infamous former hacker Kevin Mitnick.

      So what does a military background add to the process of a securing a cloud vendor?

      “I saw a guy riding his bike the other day with a bike helmet on, but he didn’t have the helmet strap connected,” Schilling said. “I’d say that’s a great analogy for what I see as the way a lot of vendors run their security programs.”

      Schilling added that while many organizations’ security programs appear safe to the world, they really aren’t.

      “A lot of people spend a lot of money on technology, but fail to really understand the people and processes to effectively deploy technology,” he said.

      From an operational perspective, when it comes to cloud security, Schilling emphasized that it’s important to understand the signal flow. Schilling said that while in the military he was able to describe the signal flow from a user desktop from a deployed soldier all the way through the Internet access point and know the security controls in place at each level in between. He added that the first step in securing an organization is to first understand what it is that needs to be defended.

      One of the biggest issues that any cloud vendor needs to deal with is the issue of rogue insiders. On a cloud platform, any user could potentially be a malicious user who is using the technology to attack other users.

      “If you are tuning your environment to look for an advanced persistent threat inside your network, a lot of the time you will also be able to detect the rogue insider threat problem,” Schilling said.

      Cloud hosting vendors like Firehost also have a responsibility to ensure that their own infrastructure is not being used to attack others, he added.

      Firehost must be able “to detect when our customers are compromised and then be able to notify and mitigate that outbound activity,” Schilling said. “So we need to protect our customers from compromise, and we need to protect our infrastructure from being used by the threat actors to go after other folks.”

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×