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Security professionals are largely unfamiliar with the SANs and databases they're supposed to be protecting. Although they surely realize that Fibre Channel is not a new health-food spin-off of Food TV, they're less aware that data running over an FC SAN is as readily readable as data running over an IP network.
Lemonade, Anyone?
Smart storage pros will make the most of this situation by working with their security teams to build a storage-security system that will protect data with minimal impact on uptime.
The first step in locking down your critical stored data is to determine which type of security best suits your organization. Stored data is vulnerable in more places than you might think, including at the application, host, switch, and LUN or block levels. Fortunately, there are plenty of products to address these problem areas. With offerings from vendors like Ingrian and Protegrity, you can encrypt select database columns. Alternatively, you can implement SAN access control from switch vendors, or SAN encryption and access control from vendors such as Cisco Systems, Decru, Kasten Chase and NeoScale. Some products also limit access by application (see "Securely Stowed,").
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
