For Schneider Electric, connectivity is central to the adoption of its EcoStruxure IT platform, whose integrity results from continuous dynamic vulnerability scanning. In a recent blog, they consider the importance of edge data centre cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is not a single battle but an all-out war where vigilance is vital. All IT infrastructures, systems, and networks are probed for weaknesses and protecting edge assets is a constant challenge. Addressing it requires a strategic cybersecurity plan that considers both internal and external factors to prevent and mitigate cybersecurity attacks. This will consider internal policies, but also how chosen providers ensure a safe environment that matches the organisation’s security profile.
Data centre profiles are evolving. Protection requirements have expanded beyond the core as edge computing adoption and the number of network nodes continues to grow. With data centre assets now disbursed, edge network end points make it impractical to attempt to replicate an on-premise ‘cybersecurity’ approach at every location. In distributed environments, the cybersecurity software that manages and monitors the infrastructure will sit on cloud platforms.
This presents several new challenges for data centre managers that keep responsibility for the security of distributed assets. This group has experience in dealing with third-party developed cybersecurity solutions deployed on-premise and optimised for environments. Understandably, data centre managers become nervous when information about the status of their facilities resides outside their data centre. This is particularly true for those using cloud-based cybersecurity platforms to check and protect distributed, mission-critical assets.
It is also clear that when it comes to cloud-managed distributed infrastructure and cybersecurity. Moreover, many internal considerations are industry and sector-specific with different concerns for different types of customer environments. Healthcare, retail, or manufacturing companies have domain-specific needs while common issues also need addressing across all sectors.
Operations teams know to build robust cybersecurity based on policy, process, and people. What may be less obvious is that these become even more important when implementing cloud-hosted solutions. Getting the most from cloud cybersecurity platforms requires new user behaviours. For operators, this means addressing a few key questions around compliance, access control, data transport, data location, and data privacy.
Edge Data Centre Cybersecurity
It is a reasonable assumption that the number of attacks for financial gain or malicious intent will continue to rise. This means due diligence when choosing your cloud platform partner has never been more important. As services and critical applications grow at the edge, meta data that describes the condition of your edge data centres becomes ever more valuable. Ensuring that cloud-based cybersecurity of edge data centre assets offer the appropriate protection and not left to chance.
On the human side, software developers should attend mandatory security training and become a Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP). In both development and operations, any changes should be subject to a mandatory peer-level oversight. Reviewing code and infrastructure changes by at least one other engineer to validate code quality, security, and performance.
With the rise of edge data centres and increase in cloud-based computing, companies are facing new challenges in end-to-end cybersecurity. To ensure proper protection, edge data centre cybersecurity teams must now assess both internal processes and the strategies used by cloud suppliers. For Schneider Electric, the EcoStruxure IT cloud-based DCIM platform incorporates best practices to ensure cybersecurity protection, improving resiliency, and protecting data centres from the core to the edge.
