EXPERT OPINION FROM OUR COMMITTEES
Let ' s Discuss ... Cloud Computing
Contributed by Daisy Radford of the Information & Communications Technology Committee
Cloud computing has been around for years , but fully deploying it within government and critical national infrastructure is no small feat . Based on
' Fast Moving Clouds Ahead ', 10
th November 2020 , a blog by Chris Poole .
Cloud computing – a term and approach which brings us closer to the future every day . Even those of us who may not understand it will doubtless use it at some point – think Spotify , Microsoft 365 , or Netflix ( the standard app rotation on a given circuit breaker day !)
With Singapore ’ s 5G plans making exciting progress cloud computing is an element that will bring the awesome benefits of 5G to life for individuals , companies , and governments .
There are many government organisations that have been taking full advantage of cloud computing for years . But while any large organisation is hungry for cloud computing numerous benefits – reduced IT costs and empowered mobile workforces – governments understandably require higher levels of assurance , just consider sectors like Defence and National Security . How can they and other highly secure organisations reap the dividends cloud computing has to offer ?
The challenge is not an easy one . Government organisations possess large amounts of data across multiple complex environments . Public officers have to deliver services and missions while maintaining top levels of security assurances . At BAE Systems we support many high security organisations with this challenge , a mix of technology and process implementation means achieving that risk and accessibility balance is possible , even for the most classified of organisations .
The spot light on cloud computing security has certainly intensified this year . COVID-19 suddenly meant it went from a nice to have to a necessity . Although these transitions have been at break neck speed the outcomes have been very successful due to the combination of implementing technological solutions and shifting the approach to risk management .
Cross-domain as an enabler Any solution has got to balance security and usability – what ’ s the point of having the most secure system if it ’ s not usable ? The success of team collaboration is often the success of an organisation therefore emails , calls , messaging , or collaboration platforms are now seen as a fundamental tool to enabling organisation progress .
Employees expect their work IT to be
as good , or better , than their home laptops or phones – quick , easy to use and stress-free . The recognition for security is of course there but the hope is CISO ’ s can deploy technologies to keep things secure while keeping collaboration running smoothly .
Many government and high security organisation have unclassified and classified environments . The use of widely available cloud technologies are easier to implement on an unclassified environments but having complete segregation between the two creates inefficiencies , frustrations and is not necessary . Cross-domain enables import or export of data between environments , developing applications in public cloud , searches running across environments , or seamless collaboration across environments .
Cross- domain technology isn ’ t new but it has rapidly been elevated as an enabler to maintaining current productivity output levels rather than solely as a growth and enhancing initiative .
Threat based cloud security As everyone , everywhere , has directly learnt this year , change is the only constant . Recognition of this is