Monthly Archives: November 2012

New types of BIG data security are currently under development

New types of BIG data security are currently under development

As with any type of large undertaking or project, security is something that always becomes an issue once its popularity increases and more people become aware of it. Over the course of the last several months the IT community has been pretty focused on cloud security, but it seems that its cousin, “BIG data”, might be the next target.

There are plenty of reasons why individuals or groups might want to attack someone else’s BIG data assets; after all, this is where important data is located. Likewise, when you take everything together as a whole it’s obvious that there is distinct value there as well. Then of course there are others who just want to wreak havoc (perhaps because they’re bored?) Whatever the reason, new approaches to BIG data security are in the works and under development.

A group called the “Cloud Security Alliance” is apparently spearheading some of the first moves to establish an initiative to deal with BIG data security (and privacy issues). According to pieces of information gathered through interviews, the goal is to establish better frameworks which can provide analytical “anchors” which more-or-less highlight what is considered to be “business as usual” and what isn’t. In other words, the CSA wants to apply environment-based approaches to BIG data security through direct management, analysis and monitoring.

 

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Moreover, there are basically 6 areas of interest which the CSA is currently focused on. Privacy is one; arguably one of the most important after all is said and done. Second – policies and guidelines, because this allows for smooth operation as well as prevention. Third – applying analytical processes for purposes of real-time security, which ensures that covert, subversive activities are eliminated. Fourth – development of a more suitable framework which makes security easier to manage. Fifth – better, more suitable forms of encryption for BIG data. Sixth – the use of cloud computing and its infrastructure for improving overall security.

Together, the aforementioned areas should be able to form a more targeted and enveloping approach to BIG data security. In truth, there are simply some entirely different types of challenges which have to be dealt with when it comes to BIG data. For one, information tends to enter from a wider spectrum of sources and in greater volumes. This makes it much more difficult to ensure a complete secure environment in a timely manner because it takes a significant amount of time to process such large pools (of data). Given its nature and abilities, cloud computing has emerged as a big potential contributor to BIG data security in recent times. Additionally, cloud computing might be used to monitor any attacks so that valuable reconnaissance information can be gathered.

Dealing with BIG data in European (and some Asian countries) might also be a challenge from a security standpoint because of various types of conflicting regulations which may or may not exist. As more definitive cloud computing and BIG data policies continue to be created, it’s important to note that there is no central governing global body which seeks to standardize anything at all. Basically, one set of guidelines might work well in one area and lead to catastrophes in another. As far as BIG data security is concerned, functionality should also play a role and hopefully we’ll see more large regions forming committees which might allow them to create international standards.

 

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It would seem that BIG data security research is following the pre-established trend of creating best practices which are then followed by additional research and refinement. However, this is an interesting situation because it isn’t just businesses that are involved in all of this development, governments are also jumping into the fray to lend a hand and access the technology. Because there is official government intervention, it might also be somewhat prudent to assume that funding will be more than adequate, but their main function will likely be in helping to create more applicable standards.

As the total number of businesses interested in BIG data continues to rise, it’s somewhat comforting to know that its security technologies are also being overhauled. These days it’s simply not good enough to have a groundbreaking technology on hand; it also has to be able to ensure a high level of security on all fronts (especially when multiple businesses are involved and profits are on the line). The bad news is that there are some security issues which need to be dealt with, the good news however is that these problems are being addressed and it looks like we’ll soon see results.

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Is managing BIG data becoming a major career in and of itself?

Is managing BIG data becoming a major career in and of itself?

Most Cloud Computing operations today require individuals who specialize in BIG data management

The biggest byproduct of the last several years of technological development has been the proliferation of huge amounts of data. In other words, as continue to chart new territories in the cloud (and elsewhere) the public as well as key businesses are busy adding to the very large amount of data that already exists. Research groups like Gartner are predicting current data accumulation trends to spike and go into “overdrive” at some point in the coming years, which is one of the reasons why the IT industry in particular, is seeking to create the personnel and positions (ahead of time) to deal with these sharp increases.

Why is big data a problem? If you can imagine having 10, 000 books dropped into your personal possession on a regular basis, and then different individuals asking for specific tidbits of information which exist in one or more of these texts; basically, BIG data presents similar problems. Whether or not you are successful in being able to provide information on demand all boils down to how you choose to manage your information. For a physical library, coding systems and shelf organizing procedures are necessary tools. But when it comes to BIG data, access to information is a bit more complex.

Here are the areas of concern when dealing with BIG data:

  • Analysis

  • Visualization

  • Capture

  • Search

  • Sharing

  • Storage

Moreover, because BIG data sets often incorporate many pieces of information which (upon further analysis) reveal a deeper truth or trend, it’s easy to see why this might be a profitable area for a business to get into. However, with any large database, the most important thing is the data pool itself, the type of data and its “quality”.

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The thing is, we are about to enter a new phase (worldwide), with cloud computing becoming the ‘de facto’ method of computing / networking. This is important to those seeking BIG data careers for a number of reasons, but most noticeably because:

  • Cloud Computing is actually set up to use BIG data in a more efficient manner (and possesses some unique tools for navigating it).

  • The total amount of data out there is only increasing on an exponential scale.

Simply put, cloud computing is a perfect compliment to big data whether you’re talking about using it to analyze, store or access information. Likewise, it’s much easier to incorporate new data management solutions when you’re using cloud computing and of course, in the cloud, you have almost unlimited elastic power to draw from.

However, the reason why BIG data careers are becoming so important has to do with the simple fact that more data is being captured and stored on a daily basis (from all directions simultaneously) than anyone in the industry knows what to do with it. We’re not just talking about large volumes of data originating from scientific sources, or perhaps records of commerce (sales tracking), the data created by your average person is having an impact.

Businesses generally see BIG data as a source of potential useful information (perhaps to extract important trends and/or determine what consumers are in need of), but what’s often overlooked is the inherent value of the data itself. For example, simply creating a petabyte or terabyte of useful data is no effortless task, even though it might not be clear at the time, the activities of millions of people often end up producing usable databases for a variety of applications. The problem is that most business owners, managers and CEO’s have yet to realize the inherent potential of BIG data, and/or why they might need to hire specialists to manage things in this area.

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Nonetheless, the most important and immediate reason why we need more BIG data managers has to do with simple logistics. You see, we are in fact accumulating more data on a daily basis than we currently know what to do with it. Moreover, this trend of data accumulation shows absolutely no signs of slowing down; in fact, it seems to be speeding up.

This is the major reason why many important tech companies have been researching new methods for managing BIG data; it’s going to become a necessity very soon. Also, given that there is now a boundless stream of information pouring out in all directions, it only makes sense that businesses should seek to analyze it and extract anything/everything of value from it. In other words, it’s a bit like watching the gushing of a wide, powerful river that’s not being used for anything particularly beneficial. BIG data seeks to turn this “river of ceaseless information” into something that can provide both short and long-term value to those who know how to use it properly.