Latest News from Eric Chiu

PCI Security Standards Council to Help Clear Cloudiness

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is expected to release a new version of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) in October of this year. In this new version, the PCI DSS will address virtualization and cloud computing. This new guidance will be a huge win for virtualization adoption, as well as the organizations that are subject to PCI and under pressure to better manage costs. The Council, founded by American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa, developed the PCI DSS to specify how to best protect payment card information. In other words, it specifies how to best protect you and me from anyone who attempts to break into systems to steal our valuable financial information.

The Circular Nature of Technology

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:45:00 EST

Like technology, everything in life tends to repeat, although in newer, fresher and more useful applications. The fashion trend toward slim fit clothes shifts to baggy, then back again; suits go from three to two button and back to three; pastels and bright colors to earth tones as it shifts anew. Car design is similar: Mercedes, for example, regularly goes back and forth between rounded and square styles, and the re-birth of the Chevrolet Camaro revisits the shape of one of my favorite classics – the ’68 SS. Only this time, newer, faster, sleeker.

Trusting Cloud Computing

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST

Trust is an important word in the world of security, and in cloud computing it’s an even bigger deal. Cloud computing offers up the promise that an organizations will be able to run any application from anywhere at any time. But in a multi-tenant environment, a cloud application running in a virtual machine might be located on any number of hosts in a virtualized datacenter, and running next to others’ virtual machines on those hosts.

Ensuring Secure Self-Service Through Virtualization

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:15:00 EST

Remember the days when banking had to be done in the branch? Regardless of whether you were making a deposit, withdrawal or just checking your balance, you had to drive to the local branch during business hours to work through a bank teller. Long-distance travel became even more difficult because of the regional nature of bank chains.

Separation of Duties in Virtualized Environments

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EDT

Virtualization has brought us another step closer to the world of Star Trek. Think back to episodes of The Next Generation where Geordi was able to control the functions of the entire ship through a single touch-screen interface. He was able to reconfigure electrical, mechanical and propulsion systems without needing anyone else or additional authorization. The only thing to prevent him from doing something risky or damaging was the computer system itself.

Physical Is Not So Physical in a Virtualized Environment

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:30:00 EDT

I recently asked a CIO of a large Fortune 100 company how hard would it be for a person to pull the plug on a backbone switch in his datacenter. His answer was "Very difficult. We have lots of controls in place to ensure that level of access is protected." I then probed further and asked what type of controls he was referring to – card key access, locks on the racks, video cameras?

The Machine Is Now the Data . . . How Does That Affect Compliance?

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:45:00 EDT

In IT terms, virtualization is cool. The rewards include cost savings, agility, and flexibility. Enterprises reap the benefits of virtualization through a much more efficient use of IT personnel and resources, faster delivery time of applications, higher availability/service levels, and additional capabilities such as high availability and disaster recovery. No wonder data centers worldwide are being transformed by going virtual.