Multiple variables need to be considered when moving critical infrastructure to the cloud, as well as the implications of this.
So says Maganathin Marcus Veeraragaloo, chief advisor information security, Security Division, Eskom, who will be presenting at the ITWeb Cloud Summit 2018 at Vodacom World, Midrand, on 8 February 2018.
ITWeb Events chatted toVeeraragaloo to find out more.
ITWeb Events: In your opinion, should critical infrastructure be moved to the cloud?
Veeraragaloo: I will start with the question: What is critical infrastructure? Critical infrastructure is defined as an asset, system or part thereof which is essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions such as: health, safety, security, economic or social well-being, the disruption or destruction of which would result in a significant impact and result in the failure of the above-mentioned functions.
Critical infrastructure failure has a detrimental effect on any county or society, you can outsource responsibility but you cannot outsource accountability and with this in mind, will it be wise to move critical infrastructure to the cloud? This question will be further unpacked at the ITWeb Cloud Summit in February 2018.
ITWeb Events: What are the pros and cons associated with moving critical infrastructure to the cloud?
Veeraragaloo: The high-level pros include multiple locations, edge networks, improved timeliness of response to incidents and threat management. The high-level cons include loss of governance, lock-in, isolation failure, data protection, insecure or incomplete data protection and lastly availability chain.
ITWeb Events: Who is usually responsible for this decision and who should be, if they aren't already?
Veeraragaloo: At the start the ultimate responsibility lies with the organisation but the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill is bringing some new dynamics. A Critical Infrastructure Council (CIC) needs to be created and needs to assist in identifying the required Critical Infrastructure for South Africa. This will have an impact on state-owned organisations in terms of them owning critical infrastructure. Once the critical infrastructure has been identified and has been moved to the cloud - will the CIC have the mandate to force the SOE to move it back? Once again a question that needs to be addressed in more detail
ITWeb Events: What do you see as the biggest drivers/motivators for the move to cloud?
Veeraragaloo: Cloud services are now available instantly, commitment-free and on-demand. This new economic model for ICT has found fertile ground and is seeing massive global investment.
Once the appropriate risk assessments have been completed and the organisation has a clear understanding that its critical infrastructure will not be compromised the service can be considered to be moved to the cloud.
ITWeb Events: Why did you agree to present at the Cloud Summit? What is it that you bring to the table and what do you want attendees to take away with them after your presentation?
Veeraragaloo: I would like to raise the concern of critical infrastructure protection and how this will be managed within a cloud environment, in South Africa. Attendees will be exposed to fact that multiple variables need to be considered when moving critical infrastructure to the cloud and what are the implications.
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