I think one of the most daunting discussions to have about cloud security is that there is a perception that security folks need to rip everything out and buy all new technologies to secure their virtual environments. The problem with this logic is that there is still a fundamental backbone of traditional security that needs to be in place, cloud security is really a way to augment and extend these capabilities. The easiest way to start the transition is by leveraging hybrid solutions that protect both physical and virtual environments such as next-generation firewalls and IPS. One of the leading next-generation technology vendors leading the charge in this transition is Sourcefire, most well known as the developers of Snort, an open-source intrusion detection engine. Continue reading →