Inside out security

If you’re into IT security, it’s pretty hard to avoid discussions about deperimiterisation: the loosening of controls at boundary level in favour of pervasive security throughout the network, systems and applications. The idea’s not new, but it’s certainly a hot topic right now.

Everybody seems to be talking about it – and while there are senior IT managers and security experts who are fully and publicly embracing the idea, there are also those who are feeling more than a little apprehensive about this talk of breaking down the barriers at the edge of the network. After all, it’s just not safe out there – and we’ve all seen the statistics to prove it.

But opening up the networks provide us with opportunities as well as threats. It’s time to stop looking at security from the outside, and focus instead on looking at security from the inside out.

Manning the battlements

The fact that deperimiterisation is causing some worried muttering within the security community is not that surprising. For years we have been working towards attaining the goal of a network boundary that is 100 percent secure. Security managers have tended to adopt a siege mentality, and softer boundaries appear to be contrary to everything that we are working for.