Cybersecurity Program Development for Business

CHAPTER 9Environments

I use the term environments to mean three things:

1. Computing Environments. There are four basic types:
   1. On‐premises or onsite (the servers are in your office).
   2. Private cloud (the servers are in someone else's building, but you have the only key to your own private office in that building).
   3. Public cloud (the servers are in someone else's office, many people have keys to that building, and you don't have a private office there).
   4. Hybrid cloud (the servers are all over the place. Some in your private office, some elsewhere in the building).
2. The Internet of Things (IoT). For our purposes, IoT means every device that is connected to the Internet, regardless of its location or function—from nanny cams to SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems. If it's not part of our standard endpoint definition (computers, phones, tablets) but it's connected to the Internet, it's IoT.
3. Distributed Workforces. I like huddling over a good watercooler conversation as much as the next person, but modern workspaces seem to be doing away with the concept of the “office.” More and more people are taking advantage of the Internet to collaborate from locations all over the world. Sometimes, these arrangements mirror employer–employee relationships. Other times it's a collection of freelancers coming together for a project. The fact is, the way we work is changing in a fundamental way, and the way we view cybersecurity over a distributed workforce needs to reflect this ...