Hybrid and multicloud computing environments have redefined the trust boundary.

In the computer world, a trust boundary serves as an interface for the marking on a data packet that is allowed to flow through a network. Remote work by remote users and the consumption of cloud-based tools to perform business functions have dramatically changed the business environment and the trust boundary along with it.

“The traditional trust boundary has evaporated, or at least transformed dramatically,” said Eric Kostlan (pictured), technical marketing engineer at Cisco Systems Inc. “Although the concept of a trust boundary still exists, the nature of the hybrid, multicloud environment makes it very difficult to define. It’s not that the concept of trusted versus untrusted has gone away; it’s just become fundamentally more complex. The complexity itself is a vulnerability.”

Kostlan spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier and Dave Vellante at AWS re:Inforce, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed Cisco’s portfolio of security solutions and the need for seamless cloud integration. (* Disclosure below.)

Protecting virtual environments

The changing nature of the trust boundary is one of many factors in enterprise computing that Kostlan and his colleagues at Cisco are managing. One of the company’s solutions involves Snort 3, an open-source network security tool for intrusion detection. As more companies have turned to the cloud, tools such as Snort 3 have become key elements that can be integrated in virtual environments.

“There’s a large number of components to the solution, and this spans workload protection, as well as infrastructure protection,” Kostlan said. “These are integrated into cloud components, and this is what allows comprehensive protection across the hybrid cloud environment. Some of the most important technologies that we use, such as Snort 3 — which is a best-of-breed intrusion protection system that we have adopted — are applicable, as well, to the virtual environment so that we push into the cloud in a way that’s seamless.”

Cisco also applies its cloud security solutions by leveraging threat information through its Talos Intelligence Group. Talos is comprised of an experienced group of security experts whose mission is to protect Cisco customer products and services.

“Talos updates our products approximately once every hour with new information about emerging attacks,” Kostlan said. “That architecture is very easily extensible into the cloud, because you can inform a virtual device just as easily as you can inform a physical device of an emergent threat. We have expanded our capacity to visualize what’s happening.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS re:Inforce event:

(* Disclosure: Cisco Systems Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Cisco nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE