RSA 2010: Security fears harming cloud adoption

Art Coviello warned of shortcomings in cloud security

The president of RSA has used his opening keynote at RSA 2010 to warn the industry that it must do more to secure cloud computing.

Art Coviello said that the adoption of cloud services is being seriously hampered by fears about data security, and that the industry needs to address these concerns and work together to support the cloud.

Coviello cited a recent study which found that over half of chief information officers are holding back on cloud adoption because of security fears. He challenged the industry to come together to solve the problem.

The industry also needs to address security in the virtual world more efficiently. More and more servers are going virtual, and the security challenge is to ensure that data is protected and systems kept online.

"If we can get security built into the virtual infrastructure from the get-go we can have not only visibility and manageability, but risk decision points and controls everywhere," he said.

"The cloud will turn the way we deliver security inside out. And information security will enable cloud computing to take full advantage of the internet turning our current IT models inside out as well.

"This means that we can deliver new waves of efficiency, agility and collaboration for organisations of all sizes."