Today was a big day in VMware land. Paul Maritz and Steve Herrod announced the release of vSphere 5. There are a multitude of capabilities and features that are just too many for me to list… but then again, maybe it is because I am only really excited about one… the vShield App with Data Security embedded with RSA DLP. I am sure you don’t have to ask, I mean finally we have incorporated data loss prevention capabilities directly into a virtualization solution. Finally we are simplifying security for the customers… finally we are providing out of the box capabilities to the administrators whether they are responsible for the infrastructure or the security of the infrastructure. I have said many times that the solutions are there but the customers are just struggling to get discover them and use them. How amazing will it be when I get to talk to customers and get to show them what they can do without having to discover anything BUT the data.
The vShield App with data security has the ability to (OUT OF THE BOX) discover and classify PCI, PII, and PHI sensitive data in your virtual machines. The RSA DLPs product suite always has the knowledge needed to provide OUT OF BOX capabilities to accurately discover what you are looking for. There is no need to create policies for credit card data, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers (and many more)… it is already in there. This is the information you want to look for. You want to ensure that you are complying with the security policies that your company has developed and those that they have to follow. Now imagine that you are you can bring up reports that identify what policies are violated and what files created this violation. Imagine that you can receive syslog messages and then compare it to the other activity that is occurring within your network.
It is a start… the future opportunities are endless. My hope is that when the customers get familiar and comfortable with the RSA DLP capability available within the vShield App with data security, they will expand on it. They will incorporate all the RSA DLP solutions. The technology that RSA DLP has available to assist users in determining sensitive data on endpoints, data centers, and data in motion is invaluable. RSA literally has teams that specialize in linguistics, information sciences, and regulations. They have taken the difficulty associated with wondering how you actually define the information you are looking for.
I do not have to provide you with the multiple examples of data that have gotten in to the wrong hands. With this new capability the excuses are not going to be able to stick. Users can start off “small”, getting comfortable with the idea of discovering and classifying data in their virtual machines and build up to discovering even more data in more areas. Eventually… no data will be able to hide or escape any secure infrastructure.
If you are looking for additional information, please review the press release from RSA and VMware
