Debbie Ahl introduced our speaker, Jim Reavis, founder of Reavis Consulting Group and founder of Cloud Security Alliance. Mr. Reavis is a graduate of WWU and grew up in Ferndale where his father was a barber and local judge.
Mr. Reavis began his comments by referring to Moore's Law, propounded by Gordon Moore, one of the co-founders of Intel Corp. Over the history of computing hardware, capacity for handling and storing data doubles approximately every two years, while the price of the hardware declines proportionately. Currently there are approximately 8 billion devices connected to the internet. In the very near future nearly every aspect of our lives will be affected by a connection to the internet, including the possibility of self-driving cars.
The vast number of connections necessarily means that valuable information or property is accessible, and as Willie Sutton said, the bad guys go where the money is. Mr. Reavis theorized that the internet may actually be controlled by bad guys, who permit others to use it since it is more profitable for them.
It is impossible to attain perfect security on the internet, so it is important to be constantly vigilant. Keep malware, spyware, etc. updated. Don't store everything you have of value in the same location. Use proven techniques recommended by qualified IT techs.
Cloud Security Alliance was formed about five years ago as a non-profit entity. Its focus is to shift perception away from individual ownership of servers and move more toward a consideration of cloud computing in the nature of a public utility, such as electricity. A small business is safer utilizing the cloud than if it owns its own servers.
The bad guys can be stopped or at least slowed by increased awareness and vigilance by three groups:
- People - Mr. Reavis is constantly on the lookout for tech-savvy young folks with a bit of an edge - someone who could turn into a hacker if not properly channeled.
- Technology - must contain built-in safeguards to keep up with or surpass innovations developed by the bad guys.
- Government Policy - government leaders must walk a fine line between a police state and the need to obtain information from many sources.
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