As an increasing number of companies make the transition to cloud computing, the security challenges that arise are creating unique opportunities for problem solving. These challenges can pose a significant threat to both consumers and enterprises alike, as exemplified in the Dyn attack last year. 

“We have two forces that are colliding, the first is increased dependence on cloud as more companies are using cloud for business-critical activities. This is clashing with the continued vulnerabilities of the public internet,” said Bill Norton (pictured), chief scientist at Console Connect Inc., a cloud interconnection company that provides a private, direct connection between infrastructure. 

Norton spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), co-host of the CUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile live streaming studio, during the Sapphire Now conference in Orlando, Florida, to explain the benefits of a direct connection on a private internet. (*Disclosure below.) 

Can a private internet connection increase security?

A key issue in relying on a public cloud is the sharing of infrastructure to route information, according to Norton. “The traffic that is attacking somebody else is traversing the same routers and links that your traffic depends on,” he said.

This highlights a difference between a public and private internet, which is key in ensuring security for critical business operations, Norton explained. The idea of a private internet is essentially a hardwired connection that no one from the public can access.

“They are going to have to have direct connections to those mission-critical destinations so no matter what happens in the public internet, their critical data connections and data paths are still solid and robust,” Norton concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of Sapphire Now in Orlando, Florida. (* Disclosure: Console Conect Inc. sponsored this Sapphire Now segment on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE. Neither Console Connect nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE