Operational Independence - Critical for Securing Global Networks

A critical key for global network security resides in operational independence derived from hyper-connected, edge data centers with diversity, resiliency & redundancy. 

Recent headlines have put cybersecurity front and center for consumers and companies alike. But cybersecurity is only part of the security story. The very infrastructure that data traverses can be prone to destruction, area wide isolation, congestion, erratic latency, cuts, and so on, keeping even the most pragmatic administrator up at night. This level of complexity is heightened as you expand globally. Subsea fiber optic cables are critical to financial transactions, including credit, debt financing, funding, investing, procurement and more, and account for US$10 trillion in transactional value each day, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

So how do financial institutions and other business make sure that disruptions do not affect mission critical services? A key for network security resides in operational independence by confirming diversity, resiliency, and redundancy. Global solutions require a new level of interconnectivity. Establishing access to interconnectivity hubs is how institutions will have the ability to safely control, monitor, maintain, and maximize the underlying network. By using these hubs in conjunction with advanced network orchestration, companies can insulate applications from isolation, vulnerability, and interruptions. If there is a hard cut or a fiber optic cable is damaged, traffic can be redirected. If there is congestion or concern of a breach, similar redirection of traffic can be accomplished. In the past, networks were linear and static. It was difficult to turn paths on and off. If a circuit went down, resolution could very easily take days or longer. With advances such as SD WAN and NFV, institutions can react in real time to redirect data traffic if they have deployed an interconnected network framework and corresponding partners. Institutions historically engineered multiple paths but were beholden to what was offered by carriers as to routes and diversity. Much of this holds true today, however in the always on, always available climate, network design must get smarter for both the steady state and when systems are disrupted. Flexibility to control and redirect the network needs to be the new norm. The ability to do so comes back to having access to hubs that can maintain connectivity as well as offer alternate pathways.

Case in point is the New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 1792 with an agreement made under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street, New York was cemented as the financial capital for the U.S. and as connectivity expanded, became one of the most critical exchanges in the world. Today, New York means not just the exchange, but areas throughout Manhattan and northern New Jersey. So much so that data centers and businesses are connected through overlapping routes, many susceptible to damage from flooding, cuts and other disruptions A recent study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Oregon found that thousands of miles of buried fiber optic cable are at risk of drowning under the rising seas. This isn’t something that will happen far in the future, but rather could be a reality within two decades with New York as one of the most susceptible locations.

To get a glimpse of what this might look like, you only need to look back to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Millions in the Northeast were without power and many industries and businesses struggled to provide mission critical services. Data centers in the heart of the financial district were among those that faced challenges. The issue is many core network interconnections run through Manhattan. It is a very complicated system with so many parties being involved for so long with legacy setups too entrenched to alter. However, the issue is compounded in that much of the east coast subsea capacity lands beyond NYC, but is also routed into the same complex web, nullifying what is often thought to be redundant solutions.

So much so that diversity and redundancy need to be viewed and acted upon separately to gain operational independence. Without such an audit, a firm can have the false sense of securityderived from choosing different suppliers, but not diverse routes. For example, a redundant system will help if one path goes down. But there may be several carriers in the same ductwork or have crisscrossing typology. Even diligence in this aspect can still be thwarted by chokepoints in the case of large hubs such as New York. Here again, separate suppliers, but the same buildings. Physical, known diversity to and from application hosting platforms creates the infrastructure that is resilient to the cascading effect of a building or area being taken offline. Examples are clear in the case of hurricanes like Maria or Sandy but there are certainly other events, ranging from power outages to terrorist threats.

Furthermore, this operational independence goes beyond a focus on keeping the lights on. Having the ability to keep access to data and properly manage such data is equally critical when faced with the level of scrutiny often required byregulatory requirements, archival restrictions, and privacy. Again, always available and always accessible requires options. The OTT firms have seen this from the start as the user experience is paramount. Granted the builds for these firms were predominantly greenfield designs, but conflicts and overlaps were soon evident with growth. The reaction in that segment has been to take ownership in the physical underlying assets and facilities. Sure, the owner economics is advantageous for the business model, but it may be that the operational clarity that comes from knowing what is behind the network curtain is more valuable.

As I speak with firms across verticals, it becomes more evident that the need for network infrastructure clarity will only continue to grow for not only securing data but maintaining the access to it. Hyper-connected, edge data centers will be required to provide the redundancy, diversity and resiliency which are the cornerstones for a secure network. These centers will combine to provide the operational independence that firms will require for the many advances in banking, as well as other verticals as AI, blockchain, 5G, IoT and so many more, usher in even greater solutions and demands.

From my recent article on Global Banking and Finance Review: