Battlefield DaaS : vDesktops for Cyber Defense

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:16:13 +0000

In this talk we discuss the use of the non-persistent desktop virtualization model for cyber defense purposes, drawing on my experiences working with the US Federal Government and my partners in the Defense sector, SAIC and the Isreali Cyber Defense Institute.

The idea of using a 'disposable' cloud desktop for cyber defense was first floated back in early 2010 within the National Nuclear Security Administration, as a series of discussions between CyberSec teams at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A 'disposable' desktop is a Windows 7 virtual desktop that we host on our cloud and deliver to you over the WAN for one-time use only.

The hosted virtual desktop is 'disposable' in the sense that it is for one time use only and any changes a user makes to the desktop do not carry through from one user session to the next.

When a user logs into their desktop, we instantly create a brand new one and when the user logs out of their desktop it is destroyed and that resource is returned back to the cloud for use by others.

We call this kind of virtual desktop a non-persistent one and my company tuCloud was the first to bring this model to market and deploy it into production at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for use by almost all of their 5000 internal employees.

Our pilot and deployment have been a huge success, we have just completed our first year of service at the NNSA who are extremely happy, our desktop users are happier still and in this session I will explain why.

We have seen this 'disposable' desktop model ripple through the Federal government and military/defense industries, its easily the fastest growing cloud VDI use case I can see right now, one that is rapidly gaining traction and its use is beginning to filter down into those industries with valuable IP to protect.

Cyber attacks plague the largest organizations in the Western world and typically these attacks come in the form or the advanced persistent threat against the individual user, who is attacked through personal webmail or social networking websites.

Providing your users with an externally hosted 'disposable' desktop upon which they conduct their 'risky' internet facing activity, provides you with a way of locking down internet access to your internal desktops, decreasing the attack surface of your organization and funneling potential intrusions into an isolated environment where they can be best dealt with.

We complete the model by combining deep packet/content inspection technologies with intrusion detection technology which provides for '360 Degree Battle-Space' awareness over the disposable desktop estate, the most likely place to be attacked and breached 90% of the time.

Throughout the talk I will provide insights from Federal cybersec professionals working on and around this kind of non-persistent virtual desktop platform and also tales from the battlefield.

In the meantime, to learn more about this model please visit the following links.

The Non-Persistent Model Webcast & Article : http://bit.ly/HJ4K34

Virtual Desktop Cybersec Strategies with the Israeli Cyber Defense Institute : http://bit.ly/HJ4Szs

Keywords:

DaaS

desktop virtualization

hosted desktop

cyber-security

cyber-defense

Speaker First Name:

Guise

Speaker Last Name:

Bule

Speaker Job Title:

CEO

Speaker's Company Name/Affiliation:

tuCloud Global LLC.

Speaker Bio:

Guise Bule is a platform agnostic evangelist on the front line of an early-adopter market, a market analyst focused on the desktop virtualization space and a free-lance journalist writing on the subject of cloud computing and virtual desktops. Guise holds a number of positions within the virtual desktop space : CEO of tuCloud, a global provider of hosted virtual desktops and professional services focused on desktop and application delivery. Founder of the Desktop Superhero Alliance, a 300 strong global networking and mindshare community of technical professionals focused on desktop and application virtualization/delivery. Chairman of the VIAB User Group, an international group and part of the Citrix User Group community, for Citrix customers using VDI-in-a-box.

Speaker's Company Logo:

Speaker's Headshot Photo:

Speaker's LinkedIn Profile:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/guisebule

Speaker's Twitter profile:

@Guise_Bule

Speaker's Postal Address:

tuCloud Global LLC. 1260 N.Hancock Street Suite 104 Anaheim California CA 92807

6th annual Cloud Slam 2014 Cloud Computing Conference, San Francisco CA, June 4, 2014. Cloud Computing Events 2014 - desktop virtualization

Battlefield DaaS : vDesktops for Cyber Defense