The View From NCS Technologies

Our customers approach VDI implementations many different ways. Some IT administrators look at the end-to-end approach, while others have built out a heavily virtualized data center but are only dipping their toes in the water with thin or zero client endpoints.

VDI benefits are understood: improving the reliability and scalability of their investments in storage and compute resources, better network performance, reduced complexity and administrative costs and improved security at the end points (desktop and mobile). But what is your implementation strategy?

In our ongoing discussions with customers, both individually and at trade shows, we find that IT administrators consider a transition to VDI for many reasons, including improving the reliability and scalability of their investments in storage and compute resources in the data center, better network performance, reduced complexity and administrative costs and improved security at the end points (desktop and mobile). 

We wrapped up booth operations today in Baltimore at the 2015 Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium and many conversations centered on the topic of virtualization.  Whether virtualizing the desktop in a datacenter environment (VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, etc.) or on a host workstation (OpenXT, SecureView) everyone recognizes the benefits of consolidation and centralizing management.

The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency's new operational role as network defender creates a formal relationship between DISA, U.S. Cyber Command and the command's military service components. The goal is to improve cyber security, but a successful strategy depends on a matrix of participating organizations adapting technical solutions and adopting enterprise management to improve efficiency, security and reliability. 

This partner community, together with suppliers, will meet at the Baltimore Convention Center next Tuesday through Thursday for the 2015 Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium. NCS Technologies will be there at Booth #5023. We invite you to meet us at the booth!

As has been demonstrated month after month, including news of the latest the December hack into Office of Personnel Management data, hackers never rest in seeking out security vulnerabilities in U.S. government civilian, military and intelligence networks.

3 Cyber Security Solutions Are A Must

At the Cyber Operations Symposium, NCS will demonstrate 3 cyber security technologies which are a must for every government agency.

The first cyber security solution is SecureView. SecureView represents the latest approach to the multi-level network problem. SecureView is a multi-level virtual platform which allows a user to run multiple securely isolated environments on a single PC, provide hardware-enforced security and deliver superior virtualization in the most demanding environments. NCS will demonstrate AFRL-certified solutions featured on the Hardware Compatibility List. 

The next technology which is critical to improved security, manageability and IT efficiency is a comprehensive VDI network solution. NCS will discuss its VDI solutions which includes all three elements (storage, compute & network), software and services, and endpoints.

IT departments remain on a continuous treadmill of cyber defense, updates and patches. Managers realize their networks remain vulnerable at the weakest spot in the perimeter, often a desktop lagging behind on security updates, or an operating system breached because of an exposure to a zero-day vulnerability. This area is the third solution we will discuss and showcase at the Cyber Operations Symposium, virtual PCoIP zero client endpoints. Zero clients provide super strong security on the front lines (at the desktop or laptop). 

This spring, the Department of Defense announced their new cyber protection strategy, which ultimately aims to prevent cyberattacks by nation-states and hacker groups alike. The DoD emphasized the need to strengthen both its cyber defense and cyber deterrence posture in order to best protect against cyberattacks of potentially significant consequence.

Although nation-states, particularly China and Russia, are adept at exploiting holes in security, equally worrisome threats come from hacker organizations affiliated with terror groups or gangs who perpetrate criminal cyberattacks for profit. Hackers of all stripes never rest in seeking out security vulnerabilities, while IT departments remain on a continuous treadmill of cyber defense, updates and patches. IT managers realize their networks remain vulnerable at the weakest spot in the perimeter, often a desktop lagging behind on security updates, or an operating system breached because of an exposure to a zero-day vulnerability. This constant grind leaves cyber security forces overworked and exhausted. 

Secure, multi-level computing in government agencies has always been a challenge for end users and IT administrators. The idea of consolidating networks to fewer physical machines is not new, and has been addressed in different ways by various hardware and software approaches over the years. This blog addresses SecureView in this context.

SecureView, the Latest Approach

SecureView represents the latest approach to the multi-level network problem. SecureView is a multi-level virtual platform which allows a user to run multiple securely isolated environments on a single PC, provide hardware-enforced security and deliver superior virtualization in the most demanding environments. The virtual platform is made possible by extensive development work by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the open source community, Assured Information Security and NCS Technologies. Other programs such as DTS and SABER aimed to achieve similar goals but none of them do it as well. 

Although organizations have begun their leap to Virtualization and begin to embrace zero clients more and more, end users still have beefy workstations that they use on a day-to-day basis.

Over the last two years, in addition to standing up our internal Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, NCS successfully converted a number of older physical servers to virtual machines running in a VMware environment. Our primary reasons for doing this were a mix of aiming to reduce cooling costs and energy footprints, as well as replacing aging servers. 

VDI, A Strong Addition to Your IT Security Strategy

Cyberattacks and data breaches are a ubiquitous problem in today’s data-driven world, and often result in dire consequences for the compromised party and the IT organization as a whole. For the government and commercial sector, the threat only seems to grow. For instance, in the government sector, the rate of cyberattacks is on the rise. Between 2010 and 2013, attacks on government agencies rose 35%.

Just back from a whirlwind week at HIMMS 2015!  While hospitals and other healthcare organizations have been early adopters of our Cirrus LT mobile zero client laptop, I went to Chicago this week a little uncertain about how widely adoption of VDI technology might occur.  By the afternoon of opening day, all of my uncertainty was gone.  We showed off Cirrus LT and gave a sneak peak of Cirrus DT WiFi, the latest addition to the NCS Technologies PCoIP mobile zero client family.