SDN looms large in NSTAC report
A report under development by a government advisory board says the government must move quickly to better understand software-defined networking's effect on critical infrastructure.
Software-defined networking’s ability to separate applications from network devices is one of the more immediate concerns the federal government should address to bolster cybersecurity, according to a report being prepared by an industry group that advises government on emerging technologies.
The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is composed of more than 30 senior executives at cybersecurity firms, ISPs, government contractors and other companies. During a March 3 teleconference, John Stratton, a co-chair of NSTAC’s Emerging Technologies Strategic Vision Subcommittee, previewed a report the group is developing for the federal government on how new technologies will impact National Security Emergency Preparedness.
In addition to SDN, the report explores artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, biometrics and blockchain, Stratton said. Recommendations are grouped into three areas: “Things the government can do now, what the government should stop doing and longer-term trends,” he said.
SDN, because it can blur the identity of critical infrastructure assets and possibly open up security gaps, is clearly in the “things to do now” category, Stratton added, because it is already being deployed in the field.
He said the draft report likens SDN’s impact to that of cloud technology on federal systems and critical infrastructure networks. The Department of Homeland Security, he said, should begin now to plan strategically how SDN could affect critical infrastructure and modify its cybersecurity guidance to accommodate SDN’s impact.
The final report is expected in May.