Rethinking your IT security

Every customer is sensitive when it comes to the security aspects of storing data and operating IT services in the cloud – it’s only natural. Our customers want to understand why they can rely on Deutsche Telekom to cover their security needs.

There are three key questions you should ask yourself about your organization’s IT security:

Is your own server room or data center sufficiently secure? How does it compare to what is offered by major cloud players?
In all likelihood, a provider like DT has more resources, knowledge, and experience than your organization when it comes to building and operating cutting-edge security technologies.

Do you trust your own IT infrastructure and in-house competencies to prevent security breaches and spying?
At Deutsche Telekom, we don’t allow third parties any insights into our protection systems, nor do we allow customers physical access or visits to the DT data centers that host our cloud services. We actually do enjoy a high level of trust from our customers, because we have been providing highly secure telecommunications and IT services to organizations of all sizes and from all sectors for decades. In fact, we are seeing many customers list security as the main reason for moving into our cloud infrastructure.

Are there any IT services that you would prefer to keep separate from your local infrastructure?
Even financial institutions and companies from other security-sensitive sectors are increasingly choosing to part with their in-house IT because the cloud allows them to host collaboration sites and exchange data with third parties outside of their own premises. In this case, we act as a secure neutral territory.

Cloud and telco – a match made in heaven

If you do decide to relocate some or all of your IT infrastructure to the cloud, keep in mind that connectivity plays an essential role in the quality of a cloud-based service. Unfortunately, many cloud providers depend largely on the public Internet to give customers access to their services: This, by design, offers no guarantees in terms of speed and security.
Tip: When choosing your provider, pay close attention to the type of connection they offer you to access the cloud.

Being a telco company makes a huge difference to the security aspect as a whole because connectivity is our core business – it’s what we do best. DT has an enormous advantage over other cloud service providers in that it can offer secure, SLA-backed private data lines door to door, from customer to cloud.

Blockchain: the one to watch

Companies that provide cloud-based services and companies that use, or are thinking of using cloud-based services should keep an eye on the development of one particular technology: blockchain. The platform that came along with the virtual currency Bitcoin is considered to be the most disruptive technology around – not just for the financial sector, but for entire economies and societies as a whole. It could revolutionize the way we trust cloud infrastructure in the future.

How it works:

• Blockchain acts like a distributed information register that is identically copied to a large number of computers, and its integrity is protected by cryptography.
• No single authority governs blockchain: Instead, a consensus among distributed, interconnected entities is required to approve any and all changes. That’s why it can be trusted unconditionally.

What it means:

• In the future, standard IT services like computing, networks, and storage could be built according to the principles of blockchain.
• A blockchain-based cloud would then, in turn, become a super-secure entity that could be trusted to store even the most sensitive data.

Regardless of how quickly blockchain technology brings about these potentially groundbreaking changes, it is undeniable that we have already entered the age of the cloud. Many customers may need some time to get used to the idea of losing control over their hardware or software infrastructure, but the motivating factors of flexibility, agility, and, unquestionably, higher security, are becoming impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, DT will continue to do everything it can to turn these cloud visions into a cloud reality, and to keep deserving your trust as it does so.