Exploring 'Pets vs Cattle' Dynamic in Cloud Operations and Security

Guest:

• Ahmad Robinson,  Cloud Security Architect, Google Cloud

Topics:

• You’ve done a BlackHat webinar where you discuss a Pets vs Cattle mentality when it comes to cloud operations. Can you explain this mentality and how it applies to security?

• What in your past led you to these insights?  Tell us more about your background and your journey to Google.  How did that background contribute to your team?

• One term that often comes up on the show and with our customers is 'shifting left.'  Could you explain what 'shifting left' means in the context of cloud security? What’s hard about shift left, and where do orgs get stuck too far right?

• A lot of “cloud people” talk about IaC and PaC but the terms and the concepts are occasionally confusing to those new to cloud. Can you briefly explain Policy as Code  and its security implications? Does PaC help or hurt security?

Resources:

• “No Pets Allowed - Mastering The Basics Of Cloud Infrastructure” webinar

• EP33 Cloud Migrations: Security Perspectives from The Field

• EP126 What is Policy as Code and How Can It Help You Secure Your Cloud Environment?

• EP138 Terraform for Security Teams: How to Use IaC to Secure the Cloud