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Security is one of the fastest moving segments within the realm of technology. Whereas
most technology is created to offer new services or products, security is created to prevent
the abuse of these new products and or services. In today’s world, where we are
always connected in ways that have never been available to us before, the need to secure
this connectivity is greater than ever.
Most of the world’s pockets hold smart phones. These tiny devices contain more computing
power than what was used to land people on the moon; the pocket GPS device
that assists you in navigating your day is more advanced than the technology used on
the Apollo spacecraft. That same smart phone can photograph a paper check and instantly
deposit its funds to your bank account. These types of technologies were always
dreamed about but now are available to almost everyone.
In this same vein, there is a humongous generation of data that is currently being created
every minute of every day. More data was created within 2012 than all the other years
before combined. For example, 60 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute
of the day. This means that there is more content uploaded to one website than you
could watch within your lifetime, even if you did nothing but watch YouTube. And that’s
just one website and one type of media. The rapid expanse of information and data and
media puts security needs at an all-time high, not only to provide security, but to provide
it at higher scales and performance levels.
This scaling has happened at extremely fast rates due to the amount and the diversity
of network-based applications. In the past, simple packet filters could limit the few
network protocols that were being used. Only a few open ports were needed at the time.
From packet filters on simple routers evolved proxy-based firewalls. These firewalls
offered some of the most secure methods of securing transit data by literally controlling
both sides of the transaction between the client and servers. They were able to inspect
all parts of the traffic flows. However, as Internet circuits increased with available bandwidth,
the maximum performance of these devices was being exceeded and a new technology
was needed.
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