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NSA Makes Contribution To Apache Hadoop Project
An anonymous reader writes "The National Security Agency has submitted a new database, Accumulo, to the Apache Foundation for incubation. Accumulo is based on the original BigTable paper with some extensions such as the ability to provide cell-level security. It appears there are some hurdles that must be cleared concerning copyright before the project could be accepted."
It's a trap! It HAS to be. /tinfoil
Just a nit-pick, but the main value of Hadoop is to run distributed map-reduce applications across individual computers. The Hadoop file system is often used along with it, but other distributed file systems can be used in its place.
When i gain employment at your company and you are not looking, the outside world is effectively inside the company.
Almost everywhere one of these databases will be used will have employees accessing the systems (remember manning?) and there may be a complete need to access the information remotely which even if the internet isn't involved (T1 loop or something) you have the potential of unauthorized access.
You simply cannot focus on one side of the equation. This focus is for where the other sides can't be effective either.
... the best security programmed in software can and will be breached by other means. This emphasis on security IMHO is misplaced, if you want something secure you don't hook it up to the outside world.
I know my front door can easily be breached by a determined attacker, yet I put a lock on it. Why bother? Insurance requires it for starters. It deters casual thieves for another. Abandoning security altogether is just as stupid as making what you're trying to secure unusable by over securing it. A bit of balance goes a long way.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer