So how can the Navy combat this? Through consolidation of networks and the cloud, Clark said. For example, the Navy used to have a situation where each ship basically had its own network. Now, all of those networks are being brought into one umbrella under the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services system. Although a consolidated network may make it seem like a hacker would have broader access to networks than if he or she had to hack into each individual networks, that is not the case thanks to the fact that data is hosted on a cloud network, Clark said. “The cloud architecture protects individual pieces of information with different types of encryption, as op- posed to protecting the network, because once you get into the net- work you can wreak all kinds of havoc,” he said. “In the cloud architecture, even if you get in the net- work, you can’t necessarily access in- formation because all of the information is protected based on who you are or who they think you are.”
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