Nyctophobia, or fear of the dark, is a relatively common phobia. Many psychologists and behavioral scientists believe it is a link back to ancient times when nighttime predatory animals had an advantage over humans.  Consequently, fear of the dark was a rational response. Studies also indicate nyctophobia may be a learned experience analogous to people learning about predators lurking on the World Wide Web or using the dark web for criminal purposes.

Many organizations have major concerns. An October 2015 TMC (News - Alert) Cloud Computing Newsletter indicated that 55 percent of users of cloud-based services question the security of their data. Conversely, a recent Cisco prediction indicates that cloud traffic will quadruple from 2014 through 2019, so the marketing opportunity for cloud products is enormous. Certainly, the web has associated risks, but they can be managed with proven and secure solutions implemented by a knowledgeable reseller team. 

The web was developed by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research at CERN in Switzerland with the objective of facilitating open information sharing between scientists. A Uniform Resource Locator was employed to simplify the process of data location and retrieval.  CERN placed the web software in the public domain in 1993. The commercial applications soon became obvious. The dark web and the onion routing techniques were invented by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory as a method to separate address identification from routing for the purpose of protecting U.S. intelligence communications online. Subsequently, the Navy released the code under a free license agreement, and later a not-for-profit organization was formed to offer free software and an open network.

The implementation of dark web technologies and cloud services are proven solutions to eliminate risk.  However, the reseller/provider must walk a tightrope and be very tactful. Customers need to have the confidence to implement new technologies but also be made to understand that their organizations must follow strict security precautions. Continued customer education and monitoring is also a must, which makes this a great opportunity for a subscription service sale.

Proper customer education requires resellers to keep abreast of all cyber news. Visit TMC’s site (www.tmcnet.com), as the Cloud Security, Cyber Security and Dark Fiber Communities on it will be of great value. And don’t forget to attend the several co-located TMC events scheduled for July 11 through 14 at Caesars Palace-Forum Ballroom in Las Vegas.  

Max Schroeder (News - Alert) is VP Emeritus of FaxCore Inc. (www.faxcore.com ) and Co-Chair of the SIP Forum Fax-over-IP Task Group (www.sipforum.org)