It’s been a bustling week at RSA.  The weather in San Francisco has been cloudy all week, and that seems fitting given the themes floating around the RSA Conference this year. Everyone is talking about the “cloud”… both the challenges it presents; with sensitive data being stored and accessed from outside controlled perimeters, and the opportunities it offers; applying limitless computing power and global collaboration to identify and mitigate risks faster than ever before.

Security services from the cloud, trust and reputation in the cloud (see our own press release earlier this week), identity management and authentication to the cloud, virtualization in the cloud, cloud computing and privacy, private clouds, public clouds, hybrid clouds, and more. That’s a lot of cloud talk. The cloud means a lot of different things to different people, but at its essence, it both broadens our capabilities and blurs our perimeters.

And that brings us to a second hot topic at RSA: mobile and the consumerization of IT. Smart and mobile devices are becoming increasingly important in business applications. People are using their personal smart phones to access email and critical business data, directly on their corporate networks, through virtual private networks, and through public cloud services. It is estimated that by 2012, mobile devices will represent more than half of the assets connected to corporate networks. While the overwhelming majority of cyber threats are still targeted at traditional desktops and laptops, we know that mobile devices represent an ever growing weak spot – hence a growing opportunity for malicious actors to attack.

This environment presents a tremendous security challenge. The vendors at the RSA Conference are working hard to develop and present responses to this challenge. Through a mix of both hype and reality, there are some interesting ideas being applied to help secure this brave new cyber world. It is clear that this space is evolving. No single technology will keep you safe in  the era of interdependent and boundary-less information. But it’s exciting to be a part of this process, and it’s a good sign that at least there is broad-based acknowledgement and understanding of the security challenges we face.