Bejtlich's solution is to find more remote ways for employees to conduct incident response.

"Rather than have the carbon footprint of a plane trip, we can instead focus on moving the data we need (for incident response) instead of moving the people," he says. Bejtlich says a lot of the work can get done using virtual technology without reducing the quality of the security.

To achieve this at GE, Bejtlich has made use of F-Response, a vendor neutral, patent-pending software utility that allows an investigator to conduct live forensics, data recovery, and e-discovery over an IP network using the tools of their choice. "For $5,000 we can use the F-Response enterprise product throughout the company," he says. "It's a very good deal."

Bejtlich is also a believer in letting employees work from home. Like the reduction in air travel, working from home means fewer people burning gas on the way to the office.

"We encourage people to work from home so they don't waste energy on travel. The incident response team is all over the world anyway, so we really don't need to be in an office," he says. "Doing the job virtually makes budgetary sense, we spend more time getting the work done, and the bonus is it lowers our carbon footprint."

Virtual wonders
Bejtlich's success with virtual technology is music to the ears of Evolutionary IT's Guarino, who sees virtualization as a key to consolidating the IT environment and achieving green security.

Another true believer is Ray Stanton, global head of business continuity for BT, a major UK-based telecommunications provider operating in 170 countries. He pitched the green security concept several times during a recent interview to announce BT's deployment of Crossbeam Systems' X-Series security platform.

Stanton says BT saved money and overhead that would otherwise be spent to maintain and manage 40-plus security devices. BT can now deliver a virtual firewall across its far-flung operation by deploying just three Crossbeam platforms, he says.

"People can either talk green or live it," Stanton says. "We are trying desperately to live it and Crossbeam lets us do it. If you can maintain security while improving your cost base and green position, that can't be wrong, can it?"

Security with fewer bells and whistles
For those looking to consolidate the machinery without increasing risk, a thorough vetting of technology is a must, says Sandra Kay Miller, an independent security analyst based in Harrisburg, Penn. From her own research, she has come across a variety of products that will reduce power consumption without shortchanging security.