The cloud has become an integral part of modern IT infrastructure, offering unparalleled scalability and flexibility. However, navigating the complexities of cloud security remains a top concern for organizations.
In this article, we address five commonly asked cloud security related questions to help you better understand and implement robust security measures. These questions include:
- Will native security tools from a cloud provider be enough to protect my data and services?
- What additional third-party vendor security tools will I likely need to implement with a cloud provider to meet my detailed security requirements?
- How do I select cloud security controls that align with my organization’s cloud business strategy?
- How do I manage security across multiple or hybrid clouds?
- How do I devise my cloud security technical policy so that I have boilerplate templates for my DevOps teams?
1: Will native security tools from a cloud provider be enough to protect my data and services?
Cloud-native security tools are easier to set up and use in most cases, and as long as your workloads don’t span multiple clouds, you’ll be able to address at least your basic security requirements using cloud-native tools. One of the major challenges associated with cloud-native is that, in contrast with on-prem deployment, owners cannot be sure of the security elements related to the cloud environment that the application is hosted on.
2: What additional third-party vendor security tools will I likely need to implement with a cloud provider to meet my detailed security requirements?
Specially customized for defending against threat vectors and weaknesses on the cloud provider’s infrastructure, Pre-built security policies, WAF rules, etc. Integrated with all other cloud provider services, including logging and reporting, out of the box. I would choose the vendor which offers multifaceted management capabilities for several cloud platforms, provides orchestration, user permissions, cost optimization, cloud brokerage and an uptime dashboard, but its CI/CD integrations make it stand out.
3: How do I select cloud security controls that align with my organization’s cloud business strategy?
Look for vendors aligned to your strategic goals that offer more than just a single capability as companies look to do more with less. The tools should offer a holistic solution to cloud security and integrate within your existing ecosystem. It will enable you to focus on monitoring and responding to incidents more quickly. A cloud security architecture must apply policy to ensure compliance for all users, wherever they may be, whatever apps they use, and for whatever devices/platforms they use to conduct their work.
4: How do I manage security across multiple or hybrid clouds?
Adopt a unified identity strategy to ensure that cloud identities don’t exist in separate directories or authentication systems. Use automated Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools to ensure secure configurations across all environments. Use a unified security platform to gather data across all environments. Implement security controls as part of delivery pipelines so you can scale to multiple clouds by abstracting controls that can scale across multiple teams. Adopt zero trust principles across both public and private cloud environments where possible.
5: How do I devise my cloud security technical policy so that I have boilerplate templates for my DevOps teams?
Devising an effective cloud security policy takes careful planning and is very much a team effort. Understand what you already have in terms of cloud security. Run a data risk assessment to identify gaps in your processes. What security measures do your third party apps (e.g. Slack) already have in place? Is it enough or will you need additional tools to bolster your security efforts? What data is allowed in the cloud - e.g. will you allow PHI and PII to be shared in the cloud or will it be stored elsewhere? Typically, policy rules are static. Standards are dynamic, and you should revise them often to keep up with the latest developments. Use a cloud management platform (CMP) or a cloud security posture management (CSPM) tool to automate and orchestrate your cloud security policy framework.
Overall, understanding and addressing these common cloud security questions is crucial for organizations aiming to harness the full potential of cloud technologies while safeguarding their data and services. You can gain further insights into Implementing Cloud Security with this recently published report: 4 Step Guide to Implementing Cloud Security
