Navigating Cloud Security: Where Should You Begin?

As businesses increasingly migrate to the cloud to evolve their intelligent enterprises, they find themselves in a whole new world of security challenges. With increased accessibility and agility comes a highly expanded attack surface — employees might be doing things that seem harmless but can put an organization's cloud-resident data at risk, and often, data breaches go undetected in real-time.??

Furthermore, if not handled properly, change management of IT operations can lead to significant security gaps concerning data and resources. These include exposure of sensitive data, compatibility issues, human errors and compliance violations.?

Given the diverse nature of cloud security threats, organizations need to be up to speed on security strategies that will allow them to harness the full potential of cloud computing while safeguarding their digital assets. Here are some common strategies and practices organizations adopt to protect their data anywhere and everywhere in the cloud:??

1. Identity and access management (IAM): Safeguarding data from unauthorized access and ensuring its availability, integrity, and confidentiality.?

IAM best practices:??

• Use strong authentication: Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security. This typically involves combining a password with another form of verification, such as a code sent to your mobile device.?
• Implement access control: Set up granular access controls to ensure that users have the minimum necessary permissions. Regularly review and update these access controls as roles and responsibilities change.?

2. Infrastructure protection: Securing the underlying cloud infrastructure including servers, storage, and network components.??

Infrastructure protection best practices:?

• Choose a reputable Cloud Service Provider: Select a CSP with a strong reputation for security. Look for providers that comply with industry standards and regulations relevant to your business.?
• Regularly update and patch: Keep all software, including operating systems, applications, and security solutions, up to date. Regularly apply patches and updates to address vulnerabilities and improve security?

3. Data Protection: Securing access to applications and safeguard data in the cloud, such as encryption and dynamic authorization. It also includes having a plan for data recovery in case of a breach.?

Data protection best practices:?

• Dynamic authorization: Dynamically determine the level of access and entitlement based on real-time contextual factors such as the user's role, location, and department.?
• Implement data security controls to prevent data loss: Use data centric security tools to prevent the unauthorized sharing of sensitive information. This helps ensure that confidential data is not disclosed to unauthorized users or shared outside the organization without proper safeguards.??
• Backup data: Regularly back up data and ensure that the backup process is functioning correctly. This ensures that data can be recovered in case of accidental deletion, data corruption, or a security incident.?

4. Visibility & Monitoring: Visibility over security incidents in the cloud, which includes using monitoring tools to identify suspicious activity and having a plan for isolating and remediating incidents.??

Visibility & monitoring best practices:?

• Regular security audits and assessments: Conduct regular security audits and assessments to identify and address vulnerabilities in your cloud environment. This can be automated through AI/ML tools that alert on anomalies and potential threats efficiently and accurately.?

• Continuous monitoring: Consistently track user and data access activity to ensure that threats are accurately identified, reducing false positives and negatives in incident management.?

In conclusion, as we navigate through the myriad of strategies and practices in cloud security, a crucial question arises: What is the right approach to securing the cloud? Enterprises are starting to recognize that while traditional security measures are foundational, they may not be enough in isolation, especially in hybrid multi-cloud environments. Stay tuned for part 2 where we explore this question in greater detail.??