What is Cloud security ? Critical Cloud Security Challenges : Its solution: Explained

What is Cloud security ?

Cloud security, also known as cloud computing security, consists of a set of policies, controls, procedures and technologies that work together to protect cloud-based systems, data, and infrastructure. These security measures are configured to protect cloud data, support regulatory compliance and protect customers' privacy as well as setting authentication rules for individual users and devices. The way cloud security is delivered will depend on the individual cloud provider or the cloud security solutions in place. However, implementation of cloud security processes should be a joint responsibility between the business owner and solution provider

Critical Cloud Security Challenges : Its solution

Challenge 1: Visibility into cloud data 

In many cases, cloud services are accessed outside of the corporate network and from devices not managed by IT. This means that the IT team needs the ability to see into the cloud service itself to have full visibility over data, as opposed to traditional means of monitoring network traffic.

The solution :

A complete view of cloud data requires direct access to the cloud service. Cloud security solutions accomplish this through an application programming interface (API) connection to the cloud service. With an API connection it is possible to view:

1-What data is stored in the cloud,2-Who is using cloud data,3-The roles of users with access to cloud data,4-Who cloud users are sharing data with,5-Where cloud data is located,6- Where cloud data is being accessed and downloaded from, including from which device.

Challenge 2: Data breaches

In on-premise environments, IT security professionals have control over the physical hardware and network infrastructure. In cloud-based environments, part of those controls are transferred to a third party partner, which makes the environment prone to attacks. Hackers can exploit vulnerable cloud environments to steal confidential data from organizations. it affects the usual operations, credibility, and stock price of the organization. It is known that insecure data is always susceptible to cyber theft.

The Solution:

The first step towards protecting sensitive data is knowing where to find it. Once classified, this data should be encrypted and protected with a strong multi-cloud key management strategy.

Challenge 3: Misconfiguration of Cloud Platform 

Misconfiguration means that the public cloud server instances, such as storage and compute, are configured in such a way that they are vulnerable to breaches. For example, the National Security Agency recently had an embarrassing moment when someone was able to access secure documents from its Amazon S3 instance with just a browser. It was a classic example of misconfiguration, defeating the default configurations that are secure be default.

The Solution:

1-Understand that configurations are part of security. It’s often not considered. 2-Use a third-party security tool that can look at configurations constantly.3-Engage outside security testers to ensure that everything is configured correctly.

Challenge 4: Access to cloud data and applications

Cloud offers anytime, anywhere access to its users which gives a way to more susceptible access controls. Hackers look for vulnerabilities to exploit and APIs can give them an easy entry point.

The Solution:

Implement system and application access controls that ensure only authorized users access cloud data and applications. Invest in technology i.e. Multi factor authentication, Smart Single Sign-On, Scenario-based Access Policies, user behavior analytics (UBA), Privilege access management & Password management. Zero Trust Approach.

Challenge 4: Denial of Service (DoS) attacks

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are designed to flood web servers with too much traffic, so the server won’t be able to respond to legitimate requests. Cloud computing is based on shared distributed computing resources and uses different types of virtualization technologies, which makes the DDoS security framework a lot more complex and harder to control. A successful DDoS attack can render a website useless for hours or days. This can result in a revenue loss, a decrease in customer trust, and damage to brand authority. 

The solution:

Invest in DDoS protection services that provide real-time protection for sophisticated DDoS threats at every network layer including Layers 3, 4 and 7.

Challenge 5: Data Loss and Leakage

Many organizations have no idea what happens to their data when it is stored in the cloud. When multiple end-users work in the cloud at the same time, it’s easy to lose data, Losing data from the cloud, either though accidental deletion, malicious tampering or an act of nature brings down a cloud service provider, could be disastrous for an enterprise business.

The solution:

You can use DLP solutions as well as dedicated systems to prevent malicious attacks. In addition, protect your network layer, including the application layer. The best solution to data loss is to back up all data and monitor it & disaster recovery tools designed to enable the recovery of data.

Challenge 6: Compliance

Use of cloud computing services adds another dimension to regulatory and internal compliance. Your cloud environment may need to adhere to regulatory requirements as well as requirements from internal teams, partners and customers.

The solution:

Risk assessment :Review and update risk assessments to include cloud services Compliance Assessments :Review and update compliance assessments for PCI, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley and other application regulatory requirements.

"Organizations are naturally cautious about migrating business-critical systems to the cloud. They need to know that all essential security provisions are in place. Cloud security offers all the benefits of traditional IT security and allows businesses to leverage the advantages of cloud computing while remaining secure. In addition, cloud security ensures that organizations meet data privacy and compliance requirements"

" Some data and facts has been taken from different sources"