We share how to ensure your business has robust cloud security. Learn about key components, best practices, challenges, and why a tailored approach is important to secure your digital transformation journey.
In the modern world, where many companies are gaining an edge via digital transformation, cloud security gives you the confidence to operate and innovate in the cloud without exposing sensitive data to unnecessary risks.
What Does Cloud Security Actually Involve?
Key Components of Cloud Security
Why Is Cloud Security Important?
The Importance of Getting a Trustworthy and Reliable Cloud Service Provider
Cloud Security in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Best Practices for Cloud Security
What Types of Cloud Security Services Are Available?
Securing the Assets of an Energy Management and Smart Grid Company, A Case Study
What Does Cloud Security Actually Involve?
Cloud security is the practice of protecting processes and assets in a cloud environment or data center from attackers and a wide range of data breaches and threats. Cloud security services involve technologies and strategies used to protect applications, data, and systems your organization hosts in a cloud environment. In this way, you can protect your digital assets from data breaches, unauthorized or accidental access, malware, ransomware, and other cyberattacks.
In the context of today’s digital landscape, cloud security is a foundational element of your infrastructure. Without two-factor authentication as part of your cloud access solution, for example, a random hacker could steal an employee’s laptop, access a cloud-based app, and steal your customers’ data. With cloud security tools in place, you can prevent a broad range of attacks.
Cloud security services involve technologies and strategies used to protect applications, data, and systems your organization hosts in a cloud environment. In this way, you can protect your digital assets from data breaches, unauthorized or accidental access, malware, ransomware, and other cyberattacks.
Cloud security also often plays a key role in ensuring compliance with data protection regulations — primarily because it keeps cloud-stored and processed data safe.
In the modern business world, where many companies are gaining an edge via digital transformation, cloud security gives you the confidence to operate and innovate in the cloud without exposing sensitive data to unnecessary risks.
Here are a few key takeaways to keep in mind:
- Cloud security protects your cloud-based assets and operations from attackers and keeps you in compliance with industry regulations.
- Encryption and secure data storage are staples in cloud security architecture because they prevent data thieves from exploiting vulnerabilities.
- Threat detection and prevention tools, such as firewalls and security and event management (SIEM) systems, proactively secure your cloud environments by pinpointing and eliminating threats.
- Best practices for cloud security include using strong access controls, performing regular security audits, and using employee training to equip your workforce to avoid incidents.
- Challenges in cloud security include performing regular updates to close vulnerabilities, keeping assets secure without impacting the user experience, and keeping up with the latest threats.
- Some common approaches to cloud security include tailoring your solutions to your environment, integrating best practices and new technologies, and using continuous monitoring to steadily improve your security.
Understanding Cloud Security
Cloud security is the practice of protecting processes and assets in a cloud environment or data center from attackers and a wide range of data breaches and threats.
In the context of today’s digital landscape, cloud security is a foundational element of your infrastructure. Without two-factor authentication as part of your cloud access solution, for example, a random hacker could steal an employee’s laptop, access a cloud-based app, and steal your customers’ data.
But with cloud security tools in place, you can prevent a broad range of attacks.
Key Components of Cloud Security
Data protection is at the heart of cloud security because it supports the safety of your most critical asset: information. To protect data, cloud security systems use encryption and secure data storage. Encryption turns your data into a nonsensical mix of characters, preventing anyone without the secret decryption key from reading it.
Secure data storage uses a combination of encryption and access controls to both keep eavesdroppers out and make sure they can’t use any information they try to steal.
Another core cloud security component is identity and access management (IAM), which ensures that only authorized individuals can access sensitive data and systems. For instance, every time you have to enter additional information, use a fingerprint scan to access a system, or provide a temporary security code, you’re navigating an identity and access management system.
Threat detection and prevention uses software to detect and mitigate threats to your cloud environment.
For example, many cloud security systems automatically process data from domain name system (DNS) query logs. These logs contain information about who or what is trying to access your cloud assets, such as websites or apps. A threat detection system can automatically detect strange requests and prevent them from accessing your system.
For example, a hacker may use an IP address in Russia or an unapproved VPN to try logging into your company’s web app. This is easy for your threat detection system to stop because it simply sees the suspicious IP address in the DNS log and prevents the user from accessing your web app.
Why Is Cloud Security Important?
Cloud security is critical in protecting sensitive business data. It prevents attackers from accessing it and ensures you store and process customer information in accordance with compliance regulations.
For example, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA require you to protect sensitive customer data. Fortunately, you don’t have to memorize these regulations and apply them to your security architecture. Your cloud security provider can establish a system that keeps you in line with whatever regulations apply to your industry and customers.
Without adequate security, you run the risk of breaches and other security incidents that result in:
- Expensive data recovery and system repair costs
- Ransomware payments
- Reputational damage
- A crisis of confidence amongst your internal staff
- Higher insurance premiums
The Damage of Data Breaches
Consider the DarkBeam attack, which the company first discovered in September 2023. Ironically, DarkBeam specializes in providing digital protection services. But, sometime before September 18, 2023, the company left an interface open and unprotected.
Hackers then took advantage of this vulnerability and started collecting sensitive data. In total, they exposed 3.8 billion records. The attackers’ bounty included 239,635,000 pairs of login credentials.
In other words, the attackers accessed hundreds of millions of usernames and passwords. Anyone who used any of these combinations to secure bank or credit accounts, medical records, or access to personal or business apps now had a serious security problem.
Even though the exact cause of the vulnerability hasn’t been delineated, a relatively straightforward access control system that incorporated time-based inactivity controls may have prevented the breach.
In addition, data exfiltration detection tools, such as those that many firewalls come equipped with, could have detected the large amounts of data streaming out of DarkBeam’s network and automatically stopped the attack.
The Importance of Getting a Trustworthy and Reliable Cloud Service Provider
You need to trust that your cloud security provider understands your risk portfolio and knows how to mitigate each risk you face. It’s also important to find a trustworthy provider to constantly monitor your system for threats. They also need to use automated threat mitigation technologies coupled with creativity and innovative thinking.
Unfortunately, these traits are relatively rare, which is why it’s important to thoroughly vet your options. One way to gauge a provider’s reliability and trustworthiness is to ask pointed questions about how they handle common cloud threats and maintain visibility.
For example, you can ask questions such as:
- If one of my web assets gets hit with a denial of service (DoS) attack, how would you mitigate the threat while maximizing uptime?
- What visibility tools do you use, and how do they help you monitor your environment’s performance and security?
- I know I’m sharing hardware with others. What tools do you have to avoid threats from a multi-tenant environment?
- If a remote employee accidentally introduces malware to our environment via an insecure public network, what systems do you have in place to contain or negate the threat?
Cloud Security in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Business continuity and disaster recovery are central to many cloud security solutions because they maximize uptime and help mitigate the effects of incidents. Your cloud security solution helps you maintain business continuity by preventing security incidents that would result in operational downtime.
In addition, using a cloud solution to establish backup storage and redundant systems can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to recover from an incident. For instance, with frequent backups, you have a recent copy of essential data living in the cloud. By reinstalling your apps and loading that data into them, you can be back up and running very quickly.
Best Practices for Cloud Security
While the best practices that apply to your business will depend on your industry and digital architecture, here are some general principles that keep cloud workloads secure:
- Implement strong access controls. Only those who need to use each asset should be granted access. It’s also a good idea to use zero-trust architecture and multifactor authentication to prevent unauthorized individuals from getting inside your systems.
- Conduct regular security audits and compliance checks. While this may seem simple, it can go a long way toward protecting your environment. This is because a security audit gives you an up-to-date list of your vulnerabilities and ways you can address them. Compliance checks make sure that your data protection tools and practices are keeping you in line with the most recent regulations.
- Implement employee training and awareness programs. By teaching your employees how to respond to suspected phishing, spear-phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks, you can prevent incidents and minimize the damage from successful penetrations.
Challenges in Cloud Security
Cloud security isn’t without its challenges, some of which stem from the changing nature of the attack landscape, and others are the result of logistical obstacles. For instance, to protect your cloud infrastructure, you have to:
- Address all potential vulnerabilities. In addition to customer data, you also have to understand some of the less-than-obvious risks, such as employees’ devices when they’re connected to unsecured external networks or people mishandling their login credentials.
- Balance security with accessibility and user experience. Some security protocols can be difficult for users. For instance, a zero-trust architecture may force a user to verify their identity in three different ways because they took a 2-minute break to use the bathroom. Others, such as firewalls, can impact data throughput. But the benefits of these technologies far outweigh the inconveniences they may cause.
- Keep up with evolving threats and technologies. You can’t assume attackers are resting on their laurels or using the same traditional attack methods. New threats pop up all the time. This is why it’s crucial to use a cloud security provider that stays up to date with the most recent threats.
What Types of Cloud Security Services Are Available?
The assets you have to protect and your operational workflow will determine your company’s best-fitting cloud security services. However, here are some approaches that tend to work for most organizations:
- Tailored security solutions that meet your business needs. This involves a security provider choosing tools and building systems according to what you have to protect and your operational goals.
- The integration of best practices and cutting-edge technologies. Best practices, such as segmenting networks, typically have a security tool that makes them easier, such as strategically positioned firewalls.
- The continuous monitoring and improvement of security measures. With a forward-thinking security solution on your side, your system can get better over time. Also, by monitoring the kinds of attacks and issues that arise, your provider can glean data that produces valuable insights into ways to safeguard your systems.
Securing the Assets of an Energy Management and Smart Grid Company, A Case Study
One of our clients, an energy management and smart grid company, needed to better secure its digital environment. This was especially crucial given the potentially disastrous impact of a breach, which could result in power outages, accidents, or worse.
Our team integrated a cloud security solution called AWS Cognito with the company’s current AWS Cloud platform. Using AWS Cognito, we designed a multifactor authentication system. In addition, users were given the ability to self-manage their passwords without sacrificing security. In this way, we helped alleviate some of the burden from the shoulders of the company’s IT team.
After a seamless migration of user accounts into the AWS Cognito solution, the company realized powerful results: They were able to mitigate security risks while building a robust user management system that focused on the needs and experiences of end users.
For more examples of successful cloud security implementations, you can check out these client stories. These stories showcase the ways we’ve helped clients realize quantifiable benefits via cloud security strategies. Some of these include enhanced protection, improved compliance, and increased operational efficiency. Reading these examples will give you invaluable insights into the impact of robust cloud security on your business’s success.
Our security engagement with Hilldrup turned into a cloud transformation project that lowered costs and freed up employee’s time.
Empower your business with scalable, secure and cost-effective cloud solutions. Speak with our Cloud Computing consultants and chart your path to the cloud. Contact us
