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What Is Cloud Security?

What Is Cloud Security?

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Hwei Oh
10/11/2024
9 min read
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In the last decade, cloud technology has become incredibly pervasive and a necessity for most businesses, especially those offering hybrid or remote work environments. According to G2, virtually all companies use at least one public or private cloud, and 85% of organizations will be “cloud first” by 2025. Even more important (from a security standpoint) is the fact that more than 60% of all corporate data is stored in the cloud. This data can be stored on cloud service providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, or the Google Cloud Platform or in SaaS apps like Salesforce, Zoom, Slack, Adobe, Microsoft 365, and HubSpot.

Cloud environments provide greater opportunities for collaboration, the speed and agility needed to accelerate innovation, and the scalability needed by modern-day companies. Unfortunately, they are also a common vector for threat actors. Cloud-related attacks are still one of the top threats for businesses, with 80% of companies seeing an increase in the frequency of cloud attacks. So it’s vital that businesses understand how to secure their cloud environment to take advantage of everything the cloud has to offer without opening themselves to the risk of a data breach.

Here’s our guide to cloud security, including what it is, why it’s important, and how to find the right cloud security solutions for your business.

Cloud security defined

Cloud security is a set of policies, technology, controls, and best practices designed to protect data, applications, and infrastructure hosted in the cloud. It is an essential part of any company’s digital transformation strategy and cannot be overlooked given the vast number of successful data breaches in recent years.

Cloud security is a shared responsibility between a cloud hosting platform and the company using it. The level of responsibility for each entity is determined by the cloud computing service model, which can fall into one of three categories: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), or software as a service (SaaS). With IaaS, a bulk of the security responsibilities fall on the customer, whereas SaaS applications remove much of the burden from the customer.

In any of these three service models, the provider will be responsible for cloud infrastructure security and securing any physical data centers or network architectures. The customer, meanwhile, is almost always responsible for managing user authentication and access privileges, data encryption, and managing security controls within their virtual environments to ensure they meet compliance standards and aren’t letting their sensitive data fall into the hands of threat actors.

While this shared responsibility model can be a positive for organizations that don’t have the manpower to manage cloud infrastructure, it can also lead to a false sense of security. Though SaaS companies and cloud hosting platforms will always boast about the security of their platform, that layer of security is not enough to secure your own environment. To avoid a data breach, companies still need to invest in cloud security to protect the data and applications within their cloud environments.

To keep data, applications, and cloud environments safe from internal and external threats, companies need a cloud security strategy that includes:

  • A properly configured environment and applications, as well as policies that ensure it remains that way asdevices, applications, and users are added.
  • Enhanced data protection that ensures data is encrypted both at rest and in transit. (Keep reading to see how DLP software can help here.)
  • Access management controls including enacting the principle of least privilege, MFA, deleting default passwords, investing in employee training and IAM tools 
  • Continuous security monitoring and audits to look for abnormal activity
  • Threat detection and response software and the development of incident response plans
  • Visibility tools and processes to ensure IT teams know which applications and devices are interacting with your environment
  • Network segmentation to ensure your entire ecosystem doesn’t crumble if one application or segment is compromised

Why is Cloud Security Important?

The cloud offers businesses many advantages, but it also offers bad actors many opportunities to enter your environment. It significantly expands the attack surface and is an enticing target for hackers. By implementing cloud technology without considering the proper security measures, companies are opening themselves to attacks that can be incredibly costly. IBM reports that the average global cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million. That includes reputational damage, fines, lost business, legal fees, ransoms paid, remediation efforts, and more.

Due to the high cost and high likelihood of getting caught up in a data breach, it’s essential for companies to prioritize cloud security. Cloud security protects sensitive data, applications, and infrastructure from attacks as well as unintended data leaks and compliance issues. It keeps outside actors and employees from accessing data they should not be privy to while ensuring that mission-critical SaaS applications can continue running without interruption.

Benefits of Cloud Security

Regardless of whether a business chooses a cloud-based or on-premises storage solution, sensitive data needs to be protected. Neither an on-premises server nor the cloud is inherently safer than the other, but moving to the cloud offers businesses — and their security teams — several benefits. In addition to protecting a business from a costly breach or security incident, cloud security offers:

  • Centralized cybersecurity: Unlike on-premises software that requires security and IT teams to deploy security solutions to each application at each office location, cloud security consolidates an organization’s efforts into one centralized framework. This allows for greater consistency across your applications and streamlines the process of monitoring all devices, software, endpoints, and systems.
  • Lower costs and scalability: Cloud service providers and SaaS companies offer more cost-effective, scalable security solutions, which limits the costs of maintaining security programs as the company grows.
  • Continuous monitoring: With one interconnected environment, businesses have greater visibility into all their assets, traffic, and data, making it easier to continuously monitor for any anomalies or suspicious behaviors.
  • Compliance benefits: Most cloud providers have security measures in place to ensure they meet many of the most common regulations, including NIST 800-53, HIPAA, and GDPR. While businesses are still responsible for cloud compliance within their own environments, having a compliant infrastructure goes a long way toward maintaining compliance.
  • Automation: Many cloud security applications offer automated security services that free up time and resources for security and IT teams.

These are just a few of the ways cloud security can make things easier on IT and security teams. That’s on top of the benefits that cloud technology brings to an organization. So not only does cloud security protect an organization from the costs and reputational damage of a data breach, but it also streamlines security operations.

Types of Cloud Security Solutions

To secure their cloud environment, companies need to invest in cloud security tools or services, of which there are many. Some are point solutions designed to secure specific aspects of the cloud, while others are more all-encompassing and aim to help businesses manage the number of cloud solutions that have emerged. Here are a few options to consider when it comes to securing cloud environments.

  • CSPM: One of the leading causes of data breaches in cloud environments is misconfigured cloud security settings. Cloud Security Posture Management tools scan a company’s cloud environment to look for security gaps, misconfigurations, or configurations that stray from compliance guidelines. Whenever possible, these tools will also automatically remediate the misconfiguration and generate reports to prove compliance.
  • SIEM: A security incident and event management solution was a mainstay within cloud security but has since been surpassed by more focused solutions. It provides security teams with a holistic view of all the activity happening in their cloud environment. As the name suggests, these solutions combine security information and security event management, collecting data from any cloud source, analyzing and investigating any log discrepancies or security alerts, and automatically responding to security threats. SIEM solutions allow companies to act quickly if a threat is detected anywhere in their cloud environment.
  • SASE: For companies with hybrid or remote employees, secure access service edge solutions are a must. They allow employees to safely access a business’s network remotely. Previously, accomplishing this required multiple tools. SASE solutions, however, provide a variety of security features and capabilities, including firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), and cloud access security brokers (CASB). SASE solutions help organizations manage their cloud and hybrid endpoints.
  • IAM: Identity and access management systems allow businesses to control who can remotely access various assets in cloud environments. Security teams can create rules and policies across an organization that grant minimal access privileges to users in different roles. These rules can state that the greater the privileges, the higher the level of authentication needed. Sensitive data is therefore only available to the people who need to access it to execute their day-to-day responsibilities.
  • DLP:Data loss prevention software monitors and controls the storage and movement of sensitive data in cloud environments to prevent unauthorized access or use and data leaks or exfiltration. If suspicious activity is detected, DLP software can block the data when in use, at rest, or in transit.
  • PKI: Public key infrastructure is a set of processes, policies, and technologies that allow businesses to secure the electronic transfer of information. PKI allows for the encryption and signing of data using keys and digital certificates for users, devices, and services.
  • CWPP: Cloud workload protection platformscontinuously monitor cloud workloads like virtual machines, containers, and serverless functions and scan for vulnerabilities and threats like malware. They can uncover workloads running in multiple cloud environments and help security teams apply consistent security policies to all workloads. They are especially helpful in multi-cloud and hybrid environments as well as in organizations with large development departments.
  • CNAPP: Cloud-native application protection platforms are a collection of end-to-end security and compliance tools that protect cloud-native applications. These platforms unify many cloud security capabilities, including vulnerability and misconfiguration scanning, detection and response services, comprehensive workload protection, DevOps tools, and the ability to deploy and enforce compliance policies across cloud-native applications. These are newer solutions that are designed to specifically address cloud security, risk, and threats.
  • XDR: Extended detection and response tools expand on MDR offerings, collecting and analyzing data from several sources, including networks, endpoints, workloads, and applications to help businesses detect and respond to threats. One of the advantages of XDR tools is that they can combine data from cloud environments and on-premises systems to protect against potential threats. 

Recommendations for Cloud Security Implementation

Once a company undergoes a digital transformation and adopts cloud technology, it’s essential that the implementation incorporates an effective cloud security strategy. This starts with alignment across key stakeholders. Leaders need to get buy-in from legal, IT, finance, and development teams to ensure all processes and policies will be followed. IT teams also need to gain visibility into any cloud-based tools employees may be using to ensure they can be monitored and secured.

Next, leaders need to determine which cloud-security solutions to invest in and find vendors that align closely with their needs and can meet any relevant compliance requirements. IT and internal tech teams should meet with potential vendors to determine how the solution will interact with their environment, ensure all security needs are covered, and confirm the security solutions can scale as the company grows. Team leaders should also understand the impact of the implementation of these security solutions and how processes may need to be altered once the tools are up and running.

Finally, stakeholders should agree on a timeline and key milestones and create a contingency plan in case any unforeseen issues occur. Once security solutions are in place, it’s essential to continuously evaluate vendors and security needs to ensure the environment remains protected.

Cloud security solutions are a must for any modern organization. It’s where threats are lurking most often, and it’s becoming more important as the use of SaaS vendors and solutions grow. Even small businesses can benefit from cloud security solutions and knowing what cloud security entails will help leaders have a stronger understanding of what their organizations need.

SolCyber is the first-of-its-kind outsourced security program partner. With our 24/7 detection and response services and Foundational Coverage, businesses of all sizes can ensure they are protected against threats. Reach out to the experts at SolCyber to learn more about how we help you secure your business. 

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Hwei Oh
10/11/2024
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