Preventing Password Attacks

Cloud Security should be a priority for any business and security begins with strong password policies. Here are some password best practices that can help prevent attacks:

1. Implement a lockout policy that will temporarily freeze the account once an incorrect password has been entered a certain number of times. While this won’t prevent all attacks, it is a simple way to deter hackers.

2. Use a password generator and management tool. Instead of allowing users to create their own passwords require them to use a password generator that will create random passwords that are impossible to guess. A password management tool will help users to safely enter passwords without having to remember a string of random letters and numbers.

3. Reset passwords regularly. Make sure that users are resetting passwords at regular intervals.

Cloud Security relies on a variety of different tools, but passwords are one the most basic and yet effective ways to prevent cyber attacks. When used and managed properly passwords can ensure compliance and user authentication. For more information about ways to improve passwords and cloud security, contact the experts at prancer.

Contact Us

Prancer Enterprise

431 Dos Cabazos, Escondido, US

Opening Hours: 8AM - 5 PM

Phone Num: 424-666-4586

Website: www.prancer.io

Email: info@prancer.io

Most Common Security Challenges

1- Cloud misconfiguration. While cloud misconfiguration isn’t necessarily an emerging threat, it is clear that companies have yet to adequately address this issue which means that it will occur more often and on a larger scale in the future. According to the study, a full 93% of cloud deployments that were studied contained at least one instance where an entire storage bucket was left completely exposed.

Businesses weren’t just failing to use multiple-authentication processes, they were leaving areas without any protection at all. This is somewhat surprising in a time when we now know about the importance of security and compliance and there are simple ways to protect sensitive data.

2- Routing misconfigurations. The report cites misconfigured routing rules as the biggest risk factor across the board. According to their analysis, in 100% of cases of deployment, changing one of the routing rules was enough to expose a subnet. Small challenges to the configuration resulted in sensitive data being compromised. Malicious actors could easily exploit these vulnerabilities.

3- Alert fatigue. One of the advantages of cloud technology and IaC is that companies can automate alerts and be notified when there is any abnormal activity. When this is combined with manual monitoring and resolution, companies are able to quickly identify and fix problems. However, a constant stream of alerts can create fatigue and make IT teams less motivated to investigate every alert.

Remediation as Code has been introduced as a solution to alert fatigue. It allows teams to automatically generate the code necessary to address problems. In test cases, Remediation as Code is able to resolve 80% of all risks and help eliminate a constant stream of alerts.

4- Hardcoded keys. While there are plenty of key management tools and services available, businesses continue to use hardcoded keys. In many cases, unprotected credentials were stored and used in deployments. Since most businesses attach high-level privileges to these keys, this can create the opportunity for major breaches that have the potential to expose a long chain of resources. Simply using key vaults, avoiding hardcoded keys and rotating access keys can prevent this problem.

Fortunately, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) can help mitigate many of these problems. IaC allows businesses to build security code during the development phase before the infrastructure is provisioned. This is an effective way to reduce vulnerabilities and create a more automated, scalable and responsive system that is equipped to handle existing and emerging security threats. IaC can serve as a baseline that can always be deployed as necessary. If a significant change to the IaC needs to be made, it can be implemented quickly in a way that creates a new baseline. This provides a highly adaptable system that can prioritize security without slowing down the development pipeline.

For more information about IaC, cloud technology, and how you can use these tools while still ensuring compliance and security, contact the experts at prancer today.

IAC Evolutions

Historically, in the software development life cycle (SDLC), once code was written, it had to be manually deployed to physical servers. As you can imagine, this process was both time consuming and fraught with complications. Oftentimes, a single script was used to establish dependency libraries, setup load balancers and complete other necessary tasks. Also preparing the server to host the code was a daunting task. As a result, only a few people would be capable of understanding all the moving parts and be able to make changes, launch updates and problem solve. A server could be down for hours while a single operations engineer tried to sort through all the different variables to find the source of the problem.

The SDLC Waterfall Approach

Beginning in the 1990s, software development experts tried to improve the SDLC process by relying on a waterfall approach. With this strategy, developers, QA engineers and system administrators each had a specific role to play in the development process. If a problem arose with the code, the admin would have to assign the task to the developers. The fix would then have to be tested by the QA team before finally being sent back to the system admin for deployment.

At that time, the Software Development Life cycle (SDLC) was focused on the application layer code. Preparing the servers and deploying the applications to the server was another skill. This added another separate area of expertise that also had the potential to introduce bottlenecks.

In theory, this approach provided logical steps for troubleshooting. However, development doesn’t occur in a linear pattern and it didn’t take long for new releases to throw significant wrenches in the process. In addition, it was all too easy for different teams to blame problems on each other, further complicating communication and collaboration. Now add security concerns to the mix and you have a truly inefficient and static software development approach.

By the early 2000s, companies had developed a more agile approach to software development. They recognized the importance of employees with cross functionalities and collaboration among teams. However, it still wasn’t a perfect system and it was easy for projects to be delayed if communication fell apart. Clearly, there was still significant room for improvement.

Cloud Computing

The introduction of cloud computing with the emergence of Amazon Web Services and the beta version of the Google App Engine significantly changed the software development life cycle. Cloud computing allowed users to experience on demand tools and resources that didn’t have to be actively managed or stored on site. Virtualization also paved the way for further automation. Suddenly, more users were able to take full advantage of technologies without having to rely on an expert or become one themselves. This new level of accessibility allowed for collaboration and innovation.

When cloud providers became more mature and provided API access to their backend services, companies also started releasing infrastructure as code tools. These helped to further support virtual machines and app services and move away from physical hardware that would have to be manually configured and maintained. This not only helped business cut costs, but also accelerated the software development life cycle while also working to eliminate errors and identify security vulnerabilities.

At the same time, it became clear that microservices were necessary in order to effectively organize software development. Essentially, this means that an application and its services are split into smaller components that can then be deployed independently. Instead of bundling services, microservices provide a more agile approach that can better handle many different moving parts. This new mode of organization and deployment also required a full stack team approach where the task boundaries are more fluid and team members can contribute along the entire SDLC pipeline. A full stack team is able to work to avoid clogs in the pipeline that can result when different people are solely responsible for specific tasks.

Eventually, the idea of DevOps emerged as a new way to significantly accelerate efficiency while also prioritizing security. In this new model, Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is not just about the application layer. With the advancement of cloud provider companies, infrastructure is part of the SDLC as part of one unified pipeline; both the infrastructure and application can be deployed to the cloud.

Collaboration is at the heart of DevOps. Instead of having each team tightly bound within a certain role, everyone is involved in all aspects of the DevOps process. System admins have the ability to write scripts, QA engineers can move beyond simply testing and so forth. This fosters better understanding among teams while increasing productivity.

DevOps also allows enterprises to move security to the forefront. It is no longer simply tacked onto the end of the process after loopholes have already been created and written into the software. Integrating security into DevOps also helps support the CI/CD pipeline. Enterprises don’t have to deal with the same bottlenecks that previously slowed innovation.

Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis is another key aspect that has contributed to the security of the DevOps model. In the past, developers would have to design and run a program before they could manually go through the debugging process. With static code analysis, code can be automatically checked against a set of rules during the creation process. This significantly accelerates the debugging process and catches problems early on when they are easier and less expensive to fix. Static code analysis is also able to provide a more in-depth look at the code and accurately pinpoint problems.

In addition, static code analysis allows security to “shift to the left.” Essentially, this means that security and compliance issues are addressed as early in the development process as possible. This translates into a better and more agile approach to security that is capable of identifying emerging threats, making automatic fixes and sending alerts when suspicious activity is detected.

Static code analysis for the application layer is here to stay and there are lots of vendors providing automated tools to conduct static code analysis on application layer codes. But since Infrastructure and Application are being deployed to the target cloud environment with one pipeline, it is crucial to have the static code analysis for the IaC pipeline as well. This ensures the infrastructure, which is being deployed to the cloud, will be secure and provide early feedback to the infrastructure developer concerning any potential security problems.

While static code analysis on IaC has proven to be an effective tool, it is still a new concept to many companies. Most businesses still rely on the Pull Request (PR) approval process to catch a security misconfiguration. However, this is prone to the errors and the unsecure infrastructure could be deployed to the cloud, which makes a huge risk for companies who are after zero touch deployments.

Prancer cloud validation framework is a pre-deployment validation engine that can conduct static code analysis on your IaC. It can easily be integrated to your current pipeline and toolset. Prancer supports native Azure ARM templates, Amazon AWS CloudFormation templates and Google Deployment templates. Prancer also supports Terraform for all major cloud providers for static code analysis.

IaC development teams leverage the power of git to contribute to the code. Usually the process is to create a feature branch out of the master branch, make the changes, check the code and raise the Pull Request. Prancer validation framework can be integrated to any CI tool to evaluate the code at this stage and make sure it is compliant. All the predefined policies are available in a centralized git repository. With just a few clicks you can make sure the malicious code does not find its way into your environment. You don’t need to have an active credential to the target environment to conduct the static code analysis on your IaC templates. For example, consider a scenario where an IaC developer is writing code for the production environment and they want to get early feedback on the code before starting the CI process. They can utilize the power of prancer validation framework to make sure the IaC is secure and solid before starting the deployment process.

As you can see, IaC has gone through tremendous changes in just the past few decades. Virtualization and automation are making the SDLC more agile and accessible to all parties involved while also making security a part of the development process and not just an afterthought. This has allowed companies to innovate at an unprecedented pace and makes the future of IaC and SDLC look brighter than ever.

To learn more about IaC, cloud computing and security and compliance, contact the experts at prancer.

Basic Functions of DevOps

 

The deployment of basic functions of DevOps allows organizations to boost their software delivery and takes into account critical aspects of operations and development. Once DevOps eliminates the ops bottleneck in the main delivery pipeline, it speeds up the production and improves the operational feedback loop.

Consequently, it grants developers the freedom to have more control over their code throughout the production process. But increasing the delivery timeframe translates into the security vulnerabilities. It puts companies in a spotlight to review their security system and address security flaws while ensuring it does not become a bottleneck issue.

Your Approach to DevOps Adoption

Adopting a DevSecOps methodology means improvement of your entire product security in terms of robustness and quality:

v  People

Even if you make a huge investment in tools and training, it won’t guarantee seamless DevOps adoption. Therefore, consider the human element throughout the collaboration process. Once you have a voluntary security champion in each team, you can create a security network that answers everyone’s question.

Organizations with more than 10 teams, for instance, should have security advocates who can offer practical expertise. After the first layer, the security problems should head to the Andon chain from one of the security champion teams.

Your system network should ensure that every layer learns completely about the issues encountered. You must continue to improve, grow awareness around your security issues, and decrease the overall time it takes to address a security flaw.

v  Technology

Embracing the fundamental functions of DevOps means the inclusion of a wide array of security solutions to your DevOps toolkit. Your first course of action should be to automate your security at all phases of software delivery.

You can implement this by adding the right security tools to your CI and CD pipeline. It can include monitoring tools, logging tools, vulnerability checks, linters, automated security testing, and DAST or SAST suites.

Subsequently, you should be able to govern the design of your integrated security. You can implement standard practices such as securing coding practices, forcing API authentication, and enabling TLS (Transport Layer Security).

v  Process

In broad terms, building the perfect DevSecOps is a continuous iterative effort. In fact, it is vital to understand that DevSecOps transformation revolves around tangible results through changes in current processes that make the collaboration between security teams and DevOps possible.

Predominantly, the security measures that will render the most impact include collaborative efforts between security teams and DevOps on threat models. Furthermore, it also involves regular automated tests by security specialists. You can merge security features with a software delivery backlog.

Initiate the collaborative experimentation process between security teams and DevOps at a specific software delivery stage and frame the process through agreed-upon experimentation. Essentially, you will have to conduct a security audit of your standard process. Remember, the standard process will decrease the added risk that are presenting security loopholes.

Prancer Framework

If you want to develop a secure and robust DevOps process through the IaC (Infrastructure as Code) pipelines, then Prancer Framework is the answer you’ve been looking for. You can conduct hundreds of compliance tests to uphold the modern standards of your DevOps process.

It is a perfect way to make sure your code is secure and does not contain errors. Furthermore, the pre-deployment policies of Prancer allow you to improve the quality of your code through IaC pipelines and roll out resources to the cloud.

Cloud Computing

Every cloud computing service relies on the same remote infrastructure for a conceptual framework. Servers located in the data center power this framework. As there are a lot of similarities between them, we can consider this computing system as a pyramid with three layers. Every layer has its own specialty. However, the basic infrastructure is the same. Lower layers of the cloud computing system are broader, representing their customizability, versatility, and have a wide application range. The upper layers have a specific purpose to follow, so they are narrower. Below, you will find three cloud computing types and their difference to understand all the layers individually:

1.    IaaS

This cloud computing system is the foundation of the pyramid. Infrastructure as a Service is very flexible and compressive among all other cloud services that are available. With this computing system, you receive a virtualized infrastructure of cloud computing you can manage and provision through the cloud provider endpoints. The IaaS provider manages and controls all the physical infrastructures such as data storage space, servers, etc. This way, the customer can customize their virtualized resources according to their requirements. With Infrastructure as a service, you can buy virtual machines and install, organize, and manage any software you want to use. This includes applications such as development tools, business analytics, applications, middleware, and operating systems. Furthermore, you only have to pay for the virtual machine you are using. This will facilitate you in scaling your computing requirements as you need without building any additional capacity. Examples of IaaS are GCE (Google Compute Engine), AWS (Amazon Web Services), EC2, and Microsoft Azure virtual machines.

2.    PaaS

This computing system comes above IaaS in the cloud computing pyramid. Not like IaaS, Platform as a Service more specialized. Instead of providing a virtual machine to you, you get a specific purpose resource in the cloud, which you can put your workload on / or automate your cloud process. In the IaaS model, the customer is responsible for OS-level patching and maintenance. But in the PaaS model, those layers are hidden from the customer, and they can just focus on specific use cases. Microsoft Azure App Services, Apache Stratos, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Google App Engine are examples of Platform as a Service.

3.    SaaS

Many people are familiar with this type of cloud computing. SaaS is located at the highest level of the pyramid. Software as a Service is a completely developed software solution that you can instantly use through the internet after purchasing the subscription. Software as a service is responsible for managing data, operating systems, infrastructure, and middleware that is really important for delivering the program and to make sure that wherever and whenever a customer needs access, they always find it available. There is numerous software as service applications that you can directly run on your web browsers without the need for downloading and installing the application. This way, companies can reduce their software management problems for IT teams, and the company can streamline and simplify their operations with multi-cloud and hybrid deployments. The examples of Software as a Service are Google Apps, Salesforce, Cisco WebEx, and Microsoft Office 365.

Conclusion

Cloud computing has changed how companies all over the world operate, something that most people are unable to realize yet. It is essential to understand the types of cloud computing and choose the right one for your business to grow. Cloud computing is increasingly growing, which is opening many new opportunities for businesses looking forward to driving the results of their business and innovating.

How SQL Injection Attacks Work

 

Compared to other forms of cyber attacks, the SQL injection can be more complex and require some sophisticated coding skills. SQL is a declarative coding language that is specifically used to manage data. Essentially, an SQL attack technique works by inserting malicious code into applications. This changes the way databases respond to queries and allows hackers to gain access to user information, delete and edit code, create administrative rights and open a more permanent backdoor to the database. SQL injection attacks are a particularly damaging cyberattack that can affect a business both in the short and long term.

Why SQL Injection Attacks on are the Rise

According to a study by Akamai, SQL injection attacks represented 65% of all web based attacks between November 2017 and March 2019. This is a significant increase over previous years and the US is both receiving the most attacks and the largest source of attacks. The study also found that the gaming industry is being targeted. Hackers are able to gain login credentials from gaming accounts and then use this information to try to login to other accounts. This approach relies on the fact that most people use the same login information for multiple accounts.

The Infamous Heartland Attack

One of the biggest data breaches in history was the result of an SQL injection attack. In 2008, Heartland Payment Systems, which was the sixth largest payment processor at the time, discovered a major data breach that resulted in over 100 million cards being compromised. This sophisticated attack was launched by a team of hackers who identified SQL vulnerabilities and then made changes to the code so that they could remain undetected and collect sensitive card information. This data was then sold to other parties who could use it for their own criminal purposes.

Preventing SQL Injection Attacks

The best way to prevent any cyber attack is to understand your vulnerabilities. This means regularly running tests and updating and patching applications as needed. You can run manual tests or use automated testing tools for continuous monitoring. It is also important to use a firewall to help filter data and identify new vulnerabilities as they arise.

The nature of SQL injection attacks make them difficult to detect and damaging. For these reasons, they are becoming an increasingly popular form of cyber attacks and should be taken into account when creating any cloud security plan. If you want to learn more about SQL injection attacks and how you can work to protect your business, contact the team at prancer. We specialize in cloud security and compliance through validation frameworks. Contact us today.

What is phishing cyber attack?

Essentially, phishing involves sending a malicious email that looks like it is coming from a reliable and credible source. The goal is to get the recipient to click on a link or take other actions that will result in the hacker gaining access to data. This clever type of attack combines taps into our natural inclination to trust certain sources and uses technical bait to get us to download malware or send personal information.

Phishing tends to cast a rather wide net and hope that a few people will trust the email. However, there is a more targeted approach known as spear phishing. With this type of attack, the hacker actually conducts research on the target and creates a personal message. This makes it more likely that the recipient will trust the message. In some cases, the hacker will use the name of a familiar sender, including a co-worker or company. The email may also use a cloned website to make links appear credible and use the illegitimate website to collect login credentials or other data. Because of its targeted nature, spear phishing is difficult to identify and protect against.

It can be easy to fall victim to phishing cyberattacks, especially if you don’t know how they work or what to look out for as you check emails. A little education can go a long way in identifying potential problems and avoiding this type of attack. Keep in mind that even personalized emails can be a form of spear phishing, so take the time to verify the sender and any links as you work your way through your inbox. For more information about cloud security, phishing, and ways to prevent this type of attack, contact the experts at prancer.

Lessons from the Twilio Breach

The Twilio breach is another reminder that no matter how advanced and automated IaC and cloud technology becomes, it is still fundamentally a human system and that means that mistakes can be made. In addition, it shows that businesses have to be more careful even when it comes to open-source collaboration. Some assets should be publicly accessible so that users can view and create files, but there needs to be authentication and access gateways for other assets. Ultimately, the company did the best they could in the situation. You can’t prevent attacks, but you can create systems that will quickly identify problems so that you can immediately respond. Twilio also received praise from industry experts for being transparent about the incident and how they responded. This helps others to learn and hopefully avoid similar situations.

Ultimately, IaC is a valuable tool that represents a major evolution in technology. However, it is not a perfect system. Misconfiguration continues to be a top security concern. If you need help improving IaC security and ensuring continuous compliance, contact prancer. We specialize in cloud validation frameworks that will help you make the most of IaC and cloud technology.

SAAS Solutions

Prancer, a company that provides clients with a framework to validate resources that they deploy to the cloud, is excited to announce a long list of new features that are now a standard part of the prancer cloud, their SaaS solution. These new features further expand Prancer’s capabilities for cloud security and make the platform the pioneer of cloud compliance checks.

Prancer is dedicated to meeting the needs of enterprise businesses. They provide solutions for all the major cloud providers, including Azure, Google, and AWS services. Prancer provides pre-integrated compliance tests. These compliance tests are based on industry standards and include CIS, CSA CCM, HIPPA, ISO 27001, and many other available compliance tests.

To facilitate leveraging the prancer cloud validation framework for companies, prancer offers a free tier in the SaaS offering so that users can run a proof-of-concept before committing to the product. Businesses can integrate that to their DevSecOps process and validate their Infrastructure as Code (IaC). This will allow teams to better understand how prancer cloud can help their business with the aid of their pre and post-deployment compliance tests. Once users have experienced prancer, they can choose the right service tier based on their needs and their budget.

Prancer recognizes the power that Azure, Google, and AWS have in transforming the business world through advanced cloud platforms. That is why all of their SaaS tools are designed to work with these platforms and allow businesses to do even more than they thought possible. Users can enjoy better cloud governance and infrastructure as code that supports their DevOps and IT teams. These new features will seamlessly integrate with existing DevOps pipelines and allow users to write compliance queries based on the Open Policy Agent (OPA) query language. Spend less time worrying about managing software and data centers and more time focusing on business requirements.

As technology advances and more companies rely on cloud solutions, security becomes an increasing concern. With prancer SaaS, businesses can fully run compliance tests and scan codes before they are deployed to the cloud. No valuable data will be exposed to vulnerabilities because they are being fully vetted and confirmed as safe. Users can feel confident that they are protecting all their resources while also taking full advantage of all the benefits of the cloud.

The addition of these latest features to the prancer suite of tools and solutions again highlights the company’s commitment to staying ahead of the competition and empowering customers to reach new levels of success through technology.

About Prancer

Prancer Enterprise (https://www.prancer.io) was created with the goal of providing any size business with a cloud validation framework that enables cloud governance and multi-cloud validation compliance. By understanding the needs of today’s clients, creating innovative solutions, and collaborating through open-source networks, we are working to make cloud technology more secure and versatile.

To learn more about Prancer and how we can help your company, contact us today.

Immutable IaC and DevOps

The traditional mutable approach to infrastructure causes delays in the DevOps pipeline. Dependencies can make application deployments difficult and human innovation is actually slowed down by technology. Immutable IaC creates consistent environments that allow for automated testing and deployment that accelerates the DevOps process and eliminates delays and clogs in the pipeline.

With immutable IaC, teams don’t have to worry about manually validating changes. Everything can be handled through a continuous delivery pipeline that automates all the deployment and testing requirements. New applications can go online faster and all the usual risks associated with change can be eliminated.

Just because mutable infrastructures have been the standard doesn’t mean that they are the best solution. IT teams may be reluctant to let go of their manual update responsibilities, but automating tasks ultimately create more time and space for them to work on true innovations that can push the company forward.

If you have more questions about the benefits of immutable IaC and how you can implement this approach at your business, contact the experts at prancer. We specialize in cloud validation frameworks that support continuous compliance. We can provide you with advice, support and tools you need to take full advantage of cloud computing and IaC.

Infrastructure as Code Security and Compliance Approaches

In the past, cloud security practices relied on developers catching misconfigurations, identifying risks, and compliance violations after the system has already been provisioned and is essentially up and running. While this is certainly an effective approach for implementing and managing IaC, it can also be time-consuming. Developers are put in a position where they have to fix mistakes when they should be focusing on the creation and feeding of new ideas into the DevOps pipeline. This is changing as security mores “towards the left.

Shifting Security to the Left

If you have been keeping up with IaC news, you may be coming across the idea of shifting security to the left. Essentially, this means that organizations are working to change the relationship between developers and security professionals in order to improve both security and productivity. The best way to achieve this is by making sure that cloud security is a part of the CI/CD process. It is also important to thoroughly evaluate IaC templates so that they are addressing the compliance and security issues that can sometimes be ignored until runtime.

This shift helps to create a more collaborative relationship between security and developers. Security concerns can be addressed at the right time and place without interrupting the workflow. Traditionally, even a small misconfiguration could trigger compliance issues. Security teams would have to spend time trying to isolate the source of the problem before determining who on the DevOps team should be contacted in order to initiate the remediation process.

Improving Security and Productivity

IaC helps companies avoid these types of delays and improve productivity. Instead of having to create tickets, users can write code to build a template that automates aspects of the CI/CD process. The declarative language style of certain IaC tools makes it easy to balance loads, monitor compliance issues, and implement security controls. With IaC, companies aren’t forced into taking a reactive stance when it comes to security. Instead, they can be preventative and proactive by tackling security during the development process.

Perhaps the best way to move security to the left with IaC is to have security professionals create security guardrails that check the developer’s work and can integrate into their development and testing process. All testing should be used for a more comprehensive view of security risks. From there, developer’s tools need to be able to provide the right security guidance so that they know what steps to take when IaC reveals a security issue.

Benefits of IaC

If security and compliance can become better aligned with DevOps, there are a host of benefits. First and foremost, security risks and compliance issues won’t be put off to run time. Developers will also be more productive and experienced with resolving security issues with the help of IaC templates and automated tools. Finally, security and development will be more connected, which will help create better processes, collaboration, and job satisfaction.

To learn more about how IaC is powering today’s DevOps while also shifting security to the left, contact the experts at prancer. We are proud to help companies with cloud validation frameworks that support CI/CD.

State of DevSecOps Report' for Summer 2020

Accurics has just released the latest erosion of its “State of DevOps” reports for the summer of 2020. This report looks at the different types of security challenges that are emerging as more companies adopt cloud technology and Infrastructure as Code (IaC). While the report shows that cloud breaches have the potential to increase in number and scale in the coming months, the study also suggests concrete steps that can be taken to avoid these problems while still taking full advantage of IaC.

Most Common Security Challenges

1- Cloud misconfiguration. While cloud misconfiguration isn’t necessarily an emerging threat, it is clear that companies have yet to adequately address this issue which means that it will occur more often and on a larger scale in the future. According to the study, a full 93% of cloud deployments that were studied contained at least one instance where an entire storage bucket was left completely exposed.

Businesses weren’t just failing to use multiple-authentication processes, they were leaving areas without any protection at all. This is somewhat surprising in a time when we now know about the importance of security and compliance and there are simple ways to protect sensitive data.

2- Routing misconfigurations. The report cites misconfigured routing rules as the biggest risk factor across the board. According to their analysis, in 100% of cases of deployment, changing one of the routing rules was enough to expose a subnet. Small challenges to the configuration resulted in sensitive data being compromised. Malicious actors could easily exploit these vulnerabilities.

3- Alert fatigue. One of the advantages of cloud technology and IaC is that companies can automate alerts and be notified when there is any abnormal activity. When this is combined with manual monitoring and resolution, companies are able to quickly identify and fix problems. However, a constant stream of alerts can create fatigue and make IT teams less motivated to investigate every alert.

Remediation as Code has been introduced as a solution to alert fatigue. It allows teams to automatically generate the code necessary to address problems. In test cases, Remediation as Code is able to resolve 80% of all risks and help eliminate a constant stream of alerts.

4- Hardcoded keys. While there are plenty of key management tools and services available, businesses continue to use hardcoded keys. In many cases, unprotected credentials were stored and used in deployments. Since most businesses attach high-level privileges to these keys, this can create the opportunity for major breaches that have the potential to expose a long chain of resources. Simply using key vaults, avoiding hardcoded keys and rotating access keys can prevent this problem.

Fortunately, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) can help mitigate many of these problems. IaC allows businesses to build security code during the development phase before the infrastructure is provisioned. This is an effective way to reduce vulnerabilities and create a more automated, scalable and responsive system that is equipped to handle existing and emerging security threats. IaC can serve as a baseline that can always be deployed as necessary. If a significant change to the IaC needs to be made, it can be implemented quickly in a way that creates a new baseline. This provides a highly adaptable system that can prioritize security without slowing down the development pipeline.

For more information about IaC, cloud technology, and how you can use these tools while still ensuring compliance and security, contact the experts at prancer today.

What is Mutable vs. Immutable Infrastructure?

As Infrastructure as Code (Iac), Internet of Things (IoT), big data and cloud computing become the new standard in IT and business best practices, infrastructures are becoming immutable. This marks a major shift from traditional modes of operation and is worth taking a closer look at.

Before we dive into specifics and understand the benefits of immutable IaC systems, let’s take a moment to review and define key terms. If you aren’t familiar with the term mutable, it refers to something that is prone to change and is easily mutated. Immutable, on the other hand, describes something that is not capable of change.

Mutable IaC

When it comes to IaC, mutable refers to an infrastructure that needs to be constantly updated and changed in order to continue to meet the changing needs of the business. This means that IT professionals have to individually address each server and switch, which can translate into long hours spent identifying problems and coming up with solutions instead of taking the time to rebuild the system in a way that removes any quirks. Since each component is different and requires a unique approach that can often only be performed by one person, the servers are sometimes referred to as snowflakes.

As you may imagine, this approach can be problematic. Mutable IaC creates a situation where only certain IT professionals can address problems. If something goes wrong and that individual isn’t available, there is no way to quickly respond to glitches in the system. While this model created an environment where IT staff felt more needed and valuable, it wasn’t necessarily in the best interest of overall operations.

The other problem with the mutable infrastructure is that over time, businesses may face configuration drifts. For example, let’s say that you are dealing with 10 app services and over time, you are adding various configuration changes to those app services. It is very possible that each of those app services accumulate various executables stacked on each other to provide the required function. This is something to consider when thinking about how a mutable IaC may affect your project in the long run.

Immutable IaC

Immutable IaC represents the future by requiring that each component is built according to exact specifications. There is no room for small deviations that have to be individually addressed. Once a change is required, the infrastructure is provisioned according to the new requirements and the old IaC is taken out of commission.

This same approach is being used with other forms of technology. Consider phones that are equipped with batteries that can’t be replaced. Instead of upgrading the device, you have to purchase an entirely new phone. While this may seem like a waste, it actually provides a level of consistency that makes it easier to provide support. The same is true when it comes to immutable IaC.

Immutable IaC is largely made possible by the advent of virtualization. This tool uses cloud computing to virtualize both hardware and software so that businesses don’t have to worry about provisioning and removing obsolete hardware every time a change is needed. Instead, businesses can document all the steps and requirements involved in creating resources, create code scripts that can assemble the components as outlined in the documentation and automate the entire process. IT teams can also track and record changes for an immutable IaC that can be easily understood and updated by the entire team.

Immutable IaC and DevOps

The traditional mutable approach to infrastructure causes delays in the DevOps pipeline. Dependencies can make application deployments difficult and human innovation is actually slowed down by technology. Immutable IaC creates consistent environments that allow for automated testing and deployment that accelerates the DevOps process and eliminates delays and clogs in the pipeline.

With immutable IaC, teams don’t have to worry about manually validating changes. Everything can be handled through a continuous delivery pipeline that automates all the deployment and testing requirements. New applications can go online faster and all the usual risks associated with change can be eliminated.

Just because mutable infrastructures have been the standard doesn’t mean that they are the best solution. IT teams may be reluctant to let go of their manual update responsibilities, but automating tasks ultimately create more time and space for them to work on true innovations that can push the company forward.

If you have more questions about the benefits of immutable IaC and how you can implement this approach at your business, contact the experts at prancer. We specialize in cloud validation frameworks that support continuous compliance. We can provide you with advice, support and tools you need to take full advantage of cloud computing and IaC.

Denial-of-service attack

In the complex and ever-changing world of the cloud, achieving security of applications and infrastructures are becoming more important each day. Threats from growing number of cybercriminals are increasing and the demand for qualified security professionals is accelerating as many companies are becoming more aware of the importance of the cloud security.

In this blog post we are talking about one of the most common types of attacks, Denial of Service (DoS).

DoS Attacks

Denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks are one of the major security challenges in the developing cloud computing models. DoS is a security threat that occurs when an attacker prevents appropriate users from accessing specific devices, computer system, or other IT resources in the cloud.

DoS attacks are simple but successful and can cause extreme damage to the cloud resources and services and often they target the computer networks’ bandwidth or connectivity. With one attack, an organization’s cloud security can be affected for days or even weeks and the servers could become unavailable to other devices and users throughout the network.

Different Method of DoS Attacks

DoS attacks come in different categories such as: bandwidth attacks, connectivity attacks, process disruption, physical disruption and data corruption.

The most common method of attacks, Flooding services, occurs when the cloud network gets flooded with traffic by receiving several requests at once and getting overloaded, causing the server to slow down and eventually stop responding.

Buffer overflow attack is a software coding mistake that an attacker uses by sending more traffic to a network address to gain access to the system.

ICMP flood, also known as smurf attack or ping of death, effects misconfigured network devices by attacking when the system receives too many ICMP ping commands.

Another attack, SYN flood also known as half-open attack, repeatedly sends a request to connect to a targeted server machine to overwhelm all open ports, but never completes the handshake, causing the targeted server to poorly respond or not respond at all.

DDoS Attacks

With the modern technology, the cloud security professionals have been able to monitor and develop mechanisms to defend against most forms of DoS attacks.

However, another way the cloud can be exploited is by Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks (DDoS), which occurs when attackers take advantage of the security functionality or device weaknesses to manipulate multiple servers that are operating together.

Cybercriminals control the attack by using the botnet, which are a group of hijacked internet connected devices to carry out large scale attacks. DDoS attack occurs when it disrupts a normal traffic of a cloud server, by overwhelming its infrastructure of internet traffic and flooding it with huge amounts of requests until the server crashes.

The threats of these attacks have affected big organizations such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), an enormous cloud-service provider and a major money maker for Amazon.

Amazon’s online cloud, provides the infrastructure on which many websites rely, was fended off the largest DDoS attack in history on Feb of 2020. The peak of the attack appeared 44% larger than other threats service had seen before and took three days to result the elevated threat status.

DoS Attacks on the Cloud Resources

Cloud computing consists of service-oriented architecture (SOA) and virtualization that are susceptible to diverse internal and external attackers. The most common DoS attacks that occur on the cloud usually affects computing resources.

Preventing DoS and DDoS Attacks

DoS and DDoS attacks are a constant threat to the modern cloud, resulting in significant loss of service, money and reputation for organizations.

To effectively prevent DoS/DDoS attacks and minimize the impact on the cloud security, organizations should be aware of the red flags and have an appropriate response plan in place.

There are a number of different steps that can take to stay protected before, during, and after an attack:

Before the attack each organization should place a security policy for DoS/DDoS attack prevention and mitigation and guard the cloud servers by the firewall. It is important to create a disaster recovery plan, install and maintain antivirus software, evaluate the security settings to minimize and manage unwanted traffics.

During the attack, it is important to monitor hosts, resources or services that exist in the cloud network to make sure they are working properly.

After the attack, it is crucial to contact the appropriate technical professionals for assistance to identify the type of attack by using network traffic monitoring and analysis before the attacker cause harm.

Cloud security is an essential component that allows companies to take full advantage of cloud technology without exposing vulnerabilities.

It is important to secure your cloud by enabling the advanced threat protection from the cloud providers and continuously monitor the configuration of your resources.

You can use prancer cloud to accomplish continuous compliance on the cloud of your choice.

For additional information and help with cloud security and validation, contact the experts at prancer. We specialize in providing customers pre-deployment and post-deployment multi-cloud validation framework for your Infrastructure as Code (IaC) pipeline that supports continuous compliance in the cloud.