Three main challenges of Cloud Security

 Introduction

In today’s business landscape, cloud security is more important than ever. However, the cloud introduces a new level of complexity which can create significant risk:

1. Too many surfaces to defend
2. Too many tools and siloes between teams
3. Too little context about infrastructure, apps, and data.

This complexity makes it difficult to secure the organization’s most important assets: their data. The best way to combat these risks? Simplify your organization’s cloud security posture!

Challenge 1 – Too many surfaces to defend

The first challenge is the sheer number of surfaces that must be defended. In the past, organizations only had to worry about securing their on-premises infrastructure. And usually, they would do that with a perimeter network design. However, with the cloud, organizations must now secure their data in a dynamic exchange between cloud storage, transit, and use. The opportunities for attackers are immense.

Organizations are started to leverage a Zero Trust design of their cloud infrastructure. Zero Trust design is about giving each user, application, and device the same level of scrutiny. This means there is no longer a “trusted” or “untrusted” network. All networks are treated as untrusted, and all users, applications, and devices must be authenticated…and authorized…before they can access data or resources. This concept makes it more difficult for companies to leverage and validate their design.

Challenge 2 – Too many tools and siloes between teams

The number of tools and siloes between teams has led to a lack of coordination between these teams. This can lead to a situation where each team uses different tools, leading to difficulties in reporting, tracking and auditing.

Organizations run an average of six different tools or features to secure their public cloud environments. Despite this multiple tool implementation, 96% of decision-makers still report that their organizations faced security incidents in the last 12 months:

1. 45% of businesses have experienced a cloud-based data breach or failed audit over the past year (2022 Thales Cloud Security Study)
2. Between 2020 and 2021, ransomware-related data leaks increased 82% and interactive intrusion campaigns increased 45%.

More tools result in a fragmented view of your overall cloud environment and various risk assessments….it does not necessarily provide a higher security posture.

Challenge 3 – Too little context about infrastructure, apps and data

Different tools for each domain can increase the visibility in that specific domain but can lead to the lack of context and correlation of findings. It is very hard and time-consuming for security professionals to prioritize risks correctly and efficiently. Also, it is difficult to understand the relationship between different systems and data. This can make it difficult to identify malicious activity and respond to incidents in a timely manner.

What is the solution?

The solution to these challenges is to 1.)simplify your organization’s needs, 2.)reduce the number of tools they are using and 3.)increase the visibility and context of their data.

One way to simplify your organization’s security posture is to validate your cloud security from an attacker’s viewpoint, especially continuously validating the security posture of the cloud with offensive tools from an attacker’s perspective. These offensive (attacker perspective) tools will provide you a comprehensive (continuous, scalable, multiple cloud locations) overview of how strong your cloud security is and where attackers can exploit potential weaknesses.

This approach will allow organizations to prioritize and fix their highest risk priorities that can cause serious damage to their reputation and integrity.

Cloud Compliance

 Cloud technology has expanded business capabilities across all industries. However, taking full advantage of the cloud means paying attention to compliance issues that can vary according to your industry and other factors. Without a stringent cloud compliance system in place, you could be making both your business and your customers vulnerable to data breaches and other security-related problems. That is why it is important to have a general understanding of cloud compliance along with a deeper understanding of what it means to your business in particular.

Essentially, cloud compliance means that any cloud-delivered system must be compliant with standards that are specific to each customer. For example, healthcare facilities have to comply with HIPAA standards which are designed to protect the patient’s privacy. HIPAA has strict guidelines concerning how patient data is stored and shared. As a result, any cloud system will need to enact security protocols that will allow cloud systems to effectively comply with HIPAA standards.

It is important to note that compliance is often an ongoing challenge. Security threats are not static and new vulnerabilities can become exposed as technology changes and hackers look for new ways to infiltrate systems. In addition, emerging industry standards and new government regulations can require a constant reassessment of compliance issues in order to stay up-to-date.

Many companies are dealing with the challenges of cloud compliance by creating new positions or outsourcing their compliance issues to specialized companies. Chief Compliance Officers are being assigned to oversee compliance-related challenges and prevent any mistakes. At the same time, companies are looking to free up their IT team and allow them to focus on other areas of the business by hiring outside companies to deal with cloud compliance. These companies are tasked with understanding the industry and all relevant compliance standards. For industries with more complex compliance issues that are subject to change, outsourcing can be an invaluable tool.

Cloud Access Security Brokers

In part three of our series on how to create a cloud security plan, we took a closer look at cloud security best practices that can help any business across all industries. We briefly mentioned that using a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) as an advantageous option. Since many people aren’t aware of this technology and how it works, we thought it would be important to take a deeper dive into the details of CASB and how it can help your company create a comprehensive cloud security plan.

What is CASB?

Essentially, a CASB is a software that forms an additional layer of protection between your company and the cloud. Instead of sending information directly to the cloud, it will first pass through the CASB where it will be checked against a variety of security standards. This makes it easier to enforce security measures and meet compliance standards. The CASB can either be located on-premise or hosted in the cloud.

Advantages of a CASB

One of the biggest challenges of maintaining cloud security is ongoing monitoring. This is an essential component, especially as new attacks emerge and cloud resources evolve, potentially creating new vulnerabilities. A CASB will provide an additional defense against high-risk events. The software includes malware prevention along with encryption services so that even if there is a data breach, outside parties won’t be able to decipher the information.

Additional advantages include:

Better visibility. A CASB will allow you to easily view all aspects of cloud applications and how they are being used. You can see who is using the platform, where they are located and what devices they are using. Without full visibility, information is not being properly controlled, which creates unnecessary risks.

You can use the CASB to constantly test your data and protocols against compliance standards. This will help you comply with government and industry regulations that are designed to protect consumer information and implement security best practices.

Insider threat reduction. In some cases, employees are the most pressing threat to vital data. A CASB will allow you to detect and quickly respond to unauthorized users accessing different areas of the cloud. You can easily create privileges and authentication protocols that will more effectively protect data and limit access.

All of these advantages are essential to a comprehensive cloud security plan. A CASB simply makes it easier to execute all of these steps and provide a more secure approach that continues to monitor changes.

CASB Deployment Options

Ultimately, a CASB can be deployed in three different ways:

Forward Proxy. In this case, the CASB is used to proxy traffic to multiple platforms. This places the CASB behind the firewall and adds protection before connecting to the internet. It also provides inline security so that security measures are actively deployed and monitoring live traffic.

Reverse Proxy. With a reverse proxy, the CASB sits in front of the cloud provider, blocking the network traffic and forcing information to go through the same set of inline security measures.

API Mode. With API mode, the CASB can be directly integrated into the cloud service. The main advantage of this approach is that you can secure both managed and unmanaged traffic.

You can also use any combination of these deployment approaches to enhance security even further. Fortunately, there are many reputable CASB providers who have well-established and proven solutions. Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee, and other big names all offer CASB services so that you can take your cloud security plan to the next level.

To learn more about CASB options and how you can use this tool to adhere to cloud security best practices and maximize your cloud technology without compromising data, contact the experts at prancer. We help businesses continue to meet cloud compliance standards by creating validation networks. Our team can answer all your cloud security questions and help take full advantage of the latest resources without compromising security.