What is Cloud Security?

    Cloud Security is the technology and best practices designed to protect data and information within a cloud architecture. Cloud security is  a critical component of any IT infrastructure strategy that uses the cloud. Cloud security ensures data privacy and compliance around data stored in the cloud.

    Private clouds, public clouds, and hybrid clouds (combinations of both private and public cloud platforms have all grown in popularity, as well as the use of multiple public clouds in a multi-cloud strategy. Because of cloud computing’s distributed and dynamic nature, there are unique considerations when it comes to securing data within the cloud.

     

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    Why Security in the Cloud?

    Cloud security includes controls and process improvements that strengthen the system, warn of potential attackers, and detect incidents when they do occur. Cloud security considerations should also include a business continuity plan and data backup plan in case of a security breach or other catastrophe. There are various cloud security solutions for the public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud involving a wide range of tools.

    In public cloud environments, cloud security takes a shared responsibility model, which means that the cloud provider is responsible for the security of hardware and software, while the customer is responsible for the security of their own assets, including virtual machines, applications, and data.

    How Cloud Security works?

    Cloud security encompasses a broad range of tools and practices, so there is no single explanation for how it works. The most important function of cloud security is to ensure that only authorized users access data stored in the cloud. Enterprises use several tools and strategies  including:

    •  Micro-segmentation: This security technique divides the data center into distinct security segments down to the individual workload level. This allows IT to define flexible security policies and minimizes the damage attackers can cause.
    • Next-generation firewalls: Smarter and more effective than a traditional firewall, a next-generation firewall uses application-aware filtering to keep out advanced threats.
    • Data encryption: This process encodes data so that a key is needed to decipher it, preventing sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.
    • Threat intelligence, monitoring, and prevention: These capabilities scan all traffic to identify and block malware and other threats.

    Three Cloud Security best practices

    There are core best practices enterprises can deploy to ensure cloud security, starting with ensuring visibility in the cloud architecture across the organization.

    1. Know who is responsible for each aspect of cloud security, rather than assuming that the cloud provider will handle everything.
    2. Understand how cloud architecture works to help avoid security holes due to  misconfiguration.
    3. Disable unused ports and remove unnecessary processes and instances, since all of these can contribute to vulnerabilities.
       

    Responsibility for cloud security is shared between cloud providers (which offer a number of security tools and services to customers) and the enterprise to which the data belongs. There are also many third-party solutions available to provide additional security and monitoring.

    Why Cloud Security?

    Cloud computing resources are distributed and highly interdependent, so a traditional approach to security (with an emphasis on traditional firewalls and securing the network perimeter) is no longer sufficient for modern security needs.

    Cloud Security challenges and considerations

    Cloud environments are increasingly interconnected, making it difficult to maintain a secure perimeter. While this less walled-off approach has many advantages, it can also lead to security risks by increasing the potential attack surface. Ideal cloud security plans enable companies to take advantage of cloud computing benefits while also minimizing the risks.
     
    Cloud computing creates a number of other unique security issues and challenges. For example, t is difficult to identify users when addresses and ports are assigned dynamically, and virtual machines are constantly being spun up. In addition, multitenant environments in public cloud environments mean that an organization’s data shares space with the data of other organizations. Thus, it is important for public cloud providers to keep tenants isolated.

    What are the primary Cloud Computing Security challenges?

    Three primary challenges  in securing clouds include:

    1. Data that passes among data centers and clouds over a public network is vulnerable while en route, especially when there is a lack of clear responsibility for data security at different points in the journey.
    2. Multiple tenants on shared public servers bring additional security risks. Tenants must be kept isolated to prevent unauthorized sharing of information.
    3. Security controls can differ in multi-cloud environments and hybrid cloud environments, leaving gaps or leading to configuration confusion.

    Benefits of Cloud Security

    Cloud security offers a variety of benefits,including:

    • Protection against attacks: A primary purpose of cloud security is to defend enterprises against hackers and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
    • Data security: Robust cloud security also protects sensitive data with precautions such as encryption to avoid information falling into the wrong hands.
    • Improved availability: Many cloud security services offer live monitoring and support, which improves availability in addition to addressing security concerns.
    • Increased reliability: A thoughtful cloud security approach includes built-in redundancy, leading to a more reliable experience.       
    • Improved Scalability: If an attack strikes, secure cloud architecture allows for faster disaster recovery of your most vital resources and data.
    • Regulatory compliance: It can be tough to ensure that a complex cloud architecture meets industry regulatory requirements. Cloud providers help ensure compliance by providing security and support.

    Why is the cloud more secure than legacy systems?

    It is a  common misconception that the cloud is not as secure as a legacy, on-premises system. After all, enterprises that store data on-premises have control over its security. But most businesses do not have the level of resources or expertise as most cloud providers, and that can make the cloud more secure. The cloud is run by professionals, with all the advantages that implies:

    • Technical expertise of entire teams dedicated to securing data
    • Cutting-edge cloud security technology such as micro-segmentation and AI-driven detection and response
    • Physical protection for data centers such as fences, guards, and security cameras
    • Continuous monitoring helps meet regulatory and compliance measures.

    Data breaches in the cloud have made headlines in recent years, but in the vast majority of cases, these breaches were a result of human error. Thus, it is important for enterprises to take a proactive approach to securing data, rather than assuming the cloud provider will handle everything. Cloud infrastructure is complex and dynamic, and therefore requires a robust cloud security approach.

     

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