What is Cloud Security? How Arcana accelerates cloud journeys?

Cloud-Security

Introduction

Cloud security is critical for organizations moving to the cloud and adopting digital transformation. Cloud computing security is a set of technologies and practices to ensure protection from internal and external security threads.

In a cloud environment, it safeguards data and applications against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, malware, hackers, and unauthorized user access.

Cloud computing security is the sub-domain of cyber security dedicated to secure cloud environments. Cloud environments are just as vulnerable as on-premise systems to constantly emerging security threats. Any cloud model can be susceptible to cyber-attacks; organizations are reluctant to move mission-critical systems to the cloud. Regardless of whether organizations are operating in a native cloud, hybrid, or on-premise environment, the proper security measures must be in place. It allows companies to enjoy all the capabilities of traditional IT security. The growing popularity and demand for cloud computing security turned it into a stand-alone service called SECaaS or Security-as-a-Service.

Cloud Security Importance

With the evolving digital landscape, security threats are getting solid and robust. 

Organizations’ data and applications are always internet accessible. For example, suppose a client is accessing Google Docs on their smartphone and the web. In that case, that data might exist between local or remote systems. Therefore data protection is more complicated. With strong security measures, organizations can avoid significant compliance risks when managing client-sensitive data regardless of data storage location. Organizations need to have active teams who continuously take measures to improve it. Essential factors include;

  • Centralizing the organization’s security infrastructure for enhanced protection from cyber threats.
  • Automated security configurations -No need for manual security configurations
  • It offers ultimate dependability and reliability.
  • It is scalable and limits administrative overheads.

Critical components include:

  1. Data security- deny unauthorized access to the data stored in the cloud. 
  2. Identity and access management 
  3. Policies and procedures for threat detection and prevention- Governance
  4. Plan for data retention and business continuity
  5. Legal compliance

Cloud Security- A Shared Responsibility

It is the shared responsibility of the customer/organization and its service provider. In the Shared Responsibility Model, responsibilities fall into three general categories: 

  1. Service provider’s responsibilities.
  2. Customer’s responsibilities.
  3. Responsibilities that change depending on the service model: IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), or SaaS (Software as a Service).

The service provider is responsible for the security of the infrastructure, including upgrading and configuring the physical servers and networks that host the computing instances, storage, and other resources. The client/organization is responsible for managing users and their authorization (identification and access management), preventing unauthorized access, and encrypting and securing data assets.

Cloud Environment Security

Public cloud security

In a public cloud, multiple users can share on-demand computing services managed by a third-party provider. A third-party cloud service provider such as Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is in charge of public cloud.

Private cloud security

A private cloud is a cloud environment where the infrastructure is is dedicated to a single organization. Private cloud solutions offer organizations more control over confidential data and applications. Private clouds are hosted on organizations’ on-premises data centers or infrastructure provided by third-party cloud service providers. Personal cloud security is managed in-house by the organization.

Hybrid cloud security

A hybrid cloud combines both on-premise and private and public cloud storage. In a hybrid cloud, security is the responsibility of the cloud service provider and the organization. Security in a hybrid cloud is a joint responsibility between the organization and the cloud service provider.

Benefits:

Organizations following robust procedures can enjoy the cloud computing benefits to their fullest. The top benefits are:

 Cost Optimization

The business can avoid investing in administrative costs and specialized technology by implementing cloud-based infrastructure and security solutions, significantly lowering capital and operating expenses.

Cloud Security Automation

Businesses can use automated cloud computing security solutions that give proactive features and enable continuous 24/7 protection using the right strategy.

Increased Reliability and Availability

It ensures that an organization’s data and applications are accessible only to authorized users. Therefore, organizations have a secure way to access their cloud applications and data, enabling them to address any possible security issues immediately.

Centralized Security

Cloud computing security centrally manages all organization resources, applications, and data to ensure everything is secure. The centralized location makes it simpler for cloud security companies to accomplish tasks like establishing disaster recovery plans and automating network event monitoring.

Challenges

Compliance

Enterprises implementing public or hybrid cloud deployments frequently need help with regulatory compliance management. Organizations are solely responsible for their data privacy and security. High dependency on third-party management solutions might result in expensive compliance problems.

APIs as a Potential Threat

Protection from malicious attacks involving the exploitation of APIs remains a challenge in the cloud environment. APIs deployed in a cloud environment that lacks sufficient management, authentication, and authorization increase the risk of cyber attacks.

Misconfigurations

Misconfiguration can be the reason for a security breach in the cloud environment. The use of default administrative passwords or the failure to provide the proper privacy settings are examples of misconfigurations.

Multitenancy

A single cloud service provider provides services to multiple organizations in the public cloud. Multiple users or organizations use the shared infrastructure. Cyber attacks on one organization can affect other organizations due to shared resources.

Cloud Usage Visibility

Following the shared responsibility cloud model, the public cloud users manage their data and traffic flow efficiently. Cloud services are accessed outside corporate networks and through third parties, so it’s simple to lose track of how and who is accessing the organization’s data. 

The organization often needs help to identify which cloud access is secure. Furthermore, sensitive data is exposed due to the employees’ need for experience with appropriate access. Organizations find it challenging to make decisions in complex multi-cloud settings because of the limited visibility of cloud assets.

Conclusion

Cloud security is the foremost concern of organizations irrespective of business size because the breach in security for large enterprises is as fetal as for small businesses. People are worried about the data they will put on the cloud for accessibility and reliability but are unwilling to compromise on the primary concern, which is how secure their data is on the cloud. Therefore, a strong security establishment must protect the data and ensure smooth accessibility and security.

Protect your critical applications and sensitive data with ABC innovative data privacy, security, and cyber resilience capabilities. Arcana’s Cloud Infrastructure security solutions can help you understand your risks, help detect and respond to threats, and unify your organization on security priorities to accelerate your business transformation.

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