Cloud Security: Best Practices, Core Principles, and Common Threats

Axle Networks Blog – Cloud security has become critical as more companies move their operations to the cloud. The term “cloud security” describes a collection of laws, procedures, and security measures intended to ward off cyberattacks, illegal access, and data breaches from cloud-based applications, infrastructure, and data.

Due to the ever-changing regulatory environment, the complexity of cloud environments, and the sophistication of cyberattacks, cloud cybersecurity has changed dramatically over time. The cloud security landscape has constantly changed to meet the changing needs of enterprises, starting with early worries about data privacy and compliance and continuing with the emergence of advanced security solutions.

Now let’s look at some cloud security best practices, such as core principles, common threats, and how to configure your security system.

Core Principles of Cloud Security

Effective cloud cybersecurity is built upon a foundation of core principles that guide the implementation and management of cybersecurity controls. These principles include:

• Data Confidentiality: Ensuring that sensitive data stored in the cloud is accessible only to authorized individuals or entities.
• Data Integrity: Maintaining the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of data throughout its entire lifecycle.
• Access Control: Implementing robust mechanisms to authenticate users and control their access to cloud resources.
• Incident Response: Establishing well-defined processes to detect, respond to, and mitigate cybersecurity incidents in the cloud.
• Compliance: Adhering to relevant industry regulations, standards, and best practices to ensure the cybersecurity and privacy of cloud-based data and systems.

Security should be your primary concern in data lifecycle management strategies. Our previous article discusses DLM, including its stages, considerations, and best strategies. To get there, simply click the link provided.

Learn More: Data Lifecycle Management Strategies: Stages, Considerations, and Best Practices

Identifying Cloud Security Threats

The cloud security landscape is constantly evolving, with new threats emerging regularly. Some of the most prevalent cloud cybersecurity threats include zero-day exploits, advanced persistent threats, insider threats, and cyber attacks.

Zero-day exploits are attacks that target vulnerabilities in popular software and operating systems that the vendor hasn’t patched yet. They are dangerous because they can exploit vulnerabilities, even if the cloud configuration is top-notch.

Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are sophisticated, sustained cyberattacks where an intruder establishes an undetected presence in a network to steal sensitive data over a period of time. They are dangerous because they can go undetected for months2.

Insider threats are cybersecurity threats that come from within the organisation, usually by a current or former employee, contractor, or business partner who has or had authorised access to an organisation’s network, systems, or data.

Cyberattacks are attempts by cybercriminals, hackers, or other digital adversaries to access a computer network or system, usually for the purpose of altering, stealing, destroying, or exposing information.

These attacks can cause significant financial and reputational damage to organisations, making cybersecurity measures essential for protecting sensitive data.

Best Practices for Cloud Cybersecurity

To mitigate these threats and ensure the cybersecurity of your cloud environment, it’s essential to adopt a comprehensive set of best practices. Crowdstrike provided a detailed 16-point list of cloud cybersecurity best practices that can serve as a benchmark for protecting the integrity of your data, including:

1. Understand the Shared Responsibility Model: All leading cloud service providers — AWS, Azure and GCP — follow a shared responsibility model when it comes to cloud security.
2. Secure the Perimeter: This involves setting up firewalls and other cybersecurity measures to protect your cloud environment from external threats.
3. Monitor for Misconfigurations: Regularly check your cloud configurations to ensure they are set up correctly and securely.
4. Use Identity & Access Management: Implement strong access controls to ensure only authorized individuals can access your cloud resources.
5. Enable cybersecurity Posture Visibility: This involves monitoring your cloud environment to understand your security posture at all times.
6. Implement Cloud Security Policies: Establish and enforce policies that dictate how your organization uses and secures its cloud resources.
7. Secure Your Containers: If you’re using containers in your cloud environment, make sure they are secured.
8. Perform Vulnerability Assessment and Remediation: Regularly scan your cloud environment for vulnerabilities and remediate any that are found.
9. Implement Zero Trust: This security model assumes no trust and verifies every request as though it originates from an open network.
10. Train Your Employees: Make sure your staff is educated about cloud cybersecurity and the potential threats.
11. Use Log Management & Monitoring: Regularly review and monitor logs to detect any unusual or suspicious activity.
12. Conduct Penetration Testing: Regularly test your cloud environment’s defences to ensure they can withstand attacks.
13. Encrypt Your Data: Protect your data by encrypting it, both in transit and at rest1.
14. Meet Compliance Requirements: Ensure your cloud environment complies with all relevant laws and regulations.
15. Execute Your Incident Response Plan: Have a plan in place for responding to security incidents and execute it when necessary.
16. Leverage a Comprehensive Cloud Cybersecurity Tool: Use a tool that provides a wide range of cloud cybersecurity features.

Remember, cloud security is a shared responsibility between the cloud service provider and the customer. While the provider is responsible for the cybersecurity of the cloud, customers are responsible for cybersecurity in the cloud.

Configuring Cloud Environments for Security

Securing your cloud environment requires a proactive approach to configuration and management. Key considerations include:

• Network Security: Implement firewalls, access control lists, and other network-level security controls.
• Security Automation: Leverage cloud-native security services and tools to automate security processes and reduce the risk of human error.
• Vulnerability Management: Regularly assess your cloud environment for vulnerabilities and apply timely patches and updates.
• Secure Development Practices: Integrate security considerations into the software development lifecycle for cloud-based applications.
• Continuous Monitoring and Optimization: Continuously monitor and optimize your cloud security posture to adapt to evolving threats and changing business requirements.

That’s all you need to know cloud security best practices. Securing your data is important, especially if you decide to archive some of them for future reference. In our previous article, we discussed data archiving strategies, including security measures. To get there, click on the link below.

Learn More: Data Archiving Strategies: Importance, Methods, and Best Practices

Conclusion

For businesses to succeed in the digital age, understanding cloud security is essential. Understanding the core principles, identifying the evolving threat landscape, and implementing best practices will help you protect your cloud-based assets and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data and applications.

Are you concerned about the security of your cloud-based operations?

Axle Networks IT Managed Services offers robust cloud management solutions tailored to your specific needs. With our team of experienced professionals, you can rest assured that your cloud-based resources and data will be protected from unauthorised access and potential security threats.