Some organizations have bought into the idea that workloads in the cloud are inherently more secure than those on premises. This idea is reinforced by the concept that the cloud service provider assumes responsibility for security. However, while a secure cloud workload is possible, one should not automatically assume this as there are important steps to ensure its security.
Cloud security is a shared responsibility
Migrating to the cloud does not alleviate an organization’s cyber risk, nor does it transfer the risk to the CSP. Instead, it requires a shared security model where roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. While the shared security model does make some aspects of cloud security easier, managing the risk of exploitation by sophisticated cyber threat actors is not one of them.
For most security operations teams, monitoring on-premises workloads was easier. They could see what entered and left the environment, they owned the data, they had visibility into anomalies, and could triage them with a deeper investigation without involving a third party.
Doing this across a hybrid and multi-cloud environment is more complex. It requires a new approach beyond what is typically offered by a CSP, which is usually not robust or ideally suited for a security-first organization.
Many security issues involving cloud environments are caused by misconfigurations that expose large amounts of data to the world. Cyber adversaries are constantly scanning the internet looking for these mishaps and are prepared to act upon discovery. As a result, organizations are potentially one misconfiguration away from public access. Compounding this risk is a new class of cloud administrators who may not have a background in security and governance.
Visibility is the best defense against cyber threats in cloud environments
The federal government is leading the push to accelerate the migration to ZTA. This is not only an immense technical challenge but also a policy, process, workforce, legal, and cultural challenge.
One major technical concern that organizations need to anticipate is that moving to a complex and segmented environment that leverages multiple cloud and SaaS offerings will create blind spots for security teams, as they will no longer be able to see lateral movement by cyber adversaries within segments, containers, and virtual platforms.
Unfortunately, today, over 60 percent of IT leaders believe that today’s observability solutions serve narrow requirements and fail to provide a complete view of current operating conditions. As such, the only way to successfully protect your data, verify that your defenses are working, and provide an insurance mechanism if some of your security controls are subverted is to gain deep observability across your hybrid cloud infrastructure.
The team here at Mission Critical Systems is committed to working with you and your business to help optimize and secure your IT infrastructure and systems. We want to help you ensure your business is successful and are always at the ready to help!
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