Cloud security: Best practices

Cloud security refers to the practices, technologies, and policies that protect applications, infrastructure, and data in the cloud computing environment. The security of the cloud is not only the responsibility of the cloud service provider (CSP) but also the organizations using the CSP.

While considering cloud security, the following should be known:

• CSPs are not responsible for protecting the organization's data or connections.

• Security should be designed in the cloud architecture from the start.

• Not having proper measures for cloud security can lead to downtime and affect operations.

Ensuring cloud security is important for data protection, requirements compliance, risk mitigation, building trust, scalability, and cost-efficiency. In this Answer, we will explore some of the best practices for securing your cloud infrastructure.

1. Understand the shared responsibility model

You should be aware of the shared responsibility model. Cloud service providers never take full responsibility for securing the data on the cloud. Depending on the contract with a CSP, they will limit their responsibility to host infrastructure, network controls, and physical security of servers. The shared responsibility model suggests that the CSP will take on some of the responsibilities, and you will take care of the rest. These responsibilities may include managing user access, where to store specific data etc.

Want to dive deep? Check out the "What is the AWS shared responsibility model?" Answer explaining how shared responsibility model works in AWS.

2. Create an access management policy

The client always controls access management. Creating an access management policy and handling it with the growing organization is critical. The purpose of access management is to define the users, determine the rights each user will have, and control when these rights will be granted or revoked by the user.

3. Understand cloud usage

You should identify which data is sensitive and needs to be regulated. The major risk in a cloud application is data loss or theft, so this is an important step to take. Once the data is identified, determine who can access it and how they will use it.

Proceed with auditing the access management, network configuration, and encryption configurations. With user behavior analytics, monitor any odd behavior that indicates malicious use of the cloud data.

4. Protect your cloud

After understanding your cloud usage, you can protect your cloud infrastructure. To protect against sensitive data breaches, you can either remove the data from the cloud or apply data protection policies and inform the user of the consequences of breaking your policy.

Another way to protect sensitive data is to encrypt it with keys. This will protect it from third parties. Depending on the type of data, you can restrict how it is shared with others. To further protect your data, apply anti-malware technologies on your OS and virtual networks.

5. Respond to security issues

Despite having applied all necessary security practices to secure your cloud, there is always an unknown security risk. It’s best to prepare for it by applying automated or guided responses on a regular basis. These could be applying MFAMulti-Factor Authentication to access sensitive data, update web access policies, set alarms or warnings for breaches, and remove malware from a cloud service.

With advancements in cloud services, the variety of risks also increases, so it is best to be vigilant about cloud security. Businesses should be aware of the security services provided by their CSPs and take care of the rest by implementing their own security measures, such as managing access control, data encryption, and monitoring user activity.

Take a plunge: Learn how to secure your AWS environment by exploring our Cloud Labs. These labs offer hands-on experience with AWS security services, enabling you to secure your AWS environments effectively.

Checklist: 9 best practices for cloud security

To conclude it all, here is a list of best practices that you should implement in your cloud environment to ensure its security:

• Understand how your cloud service provider (CSP) handles infrastructure, network controls, and physical security.

• Incorporate security measures at the start of your cloud deployment.

• Define user roles and assign appropriate access levels. Review and revoke access regularly to ensure up-to-date user permissions.

• Identify which data needs to be protected and regulated and then implement security measures that define who can access this data and how it should be used.

• Encrypt sensitive data to protect it from unauthorized access by third parties.

• Regularly audit access management, network configuration, and encryption policies.

• Enforce data protection policies, and educate users on the consequences of violations.

• Regularly update web access policies, apply MFA, and set up automated responses to breaches.

• Keep yourself up-to-date with the new security services and capabilities provided by your CSP to strengthen protection.