Securing and Protecting Your Application Services in the Cloud!
So, what is the best way to provide 360 degree protection against these security risks?
A best practice approach to addressing security needs is to employ firewall services and endpoint protection. This approach still leaves a gap in network visibility. In all security breaches, there is one common element. That is the network. The network is the transmission medium that data uses to get from place to place. When an attack is initiated, the firewall makes decisions whether to allow or deny permission for that flow to continue. Just as with any security system, criminals strive to circumvent the measures put into place. They use every method available to them, including open- source tools, to gain access to sensitive information on the companies’ network.
When the decision is made to move company assets into the “cloud”, by default, that organization is actively giving up some of the controls that an on-premises infrastructure allows them. The chief decision maker must understand that security of the data remains their responsibility in the cloud, and they must plan to address security as part of their planning process. It is imperative to protect customer and employee information to be a good corporate citizen.
Challenges
Cloud Computing offers several benefits for companies considering a move from their private data centers. Scalability on demand, elastic flexibility and cost savings are among the biggest benefits. This does not mean the cloud compute environment is completely secure. Cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, but customers are responsible for ensuring data and applications are secure. IT staff are tasked with configuring security settings, managing access control, and monitoring their environment for security threats.
One key risk of using cloud computing is the potential for data breaches. While cloud providers implement security measures to protect the infrastructure, customers are responsible for protecting their users’ data. This includes implementing strong
encryption, access controls, and monitoring their network for unauthorized access. Also of importance is the need to ensure the company’s’ applications themselves are secure by utilizing secure coding practices and regularly testing for vulnerabilities.
Another risk associated with cloud computing is the potential for misconfiguration, either purposeful or accidental.
Here again, it Is the company’s responsibility to ensure their cloud environment configurations are appropriately and correctly implemented to meet their security policies. Misconfigurations can lead to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers and other nefarious actors. Companies moving to the cloud must monitor all vital assets for the possibility of misconfigurations and ensure they are rectified as soon as possible. Cloud providers provide basic tools to help customers monitor their environment, but there is a gap between what is offered and what will truly protect the security of the network.
Endpoint security protects the edge of the network and adequately secures what they have been programmed to stop, but what if the hacker is attacking another device on the network that is not protected? This gap in the security posture can be discovered and exploited by hackers.
A unique 360 degree approach!
Network visibility best approached with instrumentation that is designed to be scalable and addresses 4 critical elements customers are concerned with today:
• Continuous Attack Surface Monitoring – The ability to capture data coming into and leaving your critical infrastructure 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Advanced Early Warning– The ability to monitor and detect reconnaissance activities and other cyber threats.
• Contact Tracing – The ability to review host and server traffic to determine exactly who they contacted and who contact them.
• Back-In-Time Investigation – The ability to inspect historical data and provide empirical evidence of each transaction being investigated.
Author - Rich van de Groenekan is a Principal Systems Engineer with NETSCOUT Systems, where he works to help organizations identify and understand cybersecurity risks to allow them to make strategic business decisions. Rich is passionate about Cyber Intelligence. Rich has over 28 years of experience in the high technology and cyber security. Rich is dedicated to sharing his cybersecurity thought leadership.
Rich can be reached at - rich.v@netscout.com