The cloud.
Two decades ago, it was an enigma. Many didn’t quite understand what it was, what it promised, or what it would become. Today, however, the cloud is everywhere. Consumers and businesses have become so entrenched in the cloud that going without it would become a brand-new kind of problem.
But going with it presents its own issues, especially within the realm of security. Unlike traditional methods of file storage and sharing, the cloud requires a third party, which often means you don’t have full control over every aspect of the system.
And that’s just looking at it from a consumer perspective. The bigger complications come when a business depends on the cloud for just about every aspect of its business workflow. Not only are you employing a number of services, but your developers might have to spend time and effort linking in-house applications to third-party APIs.
Survey conducted across seven countries with more than 2,500 cloud security and DevOps professionals. Source: Palo Alto Networks
The complications build from there, many of which carry their own special cybersecurity implications. But because nearly every enterprise business around the globe depends on the cloud, it’s important for them to take into consideration the security issues that have been, are, and will always be associated with the technology. According to Palo Alto Networks, “72% of organizations report an above-average turnover rate in cloud security roles.” At the same time, “78% of respondents want better day-one security” from the tools they use.
Clearly, the challenges are considerable. Let’s examine those challenges so you know what’s in store for your business and the teams/organizations that keep it running.
How to Deal with Data Loss and Security?
This issue should be front and center for your business every day. Chances are very good that you store data in the cloud. This data could be company information, client details, consumer records, bank information, product details, plans, contacts, or tax records. Some of that information might be common knowledge, while some might be highly sensitive.
Imagine if there was a breach in your third-party cloud provider, and all of that data was leaked to the public. That could be disastrous to your business.
The challenge here is that you’re not in control of the security of, say, Google Cloud, AWS, or Azure. Instead, you have to leave it in the hands of those respective teams. The good news is that all of those third-party cloud hosts are very good at keeping your data safe. That doesn’t mean, however, that there’s a 100% guarantee that nothing will happen. Because of that, you might consider keeping your most sensitive data in-house.
Of course, even then, there’s no guarantee that your company LAN won’t be hacked.
There are ways that you can help to prevent such a breach. Let’s look at some of the best practices.
Pay Attention to Insecure APIs
One of the many ways hackers are able to breach the likes of Google Cloud is by way of insecure APIs. If your company depends on various APIs to link your internal systems to a third-party cloud, it’s imperative that either you use a known, trusted API or your developers build custom APIs with security at the heart of the software.
This might mean your business would have to employ a security organization (or internal team) to vet the code for the API. It might be tempting to use the API as soon as your developers finish building it, but giving that code a good shakedown will go a long way to help prevent data breaches. If every company would carefully vet their custom API code, the chances of hackers accessing those third-party clouds would drop considerably.
Keep API code clean, bug- and vulnerability-free, and always updated.
At the same time, it is imperative that your developers not save account passwords or keys within the API code. Make sure to use a secrets manager so those keys are not only stored outside of the API but are also encrypted.
A small software development company that provides marketing solutions for mortgage lenders, banks and credit unions, contacted BairesDev to create a user-friendly, highly scalable React application bound with a safe, modern back-end API structure. Considering how security is paramount in cloud projects, we got to work performing multiple tasks, including Identity Server 4-based authorization and authentication, peer-to-peer microservice integration, and Google Cloud Platform deployment.
Update User Accounts
Chances are pretty good that your developers and DevOps teams aren’t the only ones using your company cloud accounts. You probably have hundreds (or maybe thousands) of users with accounts that are used daily.
Now, imagine one of those user accounts is hijacked, giving a threat actor access to the goods within.
That is one of the biggest security threats you will come across when dealing with the cloud. Because of that, you must employ strict password policies as well as usage policies. Unless an employee has a reason for connecting to their cloud accounts beyond your company LAN, you should prevent it. The only reason for allowing external access would be for remote employees. Even then, you should lean into strict passwords, usage, hardware, and access policies. This is especially true for those users who have permission to access the data housed within your cloud.
It would be a good idea to require regular password changes (along with the requirement of solid/unique passwords). Also, ensure users regularly delete data from their accounts that they do not need or no longer use.
You Need Trained and Skilled Professionals
You must have a development team with the skills to write secure code. The need for highly skilled employees should not stop there. You need managers who can successfully work with the dashboards offered by your cloud provider as well as know their way around all of the available security tools.
If you have staff members who aren’t highly trained in your cloud platform of choice, you risk someone misconfiguring an option, leaving your company open to break-ins. Once you’ve decided on a cloud provider (or even after you’ve decided), the next step should be getting those involved with the development, management, and usage of the cloud platform adequately trained to mitigate mistakes.
Keep an Eye Out for DoS
Denial-of-Service attacks are the most common problem companies face. These attacks can render your network unusable, which means you won’t be able to work with your cloud. Although this might not lead to direct hacks of your systems, DoS attacks can be used to hold your network for ransom.
Because of this, it is essential that you focus enough effort to keep not only your cloud secure but also your LAN. And DoS attacks aren’t the only problem. You should also keep watch for break-ins that could lead to hackers discovering user credentials for cloud accounts or accessing your proprietary API code.
If you’re interested in addressing cybersecurity challenges in your company, learn more about our cybersecurity expertise, our technical skills, and certifications.
Conclusion: Meet Security Challenges Head-On
You might think that since you’re paying for a third-party cloud, you can foist all security concerns on the provider. The truth is that you are just as responsible for the security of your cloud accounts as the provider.
Consider these challenges and meet them head-on. Do not be ill-prepared for the constant security challenges you face when you adopt the cloud as part of your infrastructure.
As they always say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
