The Importance of Cloud Security
Cloud Security protects business content in the cloud, including customer orders, secret design documents and financial records, to prevent sensitive information leakage or theft. It also prevents data loss due to server hardware damage or disruption of service at the CSP, such as a power outage or data center fire.
Cloud security must also address the fact that these systems are constantly interacting with end-user devices and other services that must be secured as well, making them vulnerable to many of the same problems that traditional IT environments face. For instance, a simple misconfiguration can leave an application exposed to attacks and expose an organization to compliance issues with data protection laws.
This is why it’s essential to choose a CSP that balances security and user experience, using guardrails and automation where possible to keep security from slowing down the business. The goal is frictionless security that can withstand the test of time and changing business processes.
It’s also critical to deploy business-critical resources and apps in logically isolated sections of the provider’s cloud network, with granular access policies at subnet gateways. This helps to prevent unauthorized cloud migration and deployment, as well as enables more consistent governance and policy enforcement. Finally, it’s essential to use cloud security controls like identity and access management (IAM) to ensure that only authorized users have access to organizational resources. It’s also important to encrypt data at rest, in use and in transit, and to implement continuous monitoring with threat intelligence.