2015 Blog Post – As cloud services become increasingly widespread and popular, many of the myths surrounding cloud security are inevitably fading away. In the technology’s early P, many people viewed the cloud with extreme suspicion, assuming that entrusting their data and operations to third-party cloud vendors was inherently less secure than keeping these resources on-premise. Such a view was based more on fear than reality, and is quickly fading away. For example, a recent Black Hat and Bromium survey of 100 IT professionals found that only 9 percent considered the cloud the greatest security threat facing their organizations, tied with networks. By comparison, 55 percent pointed to endpoints and 27 percent cited insider threats, Cloud Tweaks reported.
Still, despite all of this, the fact remains that cloud security is indeed an issue that companies’ IT leaders need to take seriously. To this end, it’s critical for organizations to embrace cloud deployment strategies that emphasize both visibility and agility.
Visibility needed
FCW contributor Pete Nicoletti recently highlighted the importance of visibility in cloud security efforts. Nicoletti focused his attention on cloud computing among federal agencies, but this point holds true for any cloud deployment in either the public or private sector. Specifically, the writer emphasized that IT decision-makers must make visibility a priority when considering embracing any third-party cloud services. This is important not just for ensuring the integrity of cloud-based resources, but also in terms of the closely related issue of compliance.
“IT leaders need insight into the entire data-hosting network system – locally, regionally and globally – to ensure that compliance standards are met and that the provider is operating transparently,” Nicoletti wrote.
To confidently embrace a cloud solution, IT decision-makers must be aware of all of the components involved in the implementation, and have the ability to check in on these areas easily whenever needed. There’s simply no real way to protect a cloud-based network and its data if administrators and decision-makers are unaware of exactly what they are defending. This holds true whether the responsibility for cloud security services is kept in-house or outsourced to a third-party managed services provider. In the latter case, that third party should be willing to work closely with the company’s in-house team to develop a transparent, trusting relationship.
Agility advantages
In addition to visibility, cloud security demands agility. The cloud – and the threats it faces – is constantly evolving, and so cybersecurity efforts in this area need to develop apace to hold these dangers at bay. This is particularly true when it comes to hybrid clouddeployments, as Forbes contributor Jack Sepple recently highlighted. He pointed out that, in order to remain one step ahead of sophisticated and tenacious hackers, companies need to embrace policies and attitudes that go beyond traditional data security strategies.
“Companies that are doing this well are expanding their security measures beyond the traditional, internal perimeter – downgrading the intranet to an equal trust level as the public Internet,” Sepple wrote. “This disruptive perspective allows for streamlined, consistent security processes to be created, operated and maintained across any environment, public or private.”
To this end, the writer emphasized the importance of integrating “automation, orchestration, workflow and accessibility” into their overall cloud security plans.
Developing, implementing and maintaining such a sophisticated, multi-component cloud security strategy is not an easy task, especially for IT teams with limited resources. That is why it is often far better for businesses looking to shore up their cloud security capabilities to partner with a managed cloud security services provider such as Datapipe. Datapipe’s experts have unbeatable levels of experience and knowledge in this area, allowing them to work closely with clients to develop transparent, agile, reliable strategies and solutions.