Cloud Security Posture Management Best Practices

January 13, 2023

As per a recent report by intelligence firm IDC, 97% of companies surveyed said they had experienced at least one cloud data breach one & a half year before the study. The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) recently said that due to unsecured cloud databases, in the Q3 of 2021, the total cases of data compromise reached 160 million (more than Q1 and Q2 of 2021 taken together). It’s not just about the quantity. According to IBM, the severity and Cost of breaches also grew, whether a company, the cloud provider, or both initiated the breaches. The 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report (CODBR) from IBM found that the average Cost of a breach reached $5 million for companies with high levels of cloud footprint. Today we are seeing more and more companies & organizations moving to the cloud, and as this technology becomes more complex, the threats are also becoming complex. This blog will see best practices for cloud security posture management.

Define the responsibilities distribution for cloud security 

If there are clear boundaries, it may lead to understanding, grey areas, and eventually susceptibilities. Cloud security posture management must start with making and following a clear responsibilities definition. Cloud services (Google, Amazon, Azure, etc.) show a shared responsibility plan that provides security responsibilities in the cloud between the cloud provider and the customer. In a simple sense, the cloud provider can be responsible for the security of the cloud, while the customer is considered responsible for security in the cloud.

Get complete visibility into your cloud resources

As the cloud system is decentralized, countless systems, applications, and networks continuously create & process sensitive data in many different locations. Before proceeding with taking any security action, it is essential that you identify, classify and map the data locations and flows. You can do this using several tools. These tools automatically locate, map, and label all relevant data. This means you can constantly monitor for data vulnerabilities and compliance violations and take actions to fix them before they become a severe problem.

Protection against common misconfiguration

Research has proved that misconfigurations are the usual causes of data breaches. To avoid this problem, you will have to take these steps:

Establish a configuration baseline & check for deviations.
Unceasingly monitor changes and their sources.

Note that it is essential to use the right tools to detect and resolve such problems automatically.

Protect against internal breaches

IBM’s ‘Cost of a Data Breach’ report said that nearly half of the data breaches begin from internal threats. These threats include – social engineering, sharing data outside the organization, use of informal channels, use of unauthorized devices, theft of company devices etc.

You must educate, brief, and train the employees in areas such as:

Internal security policies and procedures.
Different ways attackers may approach them and how to respond to them.
The risks coming from remote working.

It is also essential that you take actions such as:

Bound USB and peripheral use.
Use sturdy encryption.
Enable remote wipe options.
Automatically detect and monitor all types of data created across all systems, networks, and apps.
Regularly monitor security policies and procedures adherence.

Create a cloud governance program

It would help if you thought about creating a good cloud governance program. This could be a set of rules, policies, direction, and control. This should result in a delicate equilibrium – fulfilling the users’ needs while ensuring that the strictest and best security rules and practices are implemented.

At the time of creating such a cloud governance program, you should:

Take into account controls like those described by The Center for Internet Security – CIS.
Outline target environments.
Find out exceptions – what are they? When & for how long is each exception in place? For which users has it been applied?

Evading cloud security problems by unceasingly finding and solving problems before they can be exploited is the best way to device your Cloud Security Posture Management. ISmile Technologies helps you reimagine cloud security by building it into the foundation of your company so that it can meet your business’s evolving needs cost-effectively as a fully managed, ‘as-a-service’ model ensuring business continuity. Are you interested in optimizing your cloud security posture management? Schedule your free assessment today.