Cloud computing is sweeping across industries and many organizations are moving to the cloud to scale up their business. However, when it is not managed properly, it can also expose the organizations to sophisticated cyber-attacks. With more organizations employing hybrid work environment while moving their workloads and data to the cloud, there has never been a greater need for a holistic approach to security management.
The cloud is an enabler of business productivity, yet it must be used with a security-first approach to minimize risk. With the rising security risks and compliance issues, security aspects with respect to cloud infrastructure need to be incorporated from the very beginning. As per a recent study, 79% of enterprises want better integrated security and governance for their data in the cloud.
Here are five cloud security trends that can help you to navigate your way through the ever-evolving cloud security challenges:
#1 DevSecOps: It stands for development, security, and operations. It is the seamless integration of security testing and protection throughout the software development and deployment lifecycle. Like DevOps, DevSecOps is as much about culture and shared responsibility as it is about any specific technology or techniques. It requires a change in culture, process, and tools across these core functional teams that makes security a shared responsibility.
#2 Cybersecurity Mesh: Gartner defines cybersecurity mesh architecture as a composable and scalable approach to extending security controls, even to widely distributed assets. It is a practice of implementing IT security infrastructure resulting in building perimeters at the time of development. Many security practices use a single perimeter to secure an entire IT environment, but a cybersecurity mesh uses a holistic approach. It independently secures each device with its own perimeter such as firewalls and network protection tools.
#3 Intelligent Security: As the move to the cloud gains traction, and artificial intelligence and machine learning build momentum, businesses need to relook at their security postures. In order to complement their technological advancements, it is important that enterprises leverage technologies such as AI and ML for complete data security. Such a strategic approach to cybersecurity ensures that ‘zero-trust’ principles are being implemented at every stage, to secure hybrid and remote environments.
#4 Cloud Native Tools and Platforms: When working on cloud platforms, cloud-native applications have become increasingly popular. These leverage the speed and efficiency of the cloud, and are designed specifically to work in such environments. What companies fail to realise is that when working with the cloud, they need to be mindful about choosing the right security tools and platforms. Those which are designed for on-prem applications might not work for cloud-based resources, and failing to choose the right platforms can leave applications open to threats.
#5 Shift Left Security: Shift-Left Security is the practice of moving security checks as early and often in the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) as possible. By moving steps such as testing and security to the development stage, fewer mistakes are allowed to pass through advanced stages of SDLC. Vulnerabilities found earlier in development are much easier and cheaper to fix. It usually means less work for Quality Analysts and less remediation costs for businesses.
Wrapping up
Organizations are likely to move more services to the cloud in the coming year. So, there will be a rise in attacks on the infrastructure and the data it contains. Moving forward, cybersecurity efficiency will be defined by the organizations’ ability to proactively identify and prevent cyber-attacks in the cloud. With the right cloud security tools and frameworks, organizations can bolster their security to minimize the threat of a cyber breach.
(The author is Mr. Neelesh Kripalani, Chief Technology Officer, Clover Infotech and the views expressed in this article are his own)
