Cloud computing is one of the newest and most innovative elements of information technology. It has offered a new paradigm, innovation, and potential for all the different industry verticals. Almost every industry now uses it and is excited about the cloud’s ability to bring different elements of a business together in a safe and secure manner. That said, adapting strategies to properly use the cloud and worries about potential security breaches is something that remains of concern. This is why cloud security monitoring is now such a hot topic.
The Need for Cloud Security Monitoring
There are some significant threats and risks out there that target anything to do with safety on computers and the internet. It doesn’t matter whether someone is a cloud provider or user, they have to face these risks. This is why there are now a number of industry standards in place that ensure everyone is able to use the cloud in a way that is safe and secure. This starts by understanding exactly what the risks are, and then putting measures in place to address them.
The main risks associated with cloud computing are:
Flagrant and abusive use of the cloud
As an environment, the cloud has made a number of utilities more accessible. This includes unlimited storage capacity and bandwidth, often needed for smoot operations. Some cloud providers also offer additional usage and free trials. Unfortunately, this also leads to them facing malicious attacks and other security threats. The main areas of concern include password cracking and decoding, executing malicious commands, and launching potential attack points. Thankfully, it is possible to protect yourself from this by:
Having a stringent validation and registration process in place.
Regularly monitoring the platform and coordinating this properly.
Understanding where network traffic comes from.
Keeping an eye on all network blocks.
Serious breaches in APIs and interfaces
The cloud gives users smooth access to a range of different APIs and interfaces, through which internal communication is executed. APIs are vital for the monitoring, orchestration, management, and provisioning of the overall cloud environment’s running. The authentication thereof must be monitored and access control functions should be put in place. This includes activity monitoring policies and strong encryption methods, thereby avoiding malicious attacks. Some of the ways you can avoid a breach include:
To understand the cloud APIs’ security model.
To have appropriate access and authentication controls in place.
To evaluate the chain for its API dependency.
Attacks and threats from insiders
The final area of concern is when attacks happen from the inside. This can happen when the cloud provider does not offer transparency in terms of their delivery procedure and mechanism. If there is a superficial command that allows internal people to have more access, such as a master key, then there is a real risk of corporate hacking and other such problems. This can be prevented by:
Having an overarching information security policy in place.
Reporting regularly on compliance.
Having notification processes in place if there is a breach of some description.
