Is the Cloud Infrastructure Secure - Business Perspective

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February 22, 2023 Business

Recent years have shown a drastic increase in organizations migrating their computing requirements from on-premises applications and infrastructure to the cloud, and with that, we also see cloud infrastructure security being questioned. It all stems from the belief that migrating to the cloud is essential for a business’s growth and numerous benefits prove it.

The cloud breaks down content administration to its basics, improves collaboration, and increases your application options and data accessibility.

A trusted cloud service provider can answer your concerns and offer a high-quality cloud service that guarantees the security of your data. Cloud infrastructure security includes the controls, policies, practices, and technologies that protect applications, data, and infrastructure from internal and external threats.

Cloud security is essential in implementing successful digital transformation plans and integrating cloud-based solutions and services into existing operating structures.

Potential threats to Cloud Infrastructure Security

Data loss can be devastating for businesses. Modern companies face many risks, from accidental deletions to malicious actions by strangers who access important data or seize it to extort money. Since businesses rely heavily on data and security, it is best to outsource their data and operations to a safer place than a local server.

Of course, there are various concerns regarding storing valuable and confidential data in the cloud. Before going cloud-native, note that you are handing a 3rd cloud vendor crucial data that can put your company at significant risk. Hence, you need to thoroughly understand the terms provided in the contract and ensure that your cloud service provider has stringent measures to guarantee that your information is always secure.

Another possible risk connected to cloud infrastructure security is denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, aiming to stop a network or system, making it inaccessible to the end users. It’s achieved by sending too much data or harmful information to the target server, causing it to crash. Unfortunately, cloud-native businesses do not influence DoS attacks; thus, they must have a personal data backup.

Although keeping important data elsewhere and accessing it via the Internet may appear riskier, cloud vendors have more security elements, including identification, authorization, and encrypted end-to-end communications. You’ll have control over who can access the data, and the cloud provider can help you manage and keep it secured.

What Makes Cloud Infrastructure Secure?

Cloud infrastructure security, or cloud security, is a combination of various policies, methodologies, technologies, and protocols to safeguard cloud-based data, systems, and applications. In other words, protecting client data and privacy is a central role of such security measures.

Organizations also enforce authentication policies for specific users and devices, focusing more on cloud infrastructure security due to geopolitical threats that vary in form but have the same goal – to tailor security practices to a company’s needs. The company requirements can range from granting access to enacting traffic filtering. Moreover, as these rules can be created and maintained in a centralized location, administrative costs decrease, allowing IT personnel to concentrate on differentiated solutions and offerings.

The view of cloud infrastructure security depends on the company’s needs with a dependency on the data, application, and cloud provider services. On the other hand, cloud security measures should be shared between the service provider and the company owner.

Cloud security safeguards everything between data servers, applications, and physical networks. In a cloud computing environment, ownership of these components might differ considerably, and the evolving landscape can make it challenging to define the scope of a company’s security responsibilities. It’s critical to understand how they’re often classified because cloud security can seem different depending on who is in charge of each component.

Common Types of Cloud Environments and Their Security

Cloud environments are systems where one or more cloud services unite to provide a system for end-users and enterprises. These divide the management duties between clients and service providers, including infrastructure security.

Public Cloud

Public cloud environments are multi-tenant cloud services where a customer can share a provider’s servers with other clients; it’s the same as an office complex or a work area. The provider supplies a third-party service to give customers web access.

As the use of public cloud services increases, it becomes even more critical to ensure that data is secure. Businesses must be aware of the risks associated with storing data in a public cloud and consider measures like encryption and multi-factor authentication protocols to safeguard their data from potential malicious activity.

Private Cloud

A private in-house cloud comprises single-tenant cloud service servers that run from their own data center. In this case, the organization is in charge of the cloud environment, allowing for complete configuration and deployment of all components.

It is an ideal option for businesses of any size looking for a secure but flexible infrastructure that provides control over access levels and data integrity without requiring expensive hardware or software programs.

Hybrid Cloud

A Hybrid Cloud is a mix of one or more public clouds with a private third-party and/or an on-premise private cloud data center. It allows organizations to take advantage of the agility and scalability of the public cloud while still relying on the security and control of private clouds.

However, it’s important to remember that hybrid clouds introduce a unique set of challenges that must be addressed to ensure the safety and security of sensitive data. Security teams must stay vigilant and be sure to look out for any new threats or vulnerabilities that may arise due to this unique deployment model, as well as evaluate existing measures and adjust them if necessary. By taking these precautions, organizations can maintain an effective balance between convenience and performance in terms of cloud security.

Multi-Cloud

Multi-cloud infrastructure simultaneously utilizes two or more cloud services from different providers. These services can be a mix of public and private cloud services; thus, to support the infrastructure, businesses need tools like Terraform, Okta, and Spacelift.

A multi-cloud system allows businesses to access multiple cloud services within the same environment and benefit from the security tools and protocols each cloud solution has to offer. Not only do organizations gain a holistic view of their networks and workloads with multi-cloud implementation, but they can also employ best practices for even safer systems. With appropriate integrations in place to ensure secure data transfers, companies can create highly reliable platforms that generate value from both public and private clouds, all while allowing applications to thrive without compromising security.

The Benefits of Cloud Computing Security

For an enterprise, the advantages of cloud security services are priceless.

To maintain compliance and guarantee 24/7 accessibility everywhere, cloud computing security is needed. On a surface level, cloud computing security enables security centralization to ensure business transparency required in the cloud. Since you’re not using unnecessary resources to ensure data protection in a remote infrastructure, cloud security is significantly reduced, which is perfect as it’s essential for warrantying continuous data security.

The services have a major advantage in reliability, further benefiting from data security that prevents external parties from accessing or amending your data. Moreover, cloud computing security promises privacy and compliance with regulatory requirements. In particular businesses, compliance is crucial, and proficient cloud providers will give solutions to secure your data and construct a compliant architecture while providing various choices.

An enterprise must have a cloud computing security plan, as 97% of organizations across the globe use cloud services. Full transparency and knowledge of your data are a must-have to be available for business operations and mental peace alike.

Final words

In conclusion, cloud computing can offer a powerful and secure solution for businesses of all sizes. By moving storage and processing needs off-site to the cloud, businesses can take advantage of greater scalability and reliable access to their data without worrying about the security risks associated with in-house systems. Cloud security options are rich and varied, allowing users to tailor their system’s setup based on their specific needs and preferences. Cloud computing security is an invaluable tool for private organizations today, and its future growth is inevitable.

About the author:

Mariusz Michalowski is a Community Manager at Spacelift