Five Must-Adopt Cloud Security Practices

Some businesses employ ethical hackers or "red teams" to simulate an attack on their cloud infrastructure. This best practice will uncover security vulnerabilities until they are discovered by a criminal hacker or flagged in an external audit.

Fremont, CA: Transition to the cloud is one of the most important technology changes the business can face. The details of cloud security activities differ depending on your cloud platforms and use cases, but there are certain acceptable practices that any company should follow.

Here are five cloud securities every organization needs to practice:

Put the Systems to the Test

Check the cloud protection controls to see how well they can stand up to a cyber attack. Some businesses employ ethical hackers or "red teams" to simulate an attack on their cloud infrastructure. This best practice will uncover security vulnerabilities until they are discovered by a criminal hacker or flagged in an external audit.

Know Cloud Security Responsibilities

It is your responsibility and not your cloud provider to handle sufficient access and permissions for every user and device that interacts with cloud-based systems. These systems can include essential software or databases stored in the cloud, cloud frameworks for application creation, or tools used by the company or technical teams.

Take Extra Care for Third Parties

Vendor protection should be practiced as long as the third party is actively engaging with your company, and as soon as the interaction is finished. Vendor privileged access management (VPAM) solutions will include risks, handle privileged access, and include an audit trail to keep everyone accountable.

Plan for Change

The occasional discovery search of privileged accounts will not provide you with the exposure and control you need. Instead, implement continuous discovery for all types of cloud accounts as best practice. Then you should make sure your approvals are correctly configured and that proper monitoring is in place.

Map Compliance Requirements to Cloud Functions

Mapping your privileged access management policies to any enforcement mandates that are necessary for your company. If you're adopting NIST, CIS Controls, or some other best practice system for cybersecurity, make sure you have cloud defense in your policies.