CLOUD SECURITY – ISMS TIPS

WHY CLOUD SECURITY IS IMPORTANT?

In modern-day enterprises, there has been a growing transition to cloud-based environments and IaaS, Paas, or SaaS computing models. The dynamic nature of infrastructure management, especially in scaling applications and services, can bring number of challenges to enterprises when adequately resourcing their departments. These as-a-service models give organizations the ability to offload many of the time-consuming, IT-related tasks.

As companies continue to migrate to the cloud, understanding the security requirements for keeping data safe has become critical. While third-party cloud computing providers may take on the management of this infrastructure, the responsibility of data asset security and accountability doesn’t necessarily shift along with it.

By default, most cloud providers follow the best security practices and take active steps to protect the integrity of their servers. However, organizations need to make their own considerations when protecting data, applications, and workloads running on the cloud.

Security threats have become more advanced as the digital landscape continues to evolve. These threats explicitly target cloud computing providers due to an organization’s overall lack of visibility in data access and movement. Without taking active steps to improve their cloud security, organizations can face significant governance and compliance risks when managing client information, regardless of where it is stored.

Cloud security should be an important topic of discussion regardless of the size of your enterprise.  Cloud infrastructure supports nearly all aspects of modern computing in all industries and across multiple verticals.

However, successful cloud adoption is dependent on putting in place adequate countermeasures to defend against modern-day cyberattacks. Regardless of whether your organization operates in a public, private, or hybrid cloud environment, cloud security solutions and best practices are a necessity when ensuring business continuity.

CHALLENGES OF CLOUD SECURITY

There are several potential challenges to cloud security:

1. Data breaches– since cloud service providers manage large amounts of data for multiple clients, it can make them susceptible to cyber-attacks or data breaches.
2. Data breaches– since cloud service providers manage large amounts of data for multiple clients, it can make them susceptible to cyber-attacks or data breaches.
3. Insecure APIs – application programming interfaces (APIs) are used to connect cloud-based services with third-party applications or systems. If these APIs are not properly secured, it can expose data or infrastructure to cyber threats.
4. Insider threats– as users with access to the cloud may have access to sensitive data, they can also pose a threat to cloud security. Therefore, cloud systems must be monitored continuously for security breaches.
5. Compromised credentials– If an attacker can get hold of a user’s identity credentials, he/she can be impersonated to access confidential data.
6. Regulatory compliance– companies that store personal and sensitive data within the cloud must adhere to specific governance and compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS and GDPR. The responsibility of security compliance lies with the cloud provider, but often clients mistakenly misinterpret a provider’s compliance capabilities. Overall accountability for data privacy and security still rests with the enterprise, and heavy reliance on third-party solutions to manage this component can lead to costly compliance issues.
7. Lack of visibility– companies that use the cloud for data storage and services may have limited control over the security and system administration of their data, as cloud providers may not give the necessary access to clients.
8. Limited view of log and usage data – the cloud provider holds responsibility for the system logs and usage data and can be vague about offering a detailed view of this information to clients.
9. Multitenancy – Public cloud environments house multiple client infrastructures under the same umbrella, so it’s possible your hosted services can get compromised by malicious attackers as collateral damage when targeting other businesses.
10. Access management and shadow IT – While enterprises may be able to successfully manage and restrict access points across on-premises systems, administering these same levels of restrictions can be challenging in cloud environments. This can be dangerous for organizations that don’t deploy bring-your-own device (BYOD) policies and allow unfiltered access to cloud services from any device or geolocation.
11. Misconfigurations – Misconfigured assets accounted for 86% of breached records in 2019, making the inadvertent insider a key issue for cloud computing environments. Misconfigurations can include leaving default administrative passwords in place, or not creating appropriate privacy settings.

TYPES OF CLOUD SECURITY

1.    Identity and access management (IAM)

Identity and access management (IAM) tools and services allow enterprises to deploy policy-driven enforcement protocols for all users attempting to access both on-premises and cloud-based services. The core functionality of IAM is to create digital identities for all users so they can be actively monitored and restricted when necessary, during all data interactions

2.    Data loss prevention (DLP)

Data loss prevention (DLP) services offer a set of tools and services designed to ensure the security of regulated cloud data. DLP solutions use a combination of remediation alerts, data encryption, and other preventative measures to protect all stored data, whether at rest or in motion.

3.    Security information and event management (SIEM)

Security information and event management (SIEM) provides a comprehensive security orchestration solution that automates threat monitoring, detection, and response in cloud-based environments. Using artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technologies to correlate log data across multiple platforms and digital assets, SIEM technology gives IT teams the ability to successfully apply their network security protocols while being able to quickly react to any potential threats.

4.    Business continuity and disaster recovery

Regardless of the preventative measures organizations have in place for their on-premises and cloud-based infrastructures, data breaches and disruptive outages can still occur. Enterprises must be able to quickly react to newly discovered vulnerabilities or significant system outages as soon as possible. Disaster recovery solutions are a staple in cloud security and provide organizations with the tools, services, and protocols necessary to expedite the recovery of lost data and resume normal business operations.

CFS ISMS MANAGER

ISMS POLICY STATEMENT

CFS Finance Company Limited is committed to providing financial services and fulfilling the needs of customers and other interested parties, protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and information assets while complying with all legal, regulatory and statutory requirements and to continually improve on the ISMS. 

CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS AND INTERNET SAFETY MEASURES – ISMS TIPS

Cybersecurity awareness refers to the level of knowledge and understanding that an individual or organization has about the risks and threats posed by cyber-attacks in the digital world. It involves knowing how to protect oneself and one’s assets against cybercriminals and being aware of best practices regarding online security, such as password management, phishing scams, and social engineering tactics. Cybersecurity awareness is critical in today’s digital age, where cyber threats are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated, and can result in financial loss, reputational damage, and legal liabilities. It is essential to continuously educate and train individuals and organizations to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals and minimize the risk of cyber-attacks.

Author: CFS ISMS MANAGER