Cloud conundrum: The reasons behind obscure language usage instead of clear communication
In today's digital landscape, businesses are increasingly relying on a multi-cloud environment, utilising services from providers such as Microsoft 365, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud. However, managing this complex ecosystem can be challenging due to the unique nuances of each service, making it difficult for businesses to grasp the complexities around securing the cloud.
Cybercriminals have taken notice, targeting businesses with incidents that often begin with cloud-based password gathering. To combat this, it's essential for businesses to be aware of potential security issues, have plans to manage them, and have strategies for dealing with incidents to reduce business risk.
One method used by cybercriminals is gathering passwords to access cloud-based user accounts. This underscores the importance of enforcing consistent, robust security policies across clouds, including multi-factor authentication, strong access controls, and data encryption both in transit and at rest.
To demystify the confusion surrounding cloud posture management, businesses should adopt best practices. These include developing a comprehensive multi-cloud strategy, standardising and automating infrastructure management, implementing centralised management and monitoring platforms, optimising networking and connectivity, and enforcing consistent security policies across clouds.
Integrating Identity and Access Management (IAM) and complying with industry regulations are also crucial steps. By controlling permissions based on user identity rather than device or location, businesses can maintain a dynamic, consistent security posture. Ensuring cloud providers meet standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS and maintaining control over critical data governance are essential for compliance.
APIs and middleware can help with seamless integration and communication between applications hosted on different clouds, while training teams across cloud providers ensures smooth communication and security operations. Lastly, implementing a cloud incident response plan with clearly defined roles and responsibilities can help businesses detect, analyse, contain, and recover from security incidents swiftly and efficiently.
Strong cyber practices involve exposing and closing cyber risk, which can only happen with clear communication around cloud services. As the cloud becomes more complex and ingrained, ensuring it's protected from cyber threats requires clear communication to avoid confusion and vulnerabilities.
Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT firms offer expertise in various cloud-related services, and they play a vital role in cloud security. However, it's essential for them to communicate about cloud services and security in a clear, understandable way. Businesses should do due diligence on their MSP partners to ensure they bring the right expertise for the business's cloud environment and security needs.
Cybercriminals are also searching for unsecured storage buckets facing the internet, so it's important for businesses to regularly audit their cloud infrastructure for such vulnerabilities. By adhering to these best practices, businesses can navigate the multi-cloud maze with ease, ensuring clear communication and effective security in their cloud environments.
To safeguard their multi-cloud environment, businesses should enforce consistent security measures such as multi-factor authentication, data encryption, and strong access controls, especially considering the risk of cloud-based password gathering by cybercriminals.
In addition, adopting best practices like developing a comprehensive multi-cloud strategy, integrating Identity and Access Management (IAM), and maintaining clear communication with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can help businesses manage cloud security effectively and avoid potential vulnerabilities.
