Top 10 Cloud Security Best Practices: Protecting Your Cloud Infrastructure

As more organizations migrate to the cloud, it’s crucial to protect both corporate and customer data. By choosing a trustworthy web hosting provider and implementing proactive measures, businesses can secure their cloud environments. In this article, we’ll explore the top 10 must-follow cloud security best practices to help companies fortify their cloud-based systems Cloud Security Best Practices 2024.

Key Takeaways

• Implementing strong access controls and encryption protocols is essential for securing cloud-based software solutions.
• Adhering to cloud security best practices strengthens security postures and mitigates risks.
• Developing effective data access policies and controls is vital for data security in the cloud.

1. Implement Strong Access Controls

Access control is a cornerstone of cloud security. Organizations should employ a combination of physical and logical access controls and multifactor authentication to restrict access to sensitive data and resources. Taylor Dolezal, head of ecosystem at Cloud Native Computing Foundation, emphasizes the importance of adhering to the principle of least privilege, ensuring users only access resources necessary for their roles.

Srini Kadiyala, CTO of OvalEdge, highlights that problematic access control remains a top cloud security issue. Effective data access policies are crucial to ensure data availability while restricting access to authorized users only.

2. Adhere to Zero-Trust Principles

Zero-trust principles are vital for cloud security, prioritizing security at the edge and leveraging AI for threat detection and security auditing. Rodman Ramezanian, global cloud threat lead at Skyhigh Security, underscores the need for comprehensive and ongoing security measures to protect data and infrastructure.

Sundaram Lakshmanan, CTO at Lookout Inc., suggests that moving beyond binary access to an adaptive, zero-trust approach can enhance cloud security by continuously assessing risk levels to inform data access decisions.

3. Perform Regular System Updates

Maintaining a secure cloud environment requires regular system updates, patch management, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessments. Roman Zrazhevskiy, CEO of MIRA Safety, emphasizes the importance of regular security system updates and customer data backups to ensure the latest security protocols are in place.

4. Mitigate Third- and Fourth-Party Risk

Digital supply chain security is critical as organizations increasingly work with third and fourth parties. Nataraj Nagaratnam, IBM Fellow and CTO for Cloud Security at IBM, advises adopting risk management solutions to gain visibility into third- and fourth-party risk postures while achieving continuous compliance.

David Linthicum, enterprise technology analyst, stresses the importance of vetting and monitoring third-party cloud service providers to ensure they meet security standards and align with organizational requirements.

5. Protect Your Network

Implementing intrusion detection systems, firewalls, and other network security measures is essential to guard against unauthorized access. Linthicum recommends cloud web security solutions to safeguard websites, web apps, and services from online threats.

6. Encrypt Your Data

Encrypting data is crucial for protecting sensitive information such as customer data, financial records, and intellectual property. Sean Tilley, senior director of sales at 11:11 Systems, highlights that encryption ensures data security during transit and storage, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

7. Monitor Your Environment for Risks/Attacks in Real Time

As attacks become more sophisticated, static solutions alone are insufficient. Tomer Filiba, CTO at Sweet Security, suggests using runtime (agent-based) solutions to monitor actual workloads, detect incidents in real-time, and provide better investigative abilities.

8. Create and Follow an Incident Response Plan

Regularly testing an incident response plan is crucial for addressing and mitigating cloud security incidents efficiently. Dmitry Dontov, CEO of Spin.AI, emphasizes the importance of having robust incident response plans and sound backups to automate data recovery quickly.

9. Ensure Full Visibility Into Infrastructure, Data

Full visibility into technology infrastructure and data is essential for protection. Tim Potter, principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, advises investing in solutions that provide comprehensive visibility to monitor systems and data effectively.

10. Understand Your Security Responsibilities

Many organizations mistakenly believe that using a cloud provider shifts the burden of security responsibility. Steve Tcherchian, CISO at XYPRO.com, stresses the importance of understanding your specific security responsibilities and familiarizing yourself with cloud provider security best practices.

The Bottom Line

Following these cloud security best practices will strengthen your security posture and mitigate risks. Protect your cloud-based systems using insights from industry experts to stay safe from cyberattacks.