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Cloud Security Managed Services are Critical for Your Business to Prevent Cyber Attacks

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It is no secret that the cloud offers a level of flexibility to businesses that is unmatched. However, with this level of flexibility comes the increased risk of having your network breached by a hacker.

 

A news report provided by Business Insider demonstrates that approximately 70% of companies that utilized big cloud computing vendors have been hacked or had their data leaked.  

 

Given these alarming statistics, it is now more important than ever to ensure that you have adequate cloud security managed services in place. Understanding what cloud computing is, the available options and the potential risks associated with it can help you better understand the importance of having strong managed security measures in place.

What is Cloud Computing?

Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of businesses across the country in the world that utilize cloud computing. In general, cloud computing is a system that provides individuals with computer system resources, such as data storage and computing power, on demand. 

 

Users do not have to actively manage any part of the cloud service. They are not required to make any maintenance changes or updates. Instead, they rely on a host to keep the system updated in functioning for them.

 

There are several types of cloud computing services that are available for individuals and businesses alike. These include:

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

The IaaS cloud computing service model uses computer resources that are supplied by a cloud service provider. The vendor will generally provide the servers, network, storage, and virtualization to users. 

 

This type of cloud computing service provides users with the ability to free themselves from having an unpracticed data center. It also provides endless flexibility as the user has the ability to scale up or scale down as necessary without requiring them to make any physical purchases or changes. On IaaS, cloud security managed services are generally a shared task, which can be risky if one party falls behind on their duties.

Platforms-as-a-Service (PaaS)

The PaaS cloud computing service is essentially a complete development and deployment environment that is located solely within the cloud. The PaaS has extensive resources that allow users to deliver everything that they need, ranging from a cloud-based application to cloud-enabled enterprise applications that are more sophisticated.

 

A person who utilizes the platform as a service cloud computing has the ability to instantiate, provision, run, and manage a module bundle without having to personally go through the process of building and maintaining an infrastructure. Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with PaaS is the lack of monitoring abilities. Having strong cloud security managed services is in place to ensure that your data is protected. 

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

The SaaS cloud computing service enables users to utilize the cloud computing system by purchasing a license on a subscription basis. The SAS, which is also known as on-demand software, when hosted software, or web-based software, is generally centrally hosted.

 

SaaS is generally preferable for a lot of people due to the fact that it is incredibly accessible, it is cost-effective, and it requires no installation or equipment maintenance. 

Types of Cloud Computing 

In addition to the categories of cloud computing services, there are various types of clouds available for users to choose from. These include the following:

Private Clouds

Private clouds are considered a more loosely defined cloud environment that is entirely dedicated to one single user or one single group as specified by the host. This type of platform has an environment that usually runs behind the specific user’s firewall.

 

Many organizations benefit from private clouds due to the fact that they no longer have to be sourced from on-premise IT infrastructure. Instead, we are seeing many businesses build private clouds on vendor-owned data centers that they rent from other companies, which provides them with greater flexibility.

 

In terms of private clouds, there are two different types. These are the managed private clouds and dedicated clouds. Private clouds that are managed allow users to utilize the services while having a third-party vendor maintain control over the configurations, deployment, and management of the server itself. 

 

Dedicated private clouds are essentially clouds within larger clouds. For example, you may see one department in an organization has its own dedicated cloud within the organization’s larger private cloud.

Public Clouds

Opposite to private clouds, public clouds are those that are generally created from IT infrastructures and are not specifically owned by the end user. Instead, public clouds are typically located in the clients’ on-premises data centers and are offered for use by others. Some of the largest public cloud services are Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

 

Public clouds are generally utilized by several clients, each paying a service fee for their use. These clouds generally have a pool of virtual resources, which are developed from hardware that is owned and managed by a third-party company. The resources are then allocated and provisioned among several clients on the interface.

Hybrid Clouds

Hybrid cloud computing is something that typically involves a single IT environment that is created from several environments that are all connected through one network. A hybrid cloud generally utilizes the local area networks or LANs. However, they can also be shared between users through the use of APIs or Virtual Private Networks.

 

Hybrid clouds have several characteristics that are more complex than both private and public cloud computing systems. Some of the characteristics that a hybrid cloud may consist of include:

 

  • A total of at least two private clouds
  • A total of at least two public clouds
  • A virtual environment or bare-metal environment that is connected to at least one private and one public cloud

 

It is important to note that every IT system can become hybrid when applications are able to move in and out of multiple environments, which are separated yet connected.

Multi Clouds

Multiple clouds are a type of cloud computing service that is generally made up of more than one cloud service.multi-clouds generally involve more than one cloud vendor, either public or private. Even though all hybrid clouds are considered multi-clouds, not multi-clouds are considered to be hybrid. This environment is becoming more common across enterprises as they work to improve both performance and security by expanding the portfolio of environments that it contains.

 

With any type of cloud service, it is important that you implement strong security measures. Having cloud security managed services can help to alleviate some of the stress associated with the potential of cyber security breaches threatening your data and files.

What are the Security Risks Associated with Cloud Computing?

When it comes to security risks in cloud computing, there are several things to look out for. Without strong cloud security managed services, you run the risk of being the victim of a cybersecurity threat. Recognizing common vulnerabilities can help to lessen the chances that your company may be affected. These include:

 

  • Outdated Components: Having outdated components can put your entire organization at risk of being targeted by a cyber attacker. For this reason, it is critically important that you are able to identify whether something is outdated as well as what your vulnerabilities are. 
  • Security Misconfigurations: A misconfiguration within the security measures of a cloud service is generally one of the most common threats to security. Misconfigurations generally occur when there are incorrect access control settings or inadequate encryption protocols in place.
  • Insecure Designs or Missing Security Controls: It is crucial to have comprehensive cloud security management services in place to reduce the risks associated with insecure designs or missing security controls. This should include oversight over developer behavior and even two-person code reviews.
  • Authentication Failures: If there is a missing multi-factor authentication system in place, it can result in people accessing cloud applications who are unauthorized to do so. This can be a major security risk and result in the loss of data and other major problems.
  • Data & Software Integrity Failures: If there are discrepancies between what the cloud system should have looked like and what the cloud believer believes that it should look like, it can lead to major failures with both software and data integrity.  This can lead to data leakage, data corruption, and even complete service interruptions, which can completely devastate your operations.
  • Artifact Storage that is Unprotected: It is crucial to have strong software development lifecycle artifact storage (SDLC) in place. When artifacts are stored without protection, organizations are at risk of being hacked by bad actors. 
  • Privileged Access that is Uncontrolled: Not having privileged access that is controlled can leave your cloud applications vulnerable to being attacked by hackers. You can reduce this risk by having in place cloud security managed services to ensure your data is protected, and the only people accessing it are those who are privileged to do so.
  • Having CI/CD Pipelines that are Vulnerable: When the CI/CD pipelines are vulnerable, it can introduce the risks of costly data breaches into the SDLC.this can result in business disruptions, data integrity failures, and various other malicious activities that can affect your data.

 

Any of these vulnerabilities can increase your risk of being targeted by a hacker. For this reason, it is crucial that you consider implementing cloud security managed services to protect your data and information while utilizing the cloud.

What are Cloud Security Managed Services?

To secure your data and information on the cloud, it is important to have adequate measures in place. One of the best ways to protect your data is through the use of cloud security managed services.

 

Cloud security managed services, commonly referred to as managed cloud security services, are part of a comprehensive wing of cloud-managed services. These services typically take care of the reporting, automation, and security monitoring of an organization. In addition, they are typically backed by a team that is dedicated to providing technical support to the organization and users.

 

Cloud security managed services generally include monitoring of the company’s virtual private network, or VPN, intrusion detection, antivirus configuration, firewall management, and vulnerability testing that is conducted periodically.

 

Our experts at Blueshift Cybersecurity understand the critical importance of having adequate data security when it comes to cloud computing. For this reason, we offer cloud security managed services for business owners that are designed to provide them with the level of security that they need across all platforms.

Cloud Security Managed Services from Blueshift Cybersecurity

When it comes to ensuring your business is able to operate without any interruption, cybersecurity is critical. Whether all of your workers are in your office, you have remote workers, or you have a hybrid work environment, it is important that your cloud is adequately secured. 

 

At Blueshift Cybersecurity, we take great pride in our level of commitment to businesses that utilize cloud computing, regardless of the type of computing they engage in. Our team offers top-quality monitoring services with our comprehensive monitoring solutions found in Blueshift XDR. 

 

By utilizing our cloud security managed services, you can rest assured that all alerts that your system may be affected by will be adequately monitored and responded to in an appropriate manner. Some of the types of cloud events that our team at Blueshift Cybersecurity monitors with our SOC include:

 

  • Alerts that are typically generated within the cloud platforms
  • Any notices of authentication failures
  • Any AWS Cloudtrail Events
  • Changes within the cloud environments
  • Azure/O365 Events and logs
  • Anomalous or restricted GeoIP logins
  • The exhaustion of resources
  • GCP PubSub Events

 

Our comprehensive cybersecurity operations are designed to protect all of the devices on your business’s network. Our security measures do not stop at the cloud. Instead, we work hard to keep your business safe from end-to-end, taking the stress off you so that your organization can focus on carrying out your day-to-day activities without having to worry about being the next victim of a cybersecurity breach. 

 

We strive to be a one-stop-shop compliance solution for all small to medium-sized businesses by offering enterprise-grade security that fits the budget of any business owner. If you are interested in seeing how our cloud security managed services can help keep your business safe from cyber attacks, contact our team today for more information