Loading...
Cloud Computing Security

8 Must-Have Cloud Computing Security Features

Most companies are deploying cloud computing services into their business platform for faster and more accurate retrievals of applications and data. It helps to streamline IT processes through the delivery of expandable software services via the internet. Enterprises can easily access cloud infrastructure, and such a platform enables easy collaboration, flexible work practices, and sharing of files and data among users in multiple locations. More, cloud services minimize the cost of implementing and managing IT systems.

However, the porous nature of cloud services has rendered them susceptible to various threats. Cloud computing is highly vulnerable to data breaches and data leaks, leading to significant data loss. Application User Interfaces (APIs), which are central tools for enabling interaction with cloud storage systems when exploited, can give unauthorized parties undue levels of access to your data. Cloud computing security is of paramount importance to keep the data integrity of the cloud computing platform intact.

According to a survey, 93% of companies are worried about the dangers associated with cloud computing. Hence, it is essential to incorporate the right security features into the cloud platform to protect sensitive data. Cloud security solutions include a set of control-based safeguards, technology protection, applications, and controls that enable enterprises to monitor, secure, and control cloud services’ resources from potential exploits, including internal or external breach, leakage, theft, or data loss. Integrating the security solutions helps businesses to authenticate access, secure APIs, filter traffic, and protect the cloud platform. 

8 Must-Have Cloud Computing Security Features

· MFA For Protection Against Account Hijacking

There are multiple ways through which cybercriminals can hijack an account on cloud servers. Phishing enables an unauthorized party to direct the users to an unsecured website. With this, the criminals can steal their data or hijack their session. Besides phishing, buffer overflow attacks, cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, brute force attacks, and keyloggers enable cybercriminals to extract data. To protect your cloud platform from account hijacking, you need to create secure passwords and change them frequently. You should consider using multifactor authentication (MFA) to prevent the exfiltration of confidential data. It ensures that only authorized parties can log in to your cloud apps from on or off-premise devices.

· Protection Against Ddos

Distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attacks are among the most prominent exploits hampering cloud computing services’ efficiency. DDoS attacks target websites and cloud services, and the cybercriminals attempt to maliciously disrupt the regular traffic of a targeted server, service, or network through such attacks. It makes the website or service inoperable. Cloud computing security solutions should work efficiently against DDoS attacks. The cloud-based apps should be able to absorb harmful or malicious traffic before it reaches the intended destination. By monitoring and dispersing DDoS attacks, the absorption of unwanted traffic helps prevent website and network outages, data breach, and revenue loss.

· Data-At-Rest Encryption

Encryption of data at rest prevents attackers from accessing the data stored on cloud infrastructure. It helps to keep sensitive information efficiently and prevents it from being accessed by any third-party. While encrypting data at rest can be a valuable component in the cloud platform, it must be implemented to understand the protection it does or does not provide fully. You need to understand the limitations to protect your cloud applications and services thoroughly.

· Intrusion Detection Systems With Event Logging

Most IT security compliance standards require enterprises to include methods for actively tracking and recording intrusion attempts. IDS or intrusion detection system automates the intrusion detection process. IDS event logging solutions also help businesses to meet compliance standards such as PCI or HIPAA. While choosing a cloud computing security solution, ensure that your vendor offers monitoring for IDS to identify and counter-threat signals and malicious IP addresses for all the cloud users.

· SLA In Cloud Computing

A cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) is signed between the cloud service provider and a customer to ensure that the cloud services are reliable and efficient. SLA compliance also ensures that the transfer, storage, backup, retrieval, and access of data on the cloud services is secure. Compliance improves decision-making, monitoring, audits, protection, and risk management of data on the cloud platform.

· Top-Of-The-Line Perimeter Firewall

Deploy a top-of-the-line firewall to stop or mitigate unwanted access to private networks. The perimeter firewall solution actively checks the file packet contents and examines the file type, source, destination, and integrity. It helps to protect the cloud services from unwanted risks.

· Internal Firewalls For Individual Applications, And Databases

Perimeter firewall can actively block external threats. However, to protect the cloud-based apps and services from internal attacks, you need to deploy internal firewalls. Some insider threats weak identity, credentials, access management; insecure APIs; lack of encryption; and malicious or clueless insiders. Internal firewalls help isolate threats and keep individual applications and databases separated to limit the insiders’ damage.

· Data Loss Prevention Tools

Cloud computing security solutions should integrate DLP (data loss prevention) tools to keep the sensitive cloud data safe from cyber attacks, insider threats, and accidental exposure. It covers the cloud traffic across various devices and detects potential data breaches and data ex-filtration transmissions in real-time. 

To Conclude:

These must-have features of cloud computing security solutions help enterprises to protect the data on the cloud platform. MFA, DLP solution, perimeter and internal firewall, IDS with event logging are essential features that you should look for in a cloud computing security solution.