Moving an enterprise IT environment to the cloud is a multi-dimensional challenge. It is a process that affects the infrastructure, platforms, applications and processes and, on the other, the company’s organizational, cultural and labor practices. This is probably the biggest transformational change an organization can face.
The cloud allows you to collaborate more effectively, create more personalized products and services and be much more agile. Migration can transform all aspects of operations and reduce fixed costs, although these benefits may not materialize immediately.
All these factors result in important competitive advantages, but to enjoy them it is necessary to have an efficient defense system. Security operations, like all other operations, require a new approach when moving to the cloud.
From perimeter security to zero confidence
Moving from a business model focused on internal operations to one that is essentially collaborative, you can no longer rely on processes that only protect the local perimeter of the organization. This traditional approach, where internal systems are shielded behind high walls (with physical security and logic) inaccessible to the outside world, does not work in a world where collaboration has become the usual way of working.
In the new environment, there is a need for a transaction-based approach to security where data, systems and processes are shared with partners and customers only under certain conditions. This is why cloud enterprises use a zero-trust security strategy.
Zero confidence is the opposite of perimeter security. It is a new approach where nothing is taken for granted and all communications, transactions and interactions are treated as individual and independent actions that must be protected from start to finish.
In the area of security, the cloud has been a radical change in the rules of the game. Today, companies of all types use joint development platforms to quickly create, test and launch services and products, in processes involving teams of several partners whose members can be in any corner of the world.
It is also common for end customers to be able to define their own services, allowing for quick and individualized configurations, and both parties often use automated tools in procurement processes.
These are just a few examples of the ability of the cloud to streamline work, but despite its many features, there is an undeniable disadvantage: it is never possible to protect a 100% environment. Still, to get as close as possible to this goal, Secure pathways for user access and service development must be created. All of them must have a deep defense, early warning of threats and continued response.
Expert partners in cloud security
Zero trust is now the foundation of cybersecurity for all cloud activities. But implementing such strategies is not simple and requires a high degree of specialization, which not everyone is able to offer. To optimize security, it is imperative to have partners that meet requirements such as the following:
● Multiple capacities. For a cloud-based security strategy to be efficient, it is necessary to master all elements of the future business model: infrastructures, platforms, processes, software, design and transformation. However, most consulting and system integration companies are only specialists in certain areas, not all. They may be experts in IaaS or PaaS, for example, but they don’t master SaaS or networks.
● Integrated projects. Migration is a transformation process that requires support from start to finish, from the current model to the future. To ensure a safe and smooth transition to the new virtual space, companies need accompaniment at all stages, including in the creation of the initial “landing zone”.
● DevSecOps approach. A key factor in monetizing cloud migration is being able to work on collaborative development projects in the cloud. For this process to be safe, it is necessary to move from a DevOps approach (or development operations, something many companies already find difficult) to a DevSecOps approach, where security is a basic component. This means creating a secure environment from scratch, usually working with hyperscale cloud providers.
● Integration. Finally, cloud security requires interaction and coordination of all technology components and processes in large complex online environments. For this, it is necessary to have consulting services of the highest level, such as those that some companies usually provide to the largest global companies more demanding.
By its scope, scope and complexity, an example that highlights the demands of cloud security is the migration project of a German automotive company that we implemented through an innovative security solution based on a zero trust strategy, for which we create a custom design that allows you to manage any cloud resource, data or asset at all times and in all processes.
Good Practices
In a constantly changing environment, the work of companies implementing such projects is to create solutions optimized for cloud operations, with the aim of facilitating agile and collaborative processes that meet all the requirements of current regulations such as:
- Identification, to know which assets should be protected, where they are and how access is managed.
- Protection, which provides efficient defenses for assets and interactions at different levels, stopping attacks and eliminating them before problems occur.
- Detection, which allows the early identification of possible attacks or even security failures, of which are carefully concealed and can escape the first security measures.
- Response, for rapid resource mobilization when attempting to penetrate defenses, with immediate alerts and fluid communication at all stages.
- Recovery, with the systematic elimination of all threats once the attack has been rejected and learning of measures to implement in the face of similar violations.
Cloud security depends on technology, people, controls and access, but also on not letting your guard down at any time. There is and is remarkable commitment to making the networked intelligent cloud a secure environment where 21st century businesses can work, do business and thrive. With our security solutions, you can take your business to the cloud and, with it, to success.
