Best Practices for an Effective Cloud workload security

By CIOReview | Friday, January 11, 2019

Securing workloads on a cloud platform is a shared responsibility between cloud service providers and the users especially if the user is working with Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) model.

Cloud workload security is the process of protecting the workloads that the enterprises put on the cloud platforms. The workloads can range from a Hadoop node, to a web server, to a database, to containers, and many other things. In order to secure the workloads, enterprises need to extend the security policies, tools, and controls they have for their onsite systems to the cloud platforms. Data breaches allow unauthorized parties to view or misuse the data. These breaches can be catastrophic for an organization as sensitive and confidential information can be compromised. Cybercriminals can attack a network, application, and software with bugs or vulnerabilities, which can sabotage the entire infrastructure of a company. Phishing or social engineering is also a major cause of concern for enterprises as hijackers use legitimate accounts to get into a system. Cloud services allow enterprises to share resources with third-party users, and if cybercriminals attack other users, it can also compromise all the other systems associated with the user. There is a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, which forbids the legitimate users to access the cloud resources.

A traditional security system cannot shield a system from advanced threats that are imposed these days. An effective cloud workload allows users to control and address issues related to a workload by providing improved visibility. It provides a single interface or dashboard to manage all the security-related issues. Cloud workload security also allows an enterprise to integrate security solutions from a third-party into their primary security dashboard. Here are a few fundamental best practices for an effective cloud workload security:

• Enterprises should protect their workloads with multi-factor authentication; otherwise, it will be easier for hackers to get hold of the account credentials.

• Leveraging access management technologies allow companies to protect their customer data with easy access to applications and website.

• Organizations should implement end-to-end encryption to ensure that the data is secure, whether at rest or in transit.

• Establishing a baseline allows users to compare present data with old metrics and standards to notice any abnormal activities.

• Using SSL certificates helps to encrypt communications between the browser and the web server, which protects sensitive information like financial transactions that are transmitted over the web.