Intelligent CISO Issue 55 | Page 76

Cloud strategies are only as successful as the networking and security that connect and protect the cloud compute . goes out of business or has a dramatic overhaul , any enterprise using their services might be exposed to risk because of the upheaval .

Cloud strategies are only as successful as the networking and security that connect and protect the cloud compute . goes out of business or has a dramatic overhaul , any enterprise using their services might be exposed to risk because of the upheaval .

Another cloud migration risk involves its reliance on the Internet , meaning ‘ any cloud solution is only as solid or reliable as the network connection it is built on ’. It ’ s difficult for an enterprise and its users to accept downtime when apps and services aren ’ t accessible . Cloud infrastructures must have dependable connections and networks that are supported by service level agreements ( SLAs ).
A cloud migration security strategy must also consider that data controls are transferred from the organisation to a cloud service provider . For the strategy to be effective , there must be buy-in from enterprise leaders . They need to accept the trade-off of getting cloud computing benefits while having less or limited control over access to applications , data and any server-based tools .
Recently , a cloud survey showed some of the concerns about cloud migration from IT leaders mentioning a lack of visibility , high cost , lack of control and lack of security as the biggest unforeseen factors that slow or stop cloud adoption .
Best practices for creating a cloud migration security strategy
The key components of a strong cloud migration security strategy , should include :
• Enabling access control
• Cloud migration security solutions need to offer access control across the cloud infrastructures , enabling them to secure applications and provide access management and connectivity between data centres and the cloud .
• Applying automation to avoid misconfigurations
• A viable strategy for cloud migration has to incorporate security with continuous evaluation of configurations across regions and public cloud types while dynamically analysing activity in the public cloud infrastructure to identify potentially malicious activities . Organisations should look for highly accurate and automatic solutions powered by on-device Machine Learning capabilities , as well as the flexibility of form factors from containers to virtual machines to SaaS .
• Prioritising visibility across the cloud environment
• Organisations need a singlepane-of-glass to gain visibility
and enforce consistent security policies throughout the entire cloud infrastructure to effectively manage risk . Cloud migration security solutions need to provide visibility across the cloud infrastructures , allowing administrators to see both inline security , as well as cloud configuration security to build a comprehensive view of risk .
• Establishing who is responsible for what
• Assigning responsibility to the cloud migration tasks is a necessity for keeping the procedure secure .
• Protecting connectivity
• Cloud strategies are only as successful as the networking and security that connect and protect the cloud compute – whether private , public or hybrid . As organisations deploy cloud infrastructures and shift towards multi-cloud , secure connectivity across these various environments is critical to delivering better user experience and business outcomes .
• Networking , security and computing all have to work together , so consider how to optimise access and security from the outset and not as an afterthought to cloud adoption . u
76 www . intelligentciso . com