Security can’t be an afterthought. Hackers can break into systems, and the consequences of a breach are no joke, From lost customers and money to whole websites going dark for hours or days. With threats growing daily, it’s time to get cloud security sorted. Read on to pick up some practices you can adopt to fly safely in the cloud.
Importance of Cybersecurity
Recently, many companies have adopted a new way of creating software called DevOps. DevOps brings together traditional software development and IT operations. This helps speed up the software development process.
When companies use multiple cloud platforms or services like Azure or collaborative apps that allow external partners/vendors to connect, it enlarges a company’s attack surface by providing multiple new access points in their systems.
However, traditional security methods must work better to protect cloud apps. That means companies need a new security strategy to protect against growing dangers. More people pursuing cybersecurity education and credentials help fill this need. This is why cyber security courses and certifications are increasingly popular.
Best Practices for Developers
Let’s look into some essential practices developers can implement to secure their applications.
- Encryption and Key Management
Data encryption is the process of encoding data into something unintelligible. Encrypted data is decrypted using keys. You should encrypt data at storage in the cloud and transit. As long as the encryption keys remain secure, stolen data will remain unreadable to outside attackers.
So, if a cloud service has both the encrypted data and the key to unlock it, It’s not good. Instead, it’s like leaving your house key under the doormat. The key should be stored separately from the locked data. Experts also recommend safe offline backups of the key.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
The best IAM practices include multi-factor authentication, role-based access, and monitoring. Multi-factor authentication provides an additional layer of protection by requesting a one-time temporary password for each login.
Role-based access control allows the distribution of access privileges among users based on their job roles. And by monitoring user sign-in attempts and activities, organizations can identify potential threats.
- Logging and Regular Updating and Patching
Logging records details like system events, user activities, network traffic, etc. The details are then reviewed to detect any anomalies. It’s essential to update and patch your applications and systems regularly. Updates and patches are software modifications that fix security vulnerabilities or bugs attackers could exploit.
- Reduce Exposure
Cloud-based applications widen a company’s attack surface. There are two essential things you can do to help. First, you need to have complete visibility. This means having an inventory or catalog of all applications, servers, databases, and other resources deployed so you overlook nothing. Secondly, you should reduce unnecessary attack vectors by identifying and removing applications or workloads not essential to business operations.
- Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)
CNAPP is a new approach to securing cloud-native applications. It aims to integrate security into the software development lifecycle from the earliest phases and provide security across all cloud aspects, like infrastructure, workloads, data, and developers. Traditional cloud security tools like firewalls and encryption were often sold and managed separately. A CNAPP brings these together into a unified platform.
Endnote
These guidelines ensure your defenses remain robust while avoiding hindering development workflows. Cybersecurity has no universal solution, but adopting a proactive mindset and implementing controls will serve you well. Staying vigilant will keep your data (and customers) safe in a constantly evolving landscape.
