Insufficient due diligence is a major cause of security failures. Security has more to do with people and processes than with technology. It comes down to just discipline and being precise about what you're doing and the settings and all those trivial details in IT that make one secure.
Cloud security or cloud computing security, consists of a set of policies, controls, procedures and technologies that work together to protect cloud-based systems, data, and infrastructure. These security measures are configured to protect cloud data, support regulatory compliance and protect customers' privacy as well as setting authentication rules for individual users and devices.
More and more organizations are realizing the many business benefits of moving their systems to the cloud. Cloud computing allows organizations to operate at scale, reduce technology costs and use agile systems that give them the competitive edge.Â
There are four main categories of cloud computing:
1. Public cloud services, operated by a public cloud provider — These include software-as-a-service (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).
2. Private cloud services, operated by a public cloud provider — These services provide a computing environment dedicated to one customer, operated by a third party.
3. Private cloud services, operated by internal staff — These services are an evolution of the traditional data center, where internal staff operates a virtual environment       they control.
4. Hybrid cloud services — Private and public cloud computing configurations can be combined, hosting workloads and data based on optimizing factors such as cost, security, operations and access. Operation will involve internal staff, and optionally the public cloud provider.
Technology advancements and solutions over the past few years have eased the security fears for many users of the public cloud. But that does not mean that any cloud is 100% safe as cyber threats are dynamic in nature. Cloud environments are highly connected, making it easier for traffic to bypass traditional perimeter defences. Â
Public clouds are appropriately secure for many types of workloads, but aren’t right for everything. Public clouds support multi tenancy which means a user rent storage space from the cloud provider alongside other users. Each user signs an SLA with the cloud provider that clearly indicates individual liabilities and responsibilities.
Most cloud providers attempt to create a secure cloud for customers. Their business model hinges on preventing breaches and maintaining public and customer trust. The cloud provider promises to maintain the cloud infrastructure, hold the access, and maintains privacy. But it is not possible to control how the customers use the service, what data they add to it, and who has access. Thus, customers can weaken cyber security in cloud with their configuration, sensitive data, and access policies.
In each public cloud service type, the cloud provider and cloud customer share different levels of responsibility for security. By service type, these are:
• Software-as-a-service (SaaS) — Customers are responsible for securing their data and user access.
• Platform-as-a-service (PaaS) — Customers are responsible for securing their data, user access, and applications.
• Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) — Customers are responsible for securing their data, user access, applications, operating systems, and virtual network traffic.
While the cloud provider’s infrastructure security team is watching for unusual events, stealthy or aggressive threats like malicious distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks can still negatively affect other users.
Cloud data security becomes increasingly important as we move our devices, data centres, business processes, and more to the cloud. To ensure quality cloud data security, comprehensive security policies, an organisational culture of security, and cloud security solutions are required. Selecting the right cloud security solution for the business is imperative if one want to get the best from the cloud and ensure his organization is protected from unauthorized access, data breaches and other threats.
 Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) is a complete cloud security solution that protects cloud apps and cloud data, prevents compromised accounts and allows you to set security policies on a per-device basis.Â
