Hybrid Cloud Security Fundamentals for Data Protection
When enterprises decide to adopt a hybrid cloud model, then revisiting their security practices is a must. Going for multiple environments is a big boon for enterprises since they can decide on which sensitive data has to be transferred to the cloud and which has to be kept on-premises. When done right, a hybrid cloud not only helps in improving security but also enterprises can tap the enormous potential of private and public clouds. In all, security has to be the core issue that has to be addressed and appropriate steps have to be taken to mitigate them; else they may prove to be risky. It is beyond doubt, that hybrid cloud technology is the new business reality. Hence, leaders in IT have to make a conscious effort to secure the data in the cloud, if they haven’t already. Here are the four key hybrid cloud security fundamentals:
Four Important Hybrid Cloud Security Fundamentals
1. Security Approaches Need to be Addressed
The hybrid cloud includes private and public cloud environments as well as on-premises data center infrastructure. When enterprises move to the hybrid cloud, their present security infrastructure with the existing tools and strategies cannot be implemented on the new model. Enterprises have to know that the carefully maintained network perimeters simply cannot be shifted to the hybrid cloud model. It is better that organizations adapt themselves to the changing technological scenario and embrace hybrid cloud technology rather than fight it. Hybrid cloud is becoming the new normal for enterprises and they have to insist on adequate security measures. The enterprises will need to reboot their traditional security approaches because the defined perimeter has expanded and changed. With a hybrid cloud, the public, as well as private cloud security, has to be taken care of with the addition of on-premise security also. With such multiple environments, the existing security perimeter will not suffice.
2. Threat Surface Becomes More Pronounced
With hybrid cloud, enterprises are running workloads across different environments spanning private and public clouds with the traditional on-premise also joining in. Based on the evolving business and technical needs, the data will be moved between these different modules and this, of course, is a boon of flexibility. But the problem is that the attack surface has now been distributed, boundless, and changed. Hence, every security approach like the fixes and updates need to be re-planned. New approaches and the best practices have to be followed if proper security is to be provided across various data environments. There is no uniform security policy that can be applied across all enterprises. The requirement of each enterprise varies and the security measures must be worked out in consultation with the cloud service provider. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach will surely not work and any enterprise should not fall trap to this cost-benefit tradeoff, lest they suffer the consequences.
3. The requirement of New Tools, Processes and Policies
When migrating to a hybrid cloud environment, enterprises have to put new security tools and practices in place. Many amendments in the existing security infrastructure are required and organizations need to have that resources and mindset to achieve a healthy security posture for all the sensitive data that resides in the cloud as well as on-premises.
4. Move and Forget Approach Will Not Work
For small enterprises with not many financial and IT resources, blindly believe in the security provided by the cloud services. This many times is a matter of necessity and convenience. But, the IT leaders of large corporate houses must avoid the temptation of shrugging off their cloud security responsibilities. They cannot take the ‘move and forget’ strategy and place the whole responsibility on their cloud service provider. The enterprises need to have a more cautious approach for they are responsible for all the protection and compliance. Hence, it is necessary that the IT experts know the Cloud Security Fundamentals in and out so that they know how to implement it as well as train the staff for cloud security in the enterprise.