Cloud Security Solutions Organisations Are Adopting

To stay ahead and have the competitive edge, security teams are leveraging cloud security solutions and policies to keep their cloud environment secured. The rise of companies migrating to the cloud has become popular because it gives organisations the advantage of being able to scale up and down quickly without having to worry about downtime. However, there's a lot of work to be done for these companies to ensure that their cloud environment remains secure.

In our previous post, we looked at some of the policies companies are implementing to secure their cloud environment. We also emphasised that for your cloud environment to be secure, you have to play your part in the Shared Responsibility Model which dictates that you, the cloud user, be more accountable for the security and control of your own operating systems, applications, data and user access management running in the cloud. We also touched on a cloud security solution- Cloud Access Broker which is a security solution that provides visibility and control over cloud applications and helps organisations monitor, detect, and prevent malicious activity in their cloud environment.

In this post, we will be looking at other cloud security solutions that organisations are using to assist their internal cloud teams –DevOps, SecOps, DevSecOps in making sure their cloud security policies are enforced and implemented.

Cloud Security Solutions
Cloud security solutions are technologies, tools, and services designed to protect cloud-based computing environments from cyber threats. These solutions provide security for data, applications, and infrastructure, and can be used to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats. Cloud security solutions are often implemented as part of a larger security strategy and can include cloud-based antivirus, firewalls, encryption, identity management, and other security measures.

These are the cloud security solutions that organizations are using to improve the security posture of their cloud estates:

1. Secure Infrastructure as Code (IaC) - Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a method of writing Infrastructure Code that enables DevOps, SecOps, and DevSecOps teams to secure their cloud infrastructure by defining and provisioning cloud resources through code. IaC provides repeatability, scalability, and improved security.

What Secure Infrastructure as Code (IaC) enables you to do:
• Automate the process of provisioning, configuring, and managing your cloud and on-premise infrastructure using code.
• Have faster and more efficient deployment of servers, networks, and other IT resources.
• Ensures that all of your infrastructures are configured consistently and securely.
• Helps to reduce costs and errors as well as improve compliance and security.


2. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM): CSPM is a cloud security solution that enables companies to continuously monitor and measure their security posture across cloud environments. CSPM uses automated policies to detect misconfigurations and alert teams of any issues.
   
   What Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) enables you to do:
   • It enables you to continuously monitor and manage your cloud security posture.
   • It enables you to have full visibility into your cloud infrastructure, resources and compliance posture. It also detects and responds to potential threats.
   • It enables you to have automated analysis of the security posture of your workloads and services running on the cloud.
   • It enables you to enforce security policies and keep the cloud environment secure and compliant.


3. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): CASB is a cloud security solution that provides visibility and control over cloud applications and data. It offers protection against data leakage and enforces security policies such as authentication and access control.
   
   What Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) enables you to do:
   • It enables you to extend your security and compliance controls to cloud-based services, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions, and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) capabilities.
   • It enables you to monitor, control, and protect your cloud-based services and data while providing visibility and enforcement of security policies.
   • It also enables you to protect your data from being accidentally or maliciously leaked and protects against advanced threats and malware. It also ensures regulatory compliance.


4. Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP): Gartner defines Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) as a “workload-centric security solution that targets the unique protection requirements” of workloads in modern enterprise environments. CWPP is a cloud security solution that helps organisations protect their workloads from threats. It monitors activities and provides real-time visibility into cloud environment and workloads to identify and investigate any abnormal or suspicious activities.
   
   What Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) enables you to do:
   It enables you to have a comprehensive set of security capabilities including identity and access control, vulnerability management, security event monitoring, incident response, and compliance reporting.


5. Cloud Security Gateway (CSG): CSG is a cloud security solution that provides secure access to cloud applications. It offers network security and identity and access management and can be used to enforce security policies and access control.
   
   What Cloud Security Gateway (CSG) enables you to do:
   • It enables you to secure your cloud applications, networks, and data while maintaining the performance and agility of the cloud.
   • It also enables you to maintain compliance with data privacy regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).


6. Cloud Security Automation Platform (CSAP): CSAP is a cloud security solution that helps organisations automate security processes. It enables teams to automate tasks such as policy enforcement and compliance checks, as well as manage security alerts and threats.
   
   What Cloud Security Automation Platform (CSAP) enables you to do:
   • It enables you to quickly and easily protect cloud resources from threats, reduce the complexity of security operations, and meet compliance requirements.
   • It enables you to have a set of tools and services for automating security tasks, such as installing security software, configuring security settings, monitoring for threats, and responding to malicious activity.
   • It also enables you to improve visibility into cloud security operations, allowing you to better understand the security posture of your organisation.

Wendu and Cloud Security Solutions
Regardless of which solution your team decides to use, the reality of security threats and data breaches can be a scare which leads some to declare that cloud security is ineffective which we do not believe to be the case.

Wendu, as a Cloud security solution offers you a macro view of risk and the level of drift from established policies in these kinds of use cases: misconfigured S3 buckets that makes your data publicly available; vulnerable EC2 servers web instances; detection of user accounts without password policies enabled.

And as a FinOps tool offers you the same macro view of resource usage within your entire cloud estate, helping you and your team build a cost conscious culture through FinOps, protecting your cloud investments.

Wendu is revolutionising security through SecFinOps enables teams to collaborate, take ownership, and become accountable for security, and spend within their organisation.

Learn more about Wendu here, and you can also request a demo to see Wendu in action.