Cloud computing is a part of everyday life, but we only really hear about it when things go wrong. A high-profile data breach. A security leak. User error. No-one’s writing breaking news articles with headlines like ‘The Vast Majority of Cloud-Based Services Seem to Be Doing Great. Carry On’. And this information skew has given some people the idea that cloud-based platforms are inherently unsafe. The truth is, there’s a whole world of cloud security frameworks out there, and cloud service providers are investing big money into making their platforms as air-tight as possible.
So what’s the truth about cloud security risks, and what are some of the big cloud security challenges? Let’s dive in.
Myth vs Reality: The inherent security of cloud services
The simple, unsexy truth is that if cloud-based services weren’t secure, they wouldn’t make any money. No-one would use them, especially not for enterprise-level commercial activity (which is where the real dollars lie). While cloud security does come with its risks and challenges, most cloud-based platforms have an overlapping web of fundamental security frameworks.
These include things like Secure Sockets Layer or Transport Layer Security (protocols that encrypt communication between a web server and the client’s browser), OAuth, or Open Authorization (an authorization framework that enables third-party services to securely access resources without sharing credentials) and Security Assertion Markup Language (an XML-based standard for exchanging authentication data between identity providers and service providers).
The ‘Shared Responsibility Model’
Another unsexy truth: like nearly everything else online, many cloud breaches come down to simple user error. And this brings us to something called the ‘Shared Responsibility Model’, a concept used to delineate the responsibilities of your cloud service provider (CSP) and the end user. After all, any digital system is only as secure as the person actually using it.
In a Shared Responsibility Model, the CSP is responsible for the security of the underlying infrastructure. That’s your physical data centers, networking, and virtualization layer. They manage the security of the cloud services they offer, including storage, databases and networking services. They also implement security measures to guard against external threats, like DDoS attacks.
The customers are responsible for actually securing their data in the cloud environment. This includes stuff like configuring access controls, encryption, user access, firewalls and authentication mechanisms. In a Shared Responsibility Model, everyone treats security as their business, and the result is a more robust, secure cloud environment. Your classic win/win.
Advanced threat protection features
Cloud providers use a variety of threat protection features to keep your data safe on the cloud. These aren’t always effective, of course (see the much-publicized cloud data breach spike in 2023) but they’re not static, either. CSPs are constantly refining their cloud security solutions.
Advanced encryption. Cloud providers offer advanced encryption capabilities to protect data both at rest and in transit. This includes encryption of data stored in databases, file systems and backups, as well as data sent over networks using protocols like SSL/TLS.
Intrusion detection. These systems are your cloud police. They monitor network traffic for signs of malicious activity, and can automatically block or mitigate threats in real time. Think Amazon’s GuardDuty, which monitors the AWS environment, or Microsoft’s Azure Security Centre.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). EDR solutions monitor endpoints (in other words, servers, desktops, tablets and laptops) for signs of malware. They’re a great way for sysadmins to get visibility over infected devices, and quarantine them, if necessary.
Network segmentation. Cloud providers often employ network segmentation techniques so that all their clients’ digital eggs aren’t resting in the same basket. By dividing the cloud network into smaller segments, and applying access controls to those segments, you can reduce the damage of any potential breach.
Data encryption: At rest and in transit
There’s a big difference between protecting stored data, and data being moved between clients and servers. That’s why you’ll often hear this distinction between data ‘at rest’ (sitting snug in a server bank) or ‘in-transit’ (moving over a network). Cloud service providers use a bunch of different encryption techniques to protect both these sets of data.
For data at rest, CSPs generally rely on things like encryption algorithms and keys, to make sure that, even if unauthorized people gain access to the physical storage, they can’t access the data without a decryption key. There are also robust key management systems to generate, store and protect encryption keys.
For data in transit, you need security protocols like Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or – even better – Transport Layer Security (TLS). These protocols are what protect your data when it’s moving from the server to the client, or vice versa. CSPs also use things like mutual authentication mechanisms to verify the identity of both the client and the server during the SSL/TLS handshake.
The impact of regulatory compliance
One reason modern cloud systems are so secure, and rely on redundant, overlapping forms of security, is that they’re legally obliged to be that way. The law differs depending on the location of the cloud provider, but legislation like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have literally changed the game on cloud security.
These days, many governments around the world have introduced or updated their cyber legislation, enhancing consumer protections and enshrining cloud-security protocols in law.
Cloud service providers vs on-premise security
There’s no way to say whether cloud security or on-premise security is ‘better’. It’s like comparing a combination lock to a padlock: both perform the same job, just in slightly different ways. Cloud security does come with certain advantages, like specialized expertise, dedicated security teams, scalability and cost-effective disaster recovery. It’s generally seen as a more flexible, scalable, and affordable security framework.
On the other hand, on-premise security and private servers give you maximum control over your security environment. This includes direct physical control, i.e. literally locking your servers behind a closed door. It’s a good way for organizations to maintain total data sovereignty. Of course, it does tend to be much more expensive – sometimes prohibitively expensive, for small businesses and start-ups – and lacks the flexibility of the cloud environment. In other words, if you want more storage, you have to physically store it.
The role of AI in cloud security
AI is playing an increasingly important role in cloud security, as is the case with cyber in general. AI-powered threat detection systems are now commonplace, and used by all the major cloud service providers. Amazon’s GuardDuty is a great example. It uses machine learning to crunch huge sets of behavioral data, quickly identifying deviations or anomalies in real time. AI can also analyze historical data and trends to predict future security threats, and this is sort of the brave new frontier of cybersecurity: predictive analysis. Identifying threats before they even emerge. Of course, the flipside is that hackers have access to generative AI models too. Watch this space…
Regular audits and compliance checks
Cloud service providers undergo rigorous audits and compliance checks to make sure they’re sticking to legislative and industry standards. This has been the case for a while.
Some of the most common checks include SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2), which is a widely used auditing standard, especially in the US. SOC 2 checks the effectiveness of your cloud provider’s control methods, their security, process integrity, confidentiality, and data privacy measures. Other standards include ISO 27001 (the international standard for information security management) and HIPAA (the legal requirements for cloud providers that handle sensitive health data). As we mentioned above, audits and compliance aren’t just something CSPs get to do when they feel like it: it’s usually mandated by legislation or industry regulations.
