How fatal can be the problem of misconfiguration in the cloud systems? A report on security breaches revealed that at least 95% of data theft by 2022 would be due to misconfiguration and mismanagement at the customer’s end. The infamous Capital One breach is the most prominent recent example. The breach was due to a misconfigured open source web application firewall (WAF). However, companies can avoid it through cloud security posture management along with some precautions.
The Most Common Forms of Configuration Errors
- Leaving a public, unencrypted data store exposed to the Internet without any form of authentication required to access it
- Exposure of data to all global users of the same cloud platform
- Leave encryption keys and passwords in open repositories
These errors enable hackers to engage in malicious attacks such as stealing data and malicious programs on websites.
What is Cloud Security Posture Management?
Over the last few years, CSPM has been extremely common due to the rising number of companies that utilize a cloud-first methodology. It tracks vulnerability and automatically addresses any protection problems.
There are no upfront expenses and advantages of modular technology and protection insight. It detects issues, computes threats, and warns the organization regarding those risks.
Benefits of CSPM
The CSPM has recently evolved from a single reporting tool to multiple automation components. These are the critical security requirements addressed by a CSPM solution:
- Operational monitoring
- Incident response
- Identify access
- Compliance policy evaluation and monitoring
- Risk identification and visualization
- Asset inventory and classification
Cloud Security Posture Management technology can analyze vulnerability risks in the cloud and offer to monitor and notifying for all cybersecurity threats. It would make the IT team more successful at configuring infrastructure and securing cloud-based services.
How to Make Most Out Of CSPM
To make the most out of CSPM to avoid misconfiguration in your systems, follow the tips below:
1. Clarifying Internal Responsibilities
If you want to strengthen the cloud security posture, the first key is to identify your obligations. The Mutual Accountability Paradigm delineates the position of the cloud provider and consumer in safety. Cloud protection is no longer just one department’s responsibility—everyone in the company is liable for cloud security, and each team knows the policies and dangers of the cloud systems it is leveraging.
2. The Role of Communication
As automated cloud attacks rise, you need to exchange timely information as soon as possible to prevent lost effort. A CCoE facilitates effective knowledge-sharing because it puts together all the Production and Security departments and Financing to deliver the right knowledge to the right user quickly.
3. Gaining Visibility
Like they say, “you can’t protect what you can’t see,” it’s essential to provide visibility through the whole cloud ecosystem so you can ensure a successful protection posture in the cloud. Cloud service providers have native management tools that can aid to a certain degree but have shortcomings, particularly when providing comprehensive background and visibility through cloud systems or multi-cloud environments.