Digital data is a critical business asset across all industries. However, as the importance of data continues to grow greater security threats emerge and evolve. This has resulted in increased concerns by decision-makers about how best to secure, access and safeguard sensitive data.
Against this backdrop, private clouds have emerged as a popular solution with its appealing characteristics of control and security. Particularly organisations who manage business-critical data or who need to adhere to specific regulations and industry compliance standards.
The top Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), including AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, often invest in industry-leading cyber security tools to safeguard their infrastructures. It is important to consider the Cloud Security Shared Responsibility model, where CSPs are responsible for the maintenance and availability of their infrastructures. However, the responsibility for protecting your workloads, applications, data and operating systems, sits with you.
As organisations weigh up their options around cloud migration, infrastructure security remains at the forefront of their minds.
In this article, we explore the key concerns surrounding data security and cloud infrastructures. We aim to address these effectively to give peace of mind and reassurance.
Enhancing data security through your cloud
As cyber threats become more sophisticated and relenting, so has the innovation around cloud infrastructure security and how they can limit the potential damage of a breach, attack or incident. Here we look at the result of that innovation:
Network Security
Comprehensive network protection is the foundation of private cloud security with a zero-trust architecture. This clearly defines who can and cannot access, modify or delete data even if they are within the organisation’s network. With every access request authenticated and authorised it limits the number of entry points for threat actors.
By implementing micro-segmentation such as that Brightsolid Cloud provides with NSX-T perimeter and distributed firewalls, organisations can restrict access dependent on user roles, departments or specific projects. This reduces the attack surface and limits movement and damage should a breach or incident occur.
Meanwhile, CSPs through their partnerships, can offer a range of additional solutions including Zero Trust Network Access and Cloud Access Security Broker. This is designed to detect and protect workloads from malicious or unauthorised traffic or through comprehensive Firewall solutions, aimed at securing infrastructure from threats such as DDoS.
Identify and Access Management
Multi-Factor Authorisation (MFA) allows for robust authentication and authorisation protocols. Users are required to provide multiple verification before access is granted. Adding an extra layer of security over and above a password.
Such a tool ensures that only approved stakeholders are given access to the data and workloads that are most relevant to them and nothing more. Therefore safeguarding sensitive information and critical data from unrelated individuals.
Threat Detection and Response
Proactive threat response is critical for identifying, mitigating and responding to security incidents within and external to an organisation swiftly and effectively. Comprehensive monitoring tools, such as that implemented through Brightsolid Cloud and its SOC, can track network traffic and activity along with suspicious behaviour.
Moreover, your third-party security device, along with identity and access management providers such as AAD or Active Directory, can be integrated into Brightsolid Cloud. This ensures protection from potential threats within and external to the organisation.
The Issue of Compliance
A major data security concern for organisations is that when it comes to how they collect, store and protect data, are they meeting their industry-specific data regulations and achieving compliance?
Private cloud infrastructure with its robust security measures such as encryption, identity management and regular assessments, allows for a high degree of data control and protection. This is fundamental to compliance and regulations like GDPR.
Public Cloud providers can also help organisations satisfy compliance requirements worldwide, with services designed to support multiple security standards and compliance certifications. However it is important to note that similar to cloud security, compliance is often a shared responsibility between the customer and the CSP. Organisations are responsible for the management of their applications and guest operating systems. CSPs are often responsible for the management and control of main systems and the physical security of the infrastructure.
By implementing robust security measures organisations also minimise their risk of downtime should cyber-attacks or data breaches arise.
Discover Brightsolid Cloud today
Here at Brightsolid, we understand the concerns you may have around data security and accessibility. That is why with Brightsolid Cloud, we deliver a secure and user-friendly cloud platform with a self-service portal.
Built on the VMware Cloud Director platform, it allows for quick access, speedy deployment, incredible flexibility and robust security to support your digital transformation. Brightsolid is also committed to proactively maintaining your essential cloud infrastructure to further bolster your cloud initiatives.