Six important capabilities for building cloud native security

Cloud computing is favored by a large number of enterprise users because of its inherent scalability and flexibility, as well as high-performance computing capabilities, and has become the preferred choice for enterprise mission-critical loads. As an emerging security concept, cloud native security not only solves the security problems caused by the popularity of cloud computing, but also emphasizes the construction, deployment and application of cloud security with native thinking to promote the deep integration of security and cloud computing. Here are six key cloud-native security capabilities to focus on in areas that are important for security professionals, software developers, and information technology specialists.

1. Identity and access management
   Today's information technology world demands identity and Access Management (IAM). Using the IAM system, enterprises can easily manage and track each identity by creating identities for people and their devices, and grant only relevant permissions to support their work. Implementing IAM on the cloud helps ensure efficient and secure access to services and data by enterprise developers, customers, suppliers, and other partners.

In particular, using multifactor authentication and behavior analysis, such as expected logon time and location, can help businesses identify suspicious activity between individuals and devices through IAM, and use ARTIFICIAL intelligence and automated IAM to help businesses identify these issues faster. These automation solutions are increasingly likely to play a bigger role as regulatory pressures on businesses increase.

In addition, communication between devices and the cloud (whether via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi) is increasing. Devices that do not implement IAM are vulnerable to attacks that can lead to data theft, corporate image damage, or violations.

2. Supply chain security
   Related to IAM and third party access is supply chain security. Typically, a supply chain consists of many suppliers and third parties. One of the key issues of supply chain security is that supply chains have a large attack surface, which means that security needs to be established in the supply chain to protect them. This problem will be exacerbated by the increasing complexity and integration of modern supply chains.

When attackers successfully penetrate a supply chain, they may gain access to data throughout the supply chain. This means they can inject malicious code or tamper with hardware and access private data. Granting access to enterprise systems to vendors whose systems are not secure can cause serious harm.

One of the easiest ways to solve this problem is to revoke the vendor's access to the data. In fact, most vendors probably don't need access to enterprise data on the cloud either. By eliminating this attack vector, an enterprise can eliminate the attacker's ability to access data using vendor systems. Implementing a standardized baseline security model across all vendors will help enterprises become more secure in a cloud-based environment.

3. The API is safe
   API security is closely related to supply chain security. Typically, vendors may leverage apis to integrate with enterprise applications. Apis are critical to modern cloud applications. Microservices also rely on apis to interact with each other and perform work. Some workloads may have thousands of apis, but the apis themselves may not be secure, and they can become a burden. Apis are a particularly tempting target for attackers because their vulnerabilities are often well documented and publicly accessible. Attackers can use open documents to reverse-engineer apis to gain access to enterprise systems and steal data undetected.

Improving API security is an important trend in cloud native security, and enterprise security teams should strive to integrate API security into Web and cloud-based application development processes. API security should also be automated, because automated API security reduces human error and minimizes workload. There are many API security tools available on the market that integrate with an enterprise's CI/CD pipeline and enhance visibility and security throughout the software development life cycle.

4. Secret voucher management
   Cloud-based applications use many tools, microservices, and privileged accounts to support their operations. In many cases, each zone requires the keys and passwords needed to communicate from application to application and from application to database. However, without a strong secret credential management strategy, administrators and developers can be caught off guard when confronted with security incidents. Secret credentials can cover common and special password rules, as well as security keys, tokens, access codes, and even physical secrets. While a common business plan is critical to supporting and growing the business, a security plan that incorporates the security of technical information, such as key and password management, can effectively mitigate risks.

When managing secrets, keep in mind that third-party software may need access to these secrets to properly integrate into an enterprise's workflow. Therefore, even if all tools within an enterprise are secure, insecure third-party tools can also create a significant security threat. In addition, DevOps tools can access multiple resources and choreography software, which can also pose significant security issues. Imagine if an attacker successfully accessed a DevOps tool, they would have easy access to sensitive information. Therefore, all teams in the enterprise should be trained on best practices for handling keys and passwords.

Secret management can be complex, but everyone in the enterprise must understand its importance, and organizations should leverage tools to manage their secrets and provide security for their cloud-based workloads. It's important to note that secret credentials management should be automated, not manual, as manually generating passwords can lead to human error and leave security holes for cyber criminals to exploit. In addition, administrators should create complex keys or passwords, because cybercriminals can easily guess simple keys or passwords.

5. Cloud security situation management
   Cloud configuration errors are one of the main causes of data leaks. Cloud security situational management (CSPM) is a useful tool to ensure that the cloud is configured correctly, it will scan the enterprise cloud configuration and application component, and highlight any configuration, may lead to the data leakage error CSPM properly configured by automated means the cloud services and resources to effectively prevent the attacker intrusion system, help enterprises to protect the security of the system.
6. Social engineering security
   An often overlooked aspect of security is social engineering. In social engineering scenarios, attackers manipulate their targets to enter information that could lead to a data breach. Cybercriminals can even learn about existing security protocols directly from an enterprise's systems engineer or software developer and use this information to find security holes in the system. To avoid this, consider creating a social media policy for employees.

Social media policies need to be clear: corporate information cannot be posted on personal social media accounts. In addition, information and training programs need to be created for employees at all levels of the organization so that they understand the risks of sharing information both internally and externally; Isolate and categorize information between teams to help organizations determine the source of security vulnerabilities, among other things.

Keep in mind that businesses can use any number of automatic protection and prevention tools, but the task of detecting an "impostor" can be very difficult if someone leaks their password.

Summary
Cloud security is constantly evolving, and newer technologies will further enhance security. However, by practicing best security practices and creating integrated security policies, the enterprise will be more secure. Continuing to monitor industry trends and implement some of the strategies outlined above will address many of the modern threats facing cloud-based organizations.