There’s no denying that the cloud is highly appealing due to its unmatched flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency compared to on-premises infrastructure. According to a Gartner report, almost all companies have adopted the cloud by 2023. Looking ahead, it is projected that more than 50% of companies will switch to this service by 2028.
Although cloud users are increasing, using the cloud doesn’t come without obstacles. The ease of accessing and collaborating in the cloud creates opportunities for data breaches, cyber-attacks, and other threats that could result in financial losses or even damage a business’s reputation.
Implementing effective cloud security is no longer an option but an obligation for every company to protect its important assets. So, what is cloud security, and how can cloud security solutions protect your business’s cloud ecosystem? Let’s explore in this article.
What Is Cloud Security?
Cloud security is a series of policies, steps, tools, and technologies used to protect users, data, applications, and cloud infrastructure.
In practice, cloud security has several key components to ensure the safety of data and services in the cloud ecosystem, including:
- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Prevents unauthorized access to data, applications, or cloud infrastructure.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Detects, monitors, and prevents data leakage.
- Data Encryption: Transforms information or data in the cloud into a format that is difficult for attackers to decipher or understand.
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): Analyzes cloud security logs in real-time to monitor the cloud ecosystem more efficiently.
Differences Between Cloud Security and Traditional Network Security
Can a company rely on a conventional security system? Certainly, but its functions are limited.
Traditional network security only protects your local network, so it cannot safeguard Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, high-bandwidth services, or mobile user access, unlike cloud security.
Cloud security can help you maximize protection for applications, workloads, cloud data, and users, and allows you to remotely access and control security systems, supporting hybrid work systems. Additionally, cloud security is scalable, adapting to the growing needs of your business.
6 Reasons Why Cloud Security Is Important for Your Business
Cloud security has become an integral part of the IT infrastructure of various companies due to its crucial role in business operations. Here are six reasons why cloud security should be prioritized:
1. Protecting Sensitive Data
Increased use of cloud services means more companies store sensitive data like customer information, financial data, intellectual property, and more in the cloud. Proper cloud security services can prevent data loss and protect customer privacy.
2. Regulatory Compliance
Various security regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others must be followed by companies to avoid severe penalties. Therefore, companies must use high-security systems for sensitive information.
3. Increasing Cyber Threats
The cloud is often a target for increasingly complex and varied cyber-attacks. Adequate cloud security services can protect your system from threats such as malware or zero-day attacks.
4. Scalability and Flexibility
Although the cloud can help companies adjust their IT resources, it is essential to maintain consistency and efficiency in security management. This function can be optimized with cloud security.
5. Security of Collaboration and Mobility
The cloud allows users to access information from anywhere and at any time, but this increases the vulnerability of access and network security. Cloud security features can monitor user activity to protect cloud services.
6. Business Continuity and Availability
Security incidents from internal or external sources can disrupt services, reduce customer trust, and result in financial losses. Proper cloud security ensures optimal data availability.
7 Challenges in Implementing Cloud Security
You have learned how important cloud security implementation is and its benefits. Despite its many conveniences, there are several challenges that businesses often face when implementing cloud security services. Here are seven challenges to be aware of:
1. Emerging Threats in the Cloud
Cloud is a storage center for various important company data targeted by hackers. Weak cloud protection can have fatal consequences for your data and workload.
2. Unpredictable Workloads
Essential assets like servers, applications, and data can be dynamically modified in the cloud. With constant changes, security risks can also increase.
3. Limited Visibility and Tracking
Visibility in PaaS and SaaS cloud models is quite limited, preventing users from seeing the physical infrastructure of the cloud. Additionally, you have limited control over its operational security activities.
4. Granular Access Management
Loose configurations often grant unnecessary privileges, increasing the risk of intentional or unintentional data loss.
5. DevOps, DevSecOps, and Automation
It is crucial for companies to ensure security measures are identified and incorporated into the code from the start of development. If security changes occur after deployment, cloud security becomes more vulnerable.
6. Increasingly Stringent Security Regulations
Limited visibility and cloud dynamics make compliance audits difficult, requiring tools to automate these activities.
7. Cloud Service Complexity
To maintain consistent security across multi-platforms, companies need integrated tools and policies to centrally manage the system.
Also read: Hybrid Cloud Security: Confronting the Challenges and Complexities
These challenges may cause concern, but they can be addressed with the right security services, such as Prisma Cloud, the best-in-class cloud security provider from Palo Alto.
Prisma Cloud: Cloud Security Solution from Palo Alto
Prisma Cloud solutions from Palo Alto Networks offer various cloud security measures for applications, data, and all cloud-based technologies. With Prisma Cloud, you can streamline security matters, prevent various cyber threats, and minimize IT complexities that commonly occur in hybrid work environments.
Prisma Cloud offers three key features:
1. Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
Automatically detect misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, comply with standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, and provide risk threat visualization.
2. Cloud Workload Protection (CWP)
Identify vulnerabilities and monitor workloads in real-time to detect and block malicious activities or anomalies using Machine Learning and Threat Intelligence.
3. Identity and Access Management (IAM) Security
Continuously monitor IAM policies, detect anomalous activities, and limit access rights to the minimum.
4 Benefits of Using Prisma Cloud Solutions
Prisma Cloud’s key features can offer the following benefits:
1. Consistent Security
Ensure the company has implemented the necessary security measures to minimize risks.
2. Speed and Agility
Quickly and agilely accommodate and adapt to your various cloud applications.
3. Cost Efficiency
Avoid various threats that could cause your business to collapse.
4. Ease of Use
Provide an easy-to-operate security system.
Get Prisma Cloud from Palo Alto Only at Virtus
Prisma Cloud solutions from Palo Alto can be your choice for risk-free and comprehensive cloud protection.
As an authorized partner of Palo Alto, the professional and certified IT team of Virtus Technology Indonesia (VTI) is ready to assist you from consultation, deployment, maintenance, to after-sales support to avoid trial and error in implementing Prisma Cloud.
Learn more about Prisma Cloud or consult the right cloud security strategy for your business continuity by contacting us here.
Author: Anggita Olivia Herman – Content Writer, CTI Group
