Cloud Security: Buyer Be Critical

Last updated at Tue, 21 Feb 2023 17:52:30 GMT

Tailoring solutions to challenges

It takes a toolbox with different, well, tools to secure an ever-expanding operational perimeter in the cloud. Think about what’s under the general daily purview of cloud security teams: preventing misconfigurations, taming threats and vulnerabilities, and so much more. Now, apply that to different high-risk industries around the globe that must build and tailor cloud security solutions to their unique challenges. For instance:

• Financial Services: It can be difficult trying to leverage the benefits of digital transformation while attempting to modernize decades of tradition in an old-school industry. Mobile banking/financial services, for instance, has been the one of the largest industry shifts over the past decade and has accelerated cloud adoption in the sector. Thus, security must keep pace with the service’s rapid growth. The desire to operationalize on-premises and cloud practices is typically strong in this industry, but must also take into account client trust in a financial-services partner to protect that client’s bottom line.    
  
• Healthcare: With the growing normalization of telehealth services across the spectrum of medical providers, it’s more critical than ever to secure patient health information (PHI) while adhering to regulatory standards like HIPAA. The need for speed and innovation in medicine is critical, so scaling communication and technology operations into the cloud can be incredibly beneficial. However, providers are also continually challenged with securing PHI within new technologies at speed and scale without slowing innovation.    
  
• Automotive: With the modernization of engines, software, and connectivity, the need for passenger safety is more important than ever. As more automobile controls are conveniently accessible through cloud-based controls, cyberattacks have correspondingly increased. Ensuring security checks are implemented in the production and design of a new vehicle while also pushing software updates throughout the ownership lifecycle of that vehicle is critical to manufacturer integrity and passenger safety.

Expansive perimeters

Within and throughout these different use cases and industries are specific budgetary constraints that have prompted organizations to scale cloud operations at unprecedented speeds – no doubt accelerated in large part by the pandemic as it was in its early stages a couple of years ago. Do companies want to go back to not saving money? Certainly not. That means attackers are as ready as they’ll ever be to try and break expanding cloud perimeters.

With your company’s reputation at risk, it’s more critical than ever that security keeps pace with those expanding perimeters, particularly at a time of global financial crisis for many companies as they emerge from the pandemic. Whether a company is looking for a partner to alleviate financial strain in a potential merger situation or seeking an outright buyer, the security of the merged or acquired company’s cloud-hosted operations – particularly vulnerable to attackers during a time of change – is paramount.

High-profile recent examples of the above include Discovery, Inc.’s purchase of WarnerMedia, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, and Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. These are tectonic shifts for all companies involved, of a sort that can leave cloud security extremely vulnerable at certain points in the process. And the higher-profile the company, the more attractive it can be to an attacker.

Evaluating solutions at speed and scale

So, you’re seeking a strongly effective solution. But, the cloud security vendor space can be confusing. One provider defines cloud security a certain way and another defines it a separate way, and their offerings differ accordingly. Between CASB, SaaS Security, CSPM, and CWPP solutions, there’s a lot to learn. Are any of these right for your cloud operations? There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but you may find a suite of tools that can best work for your specific use case(s).

There are any number of cloud security guides, whitepapers, research, and more that can help you evaluate solutions available from reputable providers. The latest edition of The Complete Cloud Security Buyer’s Guide is a timely and discerning dive into different types of cloud security and the use cases to which they align. Get help with the process of evaluating vendors, while taking into account the need for speed in deploying effective security that protects ever-expanding operational perimeters in the cloud.

Explore how to make the best case for more – or any – cloud security at your company, plus get a handy checklist to use when looking into a potential solution. Get started now with the 2022 edition of The Complete Cloud Security Buyer’s Guide from Rapid7.