Cloud security basics
Cloud security refers to the policies, controls, technologies, and best practices used to protect cloud-based data, applications, and infrastructure. It focuses on preventing unauthorized access, reducing risk from misconfigurations, detecting malicious activity, and ensuring compliance across cloud environments.
Unlike traditional security models that protect fixed, on-premises infrastructure, cloud security must account for dynamic assets, shared ownership between providers and customers, and rapid changes to workloads and identities.
Cloud security applies across:
- Public cloud environments.
- Private cloud infrastructure.
- Hybrid and multi-cloud architectures.
Cloud security vs. cloud computing security
Cloud computing describes the on-demand delivery of computing resources such as servers, storage, and applications over the internet. Cloud security focuses on protecting those resources once they are deployed.
In practice, cloud computing enables agility and scalability, while cloud security ensures that speed does not introduce unmanaged risk.
Cloud security challenges
Securing cloud environments introduces unique challenges that differ from traditional IT infrastructure.
Misconfigurations and visibility gaps
Cloud environments are highly configurable, which increases the risk of accidental exposure. Misconfigured storage, overly permissive access controls, and unsecured APIs remain common causes of cloud breaches.
Identity and access complexity
Cloud security relies heavily on identity. Managing users, roles, service accounts, and machine identities at scale is difficult, especially as environments grow and change rapidly.
Shared responsibility confusion
Many organizations misunderstand where cloud provider responsibilities end and customer responsibilities begin, leading to security gaps.
Rapid change and ephemeral infrastructure
Cloud workloads are created, modified, and removed continuously. Traditional security approaches that rely on static inventories struggle to keep up.
Multi-cloud and hybrid sprawl
Using multiple cloud providers increases complexity, creates inconsistent security controls, and reduces centralized visibility.
The shared responsibility model in cloud security
Cloud security is governed by a shared responsibility model. Under this model, cloud providers and customers each have defined security responsibilities.
Cloud providers are typically responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, including physical data centers, hardware, and core services.
Customers are responsible for securing what they deploy in the cloud, including identities, configurations, data, applications, and access policies.
While specifics vary by provider and service type (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), customers always retain responsibility for protecting their data and controlling access. Understanding this division is foundational to effective cloud security.
Benefits of cloud security
When implemented effectively, cloud security enables organizations to take advantage of cloud flexibility without sacrificing control or visibility. Key benefits include:
- Reduced risk from misconfigurations and exposed assets.
- Improved visibility across cloud workloads and identities.
- Faster detection of suspicious or malicious activity.
- Support for regulatory and compliance requirements.
- Greater cyber resilience against data loss and service disruption.
Cloud security best practices
Effective cloud security requires more than point-in-time configuration checks. Because cloud environments change continuously, best practices focus on visibility, control, and ongoing cloud risk management rather than static defenses.
Maintain continuous asset visibility
Cloud assets are created and retired dynamically, often outside traditional change management processes. Organizations should continuously discover and inventory cloud resources such as virtual machines, containers, storage services, APIs, and identities. Without up-to-date visibility, security teams may miss exposed or orphaned assets that increase risk.
Enforce strong identity and access controls
Identity is the primary security perimeter in the cloud. Applying least-privilege access principles helps limit the impact of compromised credentials or misused permissions. This includes regularly reviewing roles, removing unused access, and separating human and machine identities to reduce overexposure.
Secure configurations and monitor for drift
Cloud platforms provide extensive configuration flexibility, but that flexibility can lead to risk if security settings drift over time. Establishing secure baselines and continuously monitoring for deviations helps teams detect misconfigurations before they are exploited.
Centralize logging and monitoring
Cloud activity generates large volumes of logs across services and regions. Centralized log collection and monitoring allow security teams to correlate events, identify anomalous behavior, and investigate incidents more efficiently. Visibility into authentication activity, network traffic, and workload behavior is especially important.
Protect data throughout its lifecycle
Cloud security should address data at rest, in transit, and in use. This includes controlling access to sensitive data, encrypting it appropriately, and understanding where it is stored and processed across environments.
Prepare for cloud-specific incidents
Incident response in the cloud differs from on-premises environments. Security teams should plan for cloud-native evidence sources, automated remediation options, and coordination between security and cloud operations teams to respond quickly when issues arise.
Common cloud security mistakes to avoid
Many cloud security issues stem not from advanced attacks, but from avoidable mistakes in how environments are configured and managed.
Assuming the cloud provider handles all security responsibilities
While providers secure the underlying infrastructure, customers remain responsible for protecting identities, data, applications, and configurations.
Overly permissive access
Granting broad permissions for convenience can significantly increase risk if credentials are compromised. Access policies should be reviewed regularly and adjusted as environments evolve.
Incomplete visibility
Without continuous discovery of cloud assets, security teams may overlook exposed services, forgotten resources, or unmanaged workloads that attackers can exploit.
Configuration drift
Security settings that are correct at deployment can change over time as teams modify environments, introduce new services, or scale workloads. Without monitoring, these changes can quietly introduce risk.
Siloed environments
This often leads to inconsistent controls and fragmented monitoring. A fragmented approach makes it harder to understand overall risk and respond effectively to incidents.
Avoiding these mistakes helps organizations build more resilient cloud security programs and reduce preventable exposure.
Security for multi-cloud and hybrid environments
In multi-cloud and hybrid environments, security challenges increase as assets and data are distributed across providers and platforms. Effective multi-cloud security focuses on:
- Centralized visibility across environments.
- Consistent security policies and controls.
- Risk prioritization based on exposure and business impact.
- Coordinated monitoring and response.
Rather than treating each cloud in isolation, organizations benefit from managing risk across their entire cloud footprint.
How cloud security fits into a modern security program
Cloud security is not a standalone discipline. It intersects with vulnerability management, identity and access management (IAM), detection and response, and broader exposure management efforts.
A modern security program treats cloud risk as part of overall organizational risk, enabling teams to prioritize issues based on real-world exposure rather than isolated alerts.
Related reading
Fundamentals
What Is Managed Detection and Response (MDR)?
Blogs
Why Traditional Vulnerability Management Isn’t Working and What to Do Instead
Seeing the Whole Picture: A Better Way to Manage Your Attack Surface
Coverage Plus Context Equals Intelligent Exposure Management