How to Optimize Your Cloud Storage for Better Security?

This article serves as a comprehensive introduction to the security aspects of cloud storage, focusing on the techniques employed by cloud providers to ensure data protection. By exploring the various aspects of safeguarding cloud-based data, readers will gain valuable insights into differentiating between top-tier providers prioritizing robust storage protection and service providers may need to meet the necessary security standards.

What is Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage is storing digital data on remote servers located off-site. The servers are managed by a third-party service provider responsible for hosting, managing, and ensuring the security of the data stored on their infrastructure.

The cloud storage provider ensures uninterrupted access to the data stored on its servers via public and private internet connections.

Cloud storage allows organizations to store, access, and manage data without maintaining their data centers. This shift in storage infrastructure helps organizations transition from a capital expenditure model to an operational one. Additionally, cloud storage offers scalability, enabling organizations to quickly expand or reduce their data footprint based on their requirements.

While cloud storage offers convenience, businesses often express concerns about their limited control over their data stored in the cloud. However, it is worth noting that cloud storage security measures are generally more advanced and reliable compared to on-premises data protection mechanisms.

Cloud storage can be categorized into three main types: private, public, and hybrid clouds.

1. Public cloud storage: Customers use internet connectivity to connect to a storage infrastructure maintained by a cloud provider. This storage infrastructure is shared among multiple companies, allowing them to store and access their data.
2. Private cloud storage: Customers construct their storage infrastructure, accessible via a secure remote connection. This storage solution is exclusive to the customer and is not shared with other companies.
3. Hybrid cloud storage: The organizations securely store sensitive information within a private cloud infrastructure while utilizing public cloud storage services for non-sensitive data.

What is Cloud Storage Security?

Cloud security, also called cloud computing security, is a crucial framework that safeguards cloud environments against various risks, including unauthorized access, DDoS attacks, hackers, malware, and other potential threats. To achieve this objective, cloud security adopts a comprehensive approach that involves strategic planning, robust policies, streamlined processes, industry best practices, and cutting-edge technologies.

Cloud data security encompasses various tools, technologies, and approaches to protect data in the cloud. It often incorporates built-in security features, such as robust encryption mechanisms.

Geo-fencing

Utilises IP addresses and geolocation data to establish a geographic boundary and detect abnormal or suspicious activities.

Policy-based Lifecycle Retention

This approach utilizes data classification policies to manage & automate data storage, retention, archiving, and deletion.

Data-aware Filtering

enables organizations to monitor and track specific conditions and events. It provides the ability to observe and analyze who accessed information & when they accessed it. It can be integrated with role-based authorizations and privileges.

Detailed logs and full user/workload audit trail reporting

The capability to review records and conduct workload audits offers valuable insights into security concerns and risks associated with vulnerabilities.

Backup and Recovery Functions

These essential capabilities enable organizations to effectively handle outages and address security risks, including ransomware attacks and malicious data deletion. Robust cloud-based disaster recovery solutions ensure availability under all circumstances.

What is Secure Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage refers to a cloud computing service model in which digital data is stored, managed, and backed up across numerous remote servers hosted by a cloud provider. This data can be accessed via the internet or a private network.

What is the Level of Security Offered by Cloud Storage?

By choosing a reputable provider, your cloud storage can offer superior security compared to on-premises infrastructure. However, it is essential to understand that not all cloud storage platforms are created equal, and particular providers may downplay the level of security they provide.

The appropriate provider offers a range of features and frameworks that may need to be more efficiently and cost-effectively implemented in an on-premises setup. These capabilities encompass:

• Top-tier redundancy: A provider-level data center incorporates robust equipment and software redundancy to ensure effective disaster recovery in various scenarios.
• Robust physical security: A high-end data center ensures servers are housed in a significantly more secure facility than an average in-office server room. Standard security measures encompass 24-hour facility surveillance, implementation of fingerprint locks, and deployment of armed guards to enhance protection.
• Multi-tiered security features: Cloud providers employ cutting-edge hardware and software-based firewalls to efficiently filter inbound and outbound traffic within cloud storage. Implementing an intrusion detection system (IDS) is a standard security measure.
• High-end security testing: Cloud providers conduct frequent vulnerability assessments and penetration tests to verify that the storage security measures align with the latest threat and maintain optimal protection.
• Continuous monitoring (CM): Continuous monitoring ensures that the security team maintains real-time visibility into each server and cloud storage within the facility, enabling prompt detection and response to any security incidents or anomalies.

What are the Challenges in Cloud Storage Security?

Operational Challenges

Most cloud security failures are attributed to operational errors made by the client. The following are the most common mistakes:

1. Only authorized use of cloud storage services or platforms by employees with the knowledge or approval of the security or IT team.
2. Sharing files with the wrong users resulting in potential data breaches or unauthorized access.
3. Accidental deletion of important data without proper backup mechanisms in place.
4. Inadequate essential management practices lead to the loss of encryption keys, compromising data security.
5. Reliance on weak and easily guessable passwords makes accounts vulnerable to unauthorized access.
6. The usage of unapproved and insecure devices by employees poses a risk to the security of cloud storage systems.

Lack of Physical Control

Users surrender control over the physical infrastructure by storing their data in the remote servers of cloud storage providers. Securing the physical infrastructure rests with the service provider, transferring control from users to the service provider. Consequently, users must depend on the service provider to prevent data leakage.

This gives rise to security concerns and challenges concerning data privacy and integrity. While cloud storage providers offer security controls, operating in a zero-trust environment requires users to take additional precautions.

Case: In 2021, U.S. apparel retailer Bonobos experienced a data breach resulting in the loss of seventy gigabytes of customer data. The breach occurred in a backup hosted by a third-party cloud service. Bonobos had to notify the service provider and take appropriate actions to secure customer data.

Multi-tenancy

In a cloud multi-tenancy environment, companies share cloud resources with other organizations, allowing for improved resource utilization and cost savings. While this model offers benefits, it also introduces security concerns. Weak tenant separation or vulnerabilities in the shared cloud environment can put multiple tenants at risk.

Case

In a notable incident in January, research conducted by Ocra uncovered a critical vulnerability in a public cloud data platform. This vulnerability enabled attackers to bypass tenant separation measures and gain unauthorized access to sensitive credentials and data belonging to multiple customers. Exploiting this vulnerability granted unauthorized data access and facilitated the execution of arbitrary code on customers’ machines, significantly compromising the entire system’s security.

System Vulnerabilities

Cloud storage systems are not immune to bug discoveries and system vulnerabilities. Exploiting these vulnerabilities allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to data, compromise data integrity and privacy, and potentially disrupt the service.

Case

In 2021, a cybersecurity research team from Wiz discovered a system vulnerability in a popular database service offered by Microsoft Azure. This vulnerability allowed unauthorized access to thousands of customer databases, including those of Fortune 500 companies. Following this discovery, the researchers identified five additional vulnerabilities within the same service, which Microsoft addressed and patched.

Four main categories identify system vulnerabilities:

1. Zero-day vulnerabilities: are newly discovered vulnerabilities for which no security patches or fixes are available.
2. Missing security patches: Missing security patches occur when new vulnerabilities are identified, and security patches or updates are released by software providers, resulting in missing security patches that hackers can exploit.
3. Configuration-based vulnerabilities: Configuration-based vulnerabilities arise from errors or misconfigurations in the default settings of cloud systems, such as weak encryption.
4. Weak or default credentials: This vulnerability occurs when users employ weak passwords or rely on default credentials provided by the system.

Misconfigured Cloud

Cloud misconfiguration refers to any error or glitch that exposes cloud data to potential risks and vulnerabilities. Due to the reduced visibility and control of end users over data and operations in the cloud, misconfigurations are a common problem.

Cloud storage misconfigurations often arise due to the following factors:

1. Inexperienced engineers.
2. IT mistakes.
3. Poor resource and operation policies.

Misconfigurations in cloud storage can pose significant risks, potentially leading to data breaches, either from insider threats or external actors to exploit vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access to cloud data.

Inconsistent Security Controls

Conflicting and overly complex security controls can lead to issues in cloud storage security. These problems often arise when the provider’s and client’s teams establish inconsistent rules, resulting in security gaps that hackers can exploit.

To mitigate the risk of conflicting security controls, there are two approaches you can consider:

1. Choose a cloud storage solution that allows your team to establish and manage basic security controls:
2. Opting for a cloud storage platform that will enable you to set up and maintain essential security controls can help ensure consistency and alignment with your organization’s security policies.
3. Collaborate with a trusted provider that assumes full responsibility for data storage security:

Another approach is to partner with a reliable cloud storage provider that takes on the complete responsibility of securing your data. Select a provider that offers robust security measures and guarantees data protection.

Optimize Your Cloud Storage for Better Security

Cloud storage security entails a shared responsibility between the service provider and the consumer. Both must work together to ensure the protection of data and mitigate risks. Here’s how providers and consumers should approach cloud storage security:

The provider should establish baseline frameworks for their platforms, encompassing various security measures such as authentication protocols, access control mechanisms, high-end encryption, etc.

Clients should enhance the security of their cloud storage and tighten access to their data by augmenting the inherent frameworks provided by the cloud service provider with additional measures.

Below are the best practices for ensuring cloud storage security, which is essential for cloud service providers and consumers to uphold data safety.

1. Encrypt Your Data

Data encryption is critical to cloud storage security for cloud providers. By encrypting cloud data, unauthorized users or malicious actors who gain access to a file will only encounter encrypted data that appears scrambled and unintelligible.

2. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

An extra layer of security to the authentication process is added by Two-factor authentication (2FA) implemented in the login process, requiring users to provide two distinct pieces of information for authentication. In addition to the traditional username and password, 2FA incorporates an extra credential to verify the user’s identity. This additional credential can take various forms, including:

• The biometric scan involves using biometric characteristics, such as face or fingerprint scans, to authenticate the user to ensure a match before granting access.
• One-time PIN: A temporary and unique PIN is generated and sent to the user’s email address or mobile phone. The user must enter this PIN during login, which is an additional authentication factor.
• Hardware token: A physical device, often a USB token, generates a unique code. The user plugs in the pass and enters the code displayed on the device as part of the authentication process.

3. Data Backups (On Both Sides)

Both you and your cloud provider should prioritize regular backups to ensure data protection and availability:

Cloud Provider Backups

To ensure redundancy, your cloud provider should establish a robust backup strategy by regularly creating backups of your cloud data distributed across multiple data centers. By spreading the files across locations, the provider minimizes the risk of data loss or service interruptions. If there is a server failure, the data will still be available.

Personal Backups

You must take proactive measures and back up your most sensitive or all of your cloud-based files to an on-premises hard drive or another secure storage medium. These backups should be immutable, meaning they are not modified. Regular updates must perform to capture any changes or additions to your cloud data.

4. Monitor Cloud Storage

Continuous change, access, and activity monitoring play a crucial role in identifying and mitigating potential threats to cloud storage. The majority of storage services offer comprehensive cloud monitoring capabilities that include the following key features and alert mechanisms:

• New sign-ins.
• Account activity.
• Data shares.
• File deletion.
• Unusual and suspicious activity.

In addition to the alerts provided by the cloud storage provider, deploying your cloud monitoring tool allows for a proactive approach to security. By having an additional monitoring tool, your team can actively identify and address potential threats from your end.

Cloud Security Solutions Types

Different cloud security solutions enhance cloud data protection and strengthen the overall cloud security architecture. Using a combination of these tools based on your specific needs establishes your organization as a secure cloud company.

Selecting the Appropriate Service Provider is Crucial for Robust Cloud Storage Security.

You can make informed decisions now that you understand the characteristics that differentiate secure cloud storage platforms from those with inadequate protection. Selecting a service provider that offers the majority, or ideally all, of the above capabilities empowers you to harness the advantages of cloud computing while mitigating unnecessary risks in your day-to-day operations.