Cloud infrastructure security: 10 best practices to strengthen protection

Cloud infrastructure security is one of the most important challenges for businesses that adopt cloud solutions. According to Statista, almost half of the companies surveyed in 2023 mentioned cybersecurity and compliance risks as a top concern when moving business to the cloud. So, how can you secure your cloud infrastructure? What security issues do most businesses face when moving to the cloud, and how can they be avoided? Let's discover 10 best practices to help you secure your IT environment.

Importance of cloud infrastructure security

Cloud infrastructure security is a framework that integrates policies, best practices, and technologies to protect cloud computing environments against security threats. These threats include misconfigurations, unauthorized access, malware, or data loss.

Cloud security is essential, as it ensures:

• Data protection: Keeps sensitive data in the cloud secure from breaches and leaks.
• Business continuity: Protects against disruptions by ensuring cloud systems are resilient to attacks or disasters.
• Compliance: Helps organizations meet regulatory and industry standards for data security and privacy.
• Trust and reputation: A secure cloud environment builds customer trust and protects an overall reputation by preventing security incidents.

10 cloud infrastructure security best practices

According to the latest research from Statista, phishing, user account compromise, and malware attacks are the most common threats to cloud infrastructure security in 2024. To protect the your cloud environment from these issues, N-iX security engineers advise utilizing these 10 best practices:

1. Secure access to the cloud resources

A strong security posture prevents unauthorized access and protects the cloud resources that your authorized users can reach. Granting users excessive access increases the risk of accidental data loss due to careless actions.

To protect your sensitive data and resources from unauthorized access, our experts set up identity access management (IAM), which simplifies credential management and centralizes authentication. When registering new users, we recommend assigning permissions based on their roles and business needs. We implement the principle of least privilege to guarantee they only access the resources they require.

2. Encrypt data in transit and at rest

Cloud encryption ensures that sensitive information remains secure and inaccessible to unauthorized users as it moves through cloud-based applications. Both data at rest and in transit should be encrypted with robust encryption protocols. This adds one more crucial layer of protection against unauthorized access and data breaches, ensuring that even if data is intercepted, it remains unreadable.

Encryption is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. Our cloud experts recommend securely managing encryption keys, either by using the services provided by cloud providers or adopting dedicated key management solutions.

3. Utilize strong authentication methods

Passwords alone are not enough to ensure security. Users often opt for simple, easy-to-remember passwords and frequently reuse them across multiple websites or applications. These weak passwords are easily guessed by hackers and are responsible for numerous data breaches.

To protect cloud infrastructure, you should implement stronger authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) or biometric verification. Requiring users to provide extra identity verification significantly reduces the risk of cyberattacks. Malicious actors are usually unable to meet the second authentication factor, preventing unauthorized access to user accounts.

4. Understand the shared responsibility model

When using cloud services, it's crucial to understand the shared responsibility model, which defines the security roles of the cloud provider and the customer. While the provider is responsible for protecting the underlying infrastructure, the customer ensures the security of their data, applications, and user access. It also depends on the cloud model you employ (SaaS, PaaS, or IaaS).

Knowing your responsibilities helps ensure the proper implementation of security measures. For example, cloud service providers typically handle physical security, whereas customers are responsible for securing their applications and data.

5. Monitor security logs

Companies must monitor security logs across their cloud infrastructure to gain visibility into user actions, network traffic, and system events. These logs are critical in detecting suspicious behavior through user activity analysis and are essential for investigating security incidents.

To streamline log management, our cloud security experts advise deploying a centralized logging system that aggregates and analyzes log data, simplifying the identification and response to cyber threats. Additionally, leveraging security information and event management (SIEM) tools can help collect, analyze, and correlate log data from various security sources.

6. Respond correctly to security incidents

With the growing reliance on enterprise cloud solutions, it's essential to integrate cloud-specific considerations into the incident response process. A cloud incident response plan should include measures and protocols to protect against and mitigate cyberattacks targeting cloud environments.

The plan should clearly define the steps you should take during a security breach, including communication protocols, roles and responsibilities, and recovery procedures. Regular testing and updates ensure the plan stays effective and can adapt to evolving threats. Our cloud security consultants advise conducting frequent incident response drills to ensure your security teams are well-prepared to act swiftly during a breach. Documenting lessons learned from each incident also helps refine and improve response strategies.

7. Conduct regular security assessments and audits

Regular security assessments and audits are crucial for identifying vulnerabilities and verifying compliance with industry standards and regulations. Organizations should conduct routine security assessments and penetration testing to detect potential weaknesses in their cloud environments.

Performing compliance audits and obtaining certifications ensures alignment with regulatory requirements and industry best practices. Implementing continuous security monitoring, along with timely remediation of identified vulnerabilities and risks, significantly enhances the overall security posture of the cloud environment.

8. Implement data backup and recovery strategies

Data backups and recovery plans are critical for protecting information and ensuring business continuity during security incidents, system failures, or disasters. We recommend implementing regular backup schedules and storing backups securely in off-site locations to prevent data loss or corruption.

In both single and multi-cloud environments, it's important to test and validate backup and recovery procedures to ensure their effectiveness and reliability. Developing comprehensive disaster recovery plans also enables organizations to swiftly restore critical systems and data, minimizing downtime and ensuring uninterrupted operations.

9. Adopt a Zero Trust approach

Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) is a cybersecurity approach based on the principle "never trust, always verify." Unlike traditional security models that automatically trust anything inside the network perimeter, ZTA assumes that every request could be a threat. This approach significantly minimizes the risk of insider threats and limits the impact of perimeter breaches.

Companies should adopt a ZTA by implementing micro-segmentation, which isolates workloads from one another. If a cybercriminal gains unauthorized access, the damage would be contained to a small segment rather than spreading across the entire network.

10. Train your employees in cloud security

While technical measures are vital, employee awareness and training are equally important for maintaining robust cloud security. Organizations should provide comprehensive security awareness training to all employees, focusing on cloud security best practices, potential threats, and individual roles in safeguarding sensitive cloud data.

N-iX cloud security experts help our clients foster a security-conscious culture within the client organization by conducting regular phishing simulations, security exercises, and data theft drills.

3 expensive mistakes in cloud infrastructure security

1. Not protecting remote access

Without strict controls on remote access, cloud infrastructure becomes vulnerable to breaches and malware attacks. While unauthorized users are a clear security risk, cybercriminals can also take advantage of weaknesses in cloud architecture.

Tip from N-iX: Our cloud security engineers recommend conducting regular security assessments and penetration tests of your remote access infrastructure to prevent unauthorized access.

2. Excessive permissions

Organizations often grant privileges to accounts in their rush to onboard new users, granting excessive access to data and resources. A common mistake is assigning the same permissions to all group members, regardless of their specific roles. Inactive accounts also present security risks, especially when overprovisioned. Existing accounts can accumulate excessive privileges over time due to promotions, role changes, or new responsibilities.

Tip from N-iX: Adopting a robust cloud identity access management solution allows administrators to assign permissions based on the principle of least privilege, ensuring cloud users have only the access needed for their roles. Additionally, our cloud specialists utilize the tool to automatically de-provision accounts when users leave the organization, reducing the risk of cyberattacks from stolen credentials and eliminating inactive accounts.

3. Incomplete logging

Real-time logs of system activity and user behavior are essential for security operations teams. Comprehensive logs help identify the source and impact of security incidents, while incomplete logs hinder investigations. Detailed reports provide a complete view of infrastructure interactions, but failing to log critical IT assets can create gaps, leading to inaccurate and potentially misleading reports.

Tip from N-iX: Cloud security consultants at N-iX usually implement real-time logging tools for all critical assets, including databases and web servers, as well as cloud infrastructure. Capturing details about who accessed what, when, and where provides valuable data that enables IT teams to respond to security incidents more swiftly. Logging critical assets ensures accurate reporting, offering better insights into infrastructure security and helping organizations meet complex compliance requirements.

Wrap-up

Securing cloud infrastructure requires a comprehensive approach that includes both technical controls and employee awareness. From implementing centralized logging and monitoring to employing Zero Trust principles, businesses must proactively protect their cloud environments. Following these best practices will strengthen your cloud security posture and mitigate risks effectively.

N-iX can help you ensure a higher level of your cloud infrastructure security. Our certified cloud security experts will help you protect your cloud assets, allowing you to focus on core business operations. Contact us to explore how we can design a customized cloud security strategy tailored to your needs!