Cloud Security Posture Management: Why You Need It

On any given day, clouds connect and disconnect from hundreds if not thousands of networks. The ability to interact with so many different networks is powerful, but it can make clouds difficult to secure if you do not do so correctly. As more industries adopt cloud-based technologies, cloud security posture management has become critical. 

Since there is not always an explicit perimeter to keep safe in the cloud, standard security measures aren’t always suitable. Furthermore, you cannot always accomplish manual security processes at the necessary scale or speed at which clouds operate. The lack of centralization can make visibility difficult. In complex environments with hundreds of accounts, strong security management can help you keep track of what processes are running and what they are doing.

Without cloud security posture management tools, misconfigurations can lead to disastrous data breaches. For example, IT research firm DivvyCloud, states that 95 % of security breaches are due to misconfigurations, costing $5 trillion between 2018 and 2019. 

Misconfigurations often result from poor management of multiple connected platforms. Especially in cloud-based environments, there are a lot of dynamic aspects to keep track of. All it takes is a couple of misconfigurations in the cloud to leave an organization vulnerable to data breaches.

Often, misconfigurations occur due to lack of automation, change management, and poor visibility. If an organization is not aware of which resources interact with one another, the risk of misconfiguration rises.

One of the more common misconfigurations occurs when public access is granted to containers or storage buckets within the cloud that can be assigned individually to storage classes. With open access, buckets are left vulnerable for individuals to find them.

Cloud security posture management tools work by comparing a given cloud environment with a defined set of rules and known security risks. Advanced CSPM tools use robotic process automation (RPA) to address the issues automatically. Less advanced tools will alert IT administrators. 

CSPM consists of a collection of tools, with each specific tool working in a given environment or service. Some CSPM tools solve issues by combining automation features with continuous monitoring, such as improper account permissions.

Strong CSPM tools should have the ability to maintain an inventory of best practices for various cloud services and configurations. They should also monitor storage buckets, account permissions, and the encryption of potential risks and misconfigurations. CSPM tools should work with SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS platforms, whether they be hybrid clouds or multi-cloud environments. 

CSPM tools can monitor for compliance. They can also perform risk visualization and incident response. Finally, they more easily automate provisioning and simplify DevSecOps integration by increasing visibility across various cloud partners.

We can split the risks that a cloud-based environment experiences into two categories:

1. Intentional risks, such as outside attacks.
2. Unintentional risks, such as exposure of sensitive data to outsiders.

CSPM focuses on mitigating these accidental vulnerabilities by increasing visibility across multi-cloud environments. As a result, users won’t have to check and cross-examine data from multiple consoles. This process prevents misconfigurations and increases security. CSPM can utilize artificial intelligence to reduce the number of false positives. Since all security alerts come through a single console as opposed to a collection, alert fatigue decreases, increasing productivity. 

By continuously monitoring the environment for adherence to compliance, cloud security posture management tools can detect drift and take corrective actions automatically. CSPM tools can uncover hidden threats through this continuous scanning, leading to faster detection times and remediation.

Synopsys is the industry’s largest provider of electronic design automation (EDA) technology used in the design and verification of semiconductor devices, or chips. With Synopsys Cloud, we’re taking EDA to new heights, combining the availability of advanced compute and storage infrastructure with unlimited access to EDA software licenses on-demand so you can focus on what you do best – designing chips, faster. Delivering cloud-native EDA tools and pre-optimized hardware platforms, an extremely flexible business model, and a modern customer experience, Synopsys has reimagined the future of chip design on the cloud, without disrupting proven workflows.

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