Fortifying Cloud Infrastructures: Best Practices for Network Security in Multi-Cloud Environments

While the cloud has become a staple of modern networks, understanding the cloud can be complicated, and knowing what it takes to keep cloud networks secure can be an even greater challenge. Cloud network security demands constant attention as attackers refine their tactics, so companies must not only learn what goes into bolstering their cloud security posture, but also what steps they can implement now to guard against today's advanced cyber threats.

This article will examine the foundations of cloud computing network security and look at the core principles, tools, and technologies that go into maintaining your security posture. We'll also look at the main cloud-related risks and vulnerabilities that enterprises should be aware of, and which best practices modern enterprises can adopt to foster a robust cloud environment.

What Is Cloud Network Security? Understanding the Foundations

While there are multiple similarities between cloud network security and on-prem network security, there are some key differences that impact the way teams must handle their cybersecurity processes.

For example, both involve the technologies, policies, and processes used to protect your environment from unauthorized access and cyber attacks, and both use components such as zero-trust models, encryption, and firewalls to prevent security incidents. However, while on-prem environments must be managed entirely by the company's IT team and internal resources, cloud network security requires a shared responsibility of security workflows between you and your cloud service provider (CSP). Some common cloud computing network security responsibility models include:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), where the provider secures any underlying hardware and handles all virtualization-related duties, and the customer is responsible for securing any operating systems (OS), applications, data, or network controls, as well as applying all updates and patches.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), where the provider handles OS, middleware, and runtime requirements, and the customer handles any user-specific applications, data, access controls, or configurations.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), where the provider secures everything from infrastructure to the application itself, and the customer primarily manages user access, permissions, and data.

On-prem environments also provide significantly less scalability than cloud networks. Installing new hardware and other network components is more difficult for teams handling their cloud computing network security onsite, while the resources in cloud environments can be scaled up or down to meet businesses' changing needs.

Key Risks Across Cloud Environments

Cloud infrastructures can face attacks from multiple vectors, especially as AI-powered threats continue to grow more advanced. Familiarizing yourself with these cyber risks can help you adopt the appropriate measures to safeguard your network against them. Some of the leading cloud computing vulnerabilities are:

Misconfigurations, which could occur as a result of human error or infrequent auditing
Insecure APIs, which could enable unauthorized access requests
Identity compromise, which could be due to overly permissive access controls

Multi-cloud environments also face several threats that differ from other cloud models. For example, inconsistent policies may create visibility gaps that make your network more difficult to manage, and shadow IT can introduce vulnerabilities into your network that teams may be unaware of until it's too late. Such weaknesses expand your attack surface, giving attackers the opportunity to exploit gaps in your networking layers, ultimately leading to a breach.

Core Principles of Securing Cloud Networks

Cloud providers can implement a series of both principles and tools to best secure your network. A few core principles of cloud security management include:

Zero Trust, which is useful for managing access attempts within distributed cloud environments, where security specialists must oversee network activity that occurs at a wide range of endpoints from a centrally managed control plane
Microsegmentation, which can be used to isolate workloads and limit lateral movement in the event of a breach
Identity-driven access controls, which combine identity and access management (IAM) tools and the least privilege principle to grant users the bare minimum amount of cloud assets required to perform their tasks

Another key component of network security in cloud computing is continuous validation and monitoring to help teams detect and respond to threats as quickly as possible. Configuration management tools also eliminate vulnerabilities such as open network ports, publicly accessible storage buckets, or unencrypted data, strengthening your cyber defenses.

Essential Tools and Techniques for Cloud Network Protection

In addition to core principles, some key tools and techniques for cloud computing network security are:

Cloud-native firewalls, for inspecting network traffic and enforcing security policies across cloud environments
Web application firewalls (WAFs), for protecting your cloud infrastructure from cross-site scripting, SQL injection and other app-specific attacks
API gateways, for managing backend services and optimizing API traffic
Encryption for data at rest and in transit, to prevent sensitive information from being deciphered without authorization
Automated threat detection and response, powered by AI-driven analytics
Multi-cloud visibility platforms, to oversee multi-cloud operations from a centralized hub, eliminating the vulnerabilities caused by visibility gaps
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), which maps out potential attack vectors and remediates them according to the appropriate industry standards, providing context-aware risk analysis

Dividing your cloud operations into public and private clouds can also help reduce attackers' potential for lateral movement, so consider using public clouds for less pressing tasks and private ones for your mission-critical operations.

Building a Resilient, Compliant, and Well-Governed Cloud Ecosystem

Having the right frameworks, policies, and standards in place is another critical component of cloud computing and network security. Frameworks such as NIST CSF, CIS Benchmarks, and ISO 27017 outline basic strategies and tactics for creating a resilient cloud environment and give specific policies for adhering to regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR. They also provide guidelines for designing incident response plans that are tailored to cloud network threats, so consult them to align your cloud ecosystem with the appropriate industry requirements.

Strengthening Cloud Network Security for the Modern Enterprise

The cyber threat landscape is growing more sophisticated alongside expanding cloud footprints. That makes secure network design essential for long-term cloud success, so companies must take a proactive stance in fortifying their cloud security posture. Integrating tools such as WAFs, cloud-native firewalls, encryption, and AI-driven analytics can help you detect and respond to the leading security threats, and adopting industry-relevant frameworks can help foster proper governance over your cloud environment.

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