A hybrid cloud combines a public cloud and a private cloud as one computing system. It’s what you get when you use third-party cloud services, such as Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, or Google’s Cloud Platform. You’re responsible for the security of your data.and they’re responsible for securing the infrastructure that your data runs on.Your enterprise might categorize your cloud data into low or medium sensitive data and highly sensitive data groups.
A private cloud is hosted on infrastructure that’s only accessible to specific users in one organization. Sometimes a private cloud can be hosted in a datacenter on a company’s own premises. Other times, a private cloud is hosted on a third-party’s infrastructure, but your company is the only external entity that can access the particular server machines that the cloud runs on. Private clouds offer enterprises more control than public clouds, but they’re more expensive and take more work to deploy.
A Three-Pronged Approach to Security
An integrated security model for a hybrid cloud environment consists of managed access, data protection and full visibility into anomalies, threats and activities.
Managed access ensures that user identities and authentication requests are tightly controlled so that only authorized users can access resources held in both environments. Entitlements must be strictly enforced, but users should be provided with the means to travel from one application or resource to another efficiently. This means that services such as identity federation and single sign-on (SSO) are a must to provide the best possible user experience.
To ensure adequate data protection, controls must be in place to identify threats and vulnerabilities and monitor how data is used. Encryption technologies will help ensure that unprotected data cannot fall into the wrong hands. Additionally, full audit trails are necessary to prove that data has only been accessed appropriately. This is only achievable when organizations track all activity related to data access and connected endpoints, especially mobile devices.
The Final Element of Hybrid Cloud Security
The third piece of the puzzle for an integrated security solution for a hybrid cloud environment is gaining visibility into any possible breaches and compliance violations. This requires theuse of monitoring technologies alongside risk profiling and security intelligence services that cut across both on-premises and cloud environments.
When anomalies are uncovered, alerts are raised and prioritized for remediation according to perceived risk. This is especially important for compliance requirements and for ensuring that an organization’s security is as watertight as it can be.
With a hybrid cloud strategy becoming an increasingly preferred option for organizations, security controls must cover both private and public cloud environments in an integrated manner. While security has for some time been cited as an inhibitor to cloud adoption, the right tools can alleviate any fears. Organizations can be sure that their data protection and compliance requirements are being met.