Cloud Application Security: A Comprehensive Guide for IT Leaders
Cloud Application Security (AppSec) is the process of protecting applications and APIs hosted in cloud environments from modern threats. As enterprises adopt cloud-first strategies, robust AppSec practices are essential for safeguarding sensitive data and ensuring compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Cloud AppSec differs from traditional application security because cloud environments offer unique methods of deploying applications. For example, Platform as a Service (PaaS) service models enable a company to build and run an app in an environment wholly managed by the service provider. An understanding of how cloud environments work and the various security solutions available for them is essential to properly protect cloud-based applications.
This article explores some of the key security challenges of cloud environments and the tools that IT leaders can use to manage them. It also explores important information that leaders should know, including their compliance responsibilities and key trends in cloud AppSec.
Table of Contents
The Shared Responsibility Model in Cloud Security
The cloud shared responsibility model breaks down cloud security responsibilities between the cloud provider and the cloud customer. The exact division of responsibility depends on the cloud model in use (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.).
For example, in an IaaS model, a cloud customer can deploy their own virtual machines (VMs) in a managed environment. In this scenario, the customer is responsible for properly securing their VMs and the data and applications that they host. In contrast, in a SaaS deployment — where the customer is just using third-party software — they are responsible for their own data and the configuration of settings available within that application.
Understanding and effectively implementing this shared model is vital for minimizing security risks in the cloud.
Cloud-Specific Security Threats and Attack Vectors
Misconfigurations
Misconfigurations are a common challenge in cloud environments. Cloud providers commonly make various security settings available to their users to allow them to customize their experience. For example, cloud documents may be set to private by default but can be shared either with a specific recipient via email or made publicly available through link-based sharing.
Improperly configuring these settings can leave a cloud deployment vulnerable to attack.
For instance, a publicly accessible storage bucket containing sensitive customer data led to a major breach for a global retailer.
This threat is exacerbated by cloud services being designed to be easy to deploy. The potential for shadow IT increases the risk that these unmanaged cloud resources will be improperly configured.
Insecure APIs
While application programming interfaces (APIs) can be hosted anywhere, they are ubiquitous in cloud environments. APIs may be a part of an organization’s cloud-hosted web infrastructure, connect microservices or containerized applications, or allow interaction with Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings.
APIs are a prime target for cybercriminals and commonly are less secure than their web application counterparts. Since these APIs are designed to interact with applications, they are well-suited to automated attacks like credential stuffing. At the same time, companies may struggle to manage API security due to a lack of visibility and the potential for shadow IT.
Data Breaches
As companies move more sensitive data to the cloud, cloud data breaches become more common. Cloud security misconfigurations pose a significant risk to data if, for example, cloud drives are accidentally set to be publicly accessible or cloud accounts are assigned unnecessary access.
Companies may also struggle with a lack of visibility into their sensitive data stored in the cloud. SaaS apps may contain corporate data, employees may store sensitive information in personal cloud accounts, and cloud backup systems may generate unknown, insecure caches of private information. This lack of visibility increases the difficulty of ensuring that cloud data is properly managed and secured.
Account Hijacking
Cloud environments are outside of the traditional network perimeter, making them directly accessible from the public Internet. This makes account security especially important since access controls may be all that stand in the way of data breaches and other cyberattacks.
Cloud environments face the same account security risks as any other IT system, such as weak passwords and excessive permissions. However, a lack of understanding of cloud environments can exacerbate the problem. For example, a user may be granted far-reaching access when they only need to be able to use a single application.
Insider Threats
Insider threats can include intentional, malicious action by a trusted insider or security risks that are introduced by negligence or accidents. While the first is always a possibility, accidental data leaks are especially common in cloud environments.
Cloud services are designed to be easy to use, and this often comes at the cost of security. If employees can easily set up their own cloud environment or make a cloud-hosted document or folder publicly accessible, the risk that sensitive information will be exposed to unauthorized users grows dramatically.
Cloud Application Security Framework
Cloud-hosted applications face a variety of different security threats. Organizations can use various solutions to address these threats and meet their internal security goals and compliance responsibilities.
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
CSPM solutions ensure cloud environments are configured correctly, helping organizations avoid vulnerabilities that lead to breaches These tools constantly monitor cloud environments for insecure settings and will generate an alert or take corrective action if an issue is identified.
Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)
CWPP tools are designed to enhance the security of cloud-based workloads, such as containerized applications. These solutions offer runtime protection and monitor for potential vulnerabilities in these workloads.
Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
CASB enhances visibility into cloud usage and implements access management for cloud environments. It can aid in the identification of compromised accounts or misuse of an employee’s privileges.
Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)
CIEM manages identity and access management (IAM) across an organization’s cloud environments. This includes implementing and enforcing least privilege access to minimize the potential threat posed by a compromised user account or application.
Integrating Cloud Security Tools
Cloud security tools such as CSPM, CWPP, CASB, and CIEM can be integrated into a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) to offer robust coverage of potential attack vectors for cloud-based apps. Each tool has its own area of focus, and their capabilities complement one another, as shown in the following table.
Compliance and Regulations in Cloud Application Security
In addition to managing cyber threats, an organization’s cloud security strategy should also consider its regulatory compliance responsibilities. Some regulations that have an impact include data privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA and industry-specific regulations.
GDPR Considerations
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes various requirements on organizations to protect EU citizens’ data. This includes ensuring that personally identifiable information (PII) is properly collected and secured against unauthorized access while being processed and stored.
From a cloud perspective, one of the GDPR’s most significant requirements is its restrictions on cross-border transfers. EU citizen data can only be processed and stored in countries and companies that meet certain restrictions. This can be a significant concern in cloud environments where an organization may not know where its cloud-based data is processed and stored.
CCPA Requirements
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) are California laws based on the GDPR. They provide many of the same privacy protections and require transparency in data collection and usage. Additionally, the CCPA/CPRA mandates that controls be in place to prevent unauthorized access to constituents’ data.
Industry-Specific Regulations (e.g., HIPAA, PCI DSS)
In addition to general privacy laws, an organization may also be subject to industry-specific regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS. While the security requirements of these regulations typically have significant overlap, they each have their own mandates.
For these types of regulations, an organization may need to confirm that their cloud provider holds the relevant certification as well. Since an organization lacks control over its underlying infrastructure in the cloud, the cloud provider’s infrastructure may need to be certified for compliance in addition to the customer’s deployment in that environment.
Compliance Tips for IT Leaders
Compliance can be complex, and requirements differ from one regulation to another. Some key best practices include:
- Map out applicable regulations and standards.
- Create clear policies and communicate them across the organization.
- Implement strong authentication and least-privilege access controls.
- Protect cloud data with strong encryption.
- Perform regular risk assessments and security audits.
- Continually monitor for vulnerabilities and potential attacks.
- Regularly scan for unauthorized and unmanaged cloud resources.
- Use CSPM to detect and remediate security misconfigurations.
- Apply patches and updates promptly.
- Train users on cloud security best practices.
Implementing Cloud Application Security: A Step-by-Step Guide
Assess Your Current Security Posture
A cloud AppSec program begins with an accurate assessment of the organization’s existing cloud footprint and risk level. This includes generating a complete inventory of cloud services, assessing them for potential vulnerabilities, and evaluating the effectiveness of existing security measures to address potential security risks.
Develop a Cloud Security Strategy
After assessing its current AppSec posture, the team can move on to develop a strategy for enhancing it. This includes identifying requirements based on corporate policies and business needs, identifying potential gaps, and developing a strategy to address any detected shortcomings.
Choose and Integrate Security Tools
Based on its existing security infrastructure, goals, and strategy, the team can select and deploy the security tools needed to address any security gaps. For example, if enhanced compliance is a major driver, then deploying CSPM to manage misconfigurations and compliance gaps is a logical choice.
Implement Security Best Practices
After deploying any necessary security solutions, the team can implement security best practices to bolster its security. For example, concerns about account takeovers can be alleviated by enforcing least-privilege access controls and using multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all cloud accounts. This both decreases the probability of a successful account takeover attack and reduces the actions that an attacker could take with a compromised account.
Continuously Monitor and Improve
An organization’s cloud applications and security requirements may evolve over time, rendering an existing security strategy ineffective. Continuous monitoring allows an organization to update its strategy to address these changes and can support a culture of continuous security improvement. For monitoring, consider tools like real-time dashboards that alert you to unusual login attempts or sudden spikes in data access.
Trends in Cloud Application Security
An organization’s cloud AppSec responsibilities evolve due to internal and external pressures. Some key emerging trends for cloud AppSec include the following:
AI and Machine Learning in Cloud Security
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) have numerous potential applications in cloud AppSec. AI tools can automatically scan for and remediate vulnerabilities in an organization’s cloud-hosted applications. They can also be used to identify misconfigurations, analyze and triage security alerts, and detect and block attempts to exploit vulnerable software. As the technology improves, AI/ML is likely to play an increasingly vital role in cloud security.
Zero Trust Architecture
The zero trust security model manages an organization’s risk exposure by limiting the access granted to users and applications to the minimum necessary for their roles and performing continuous authentication and authorization. Implementing zero trust enhanced AppSec by reducing attackers’ opportunities to exploit application vulnerabilities and the impacts if they succeed in doing so.
DevSecOps Integration
DevSecOps integrates security into the traditional DevOps process by explicitly defining security-focused requirements and building security testing into automated CI/CD pipelines. By doing so, an organization can identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they reach production, where they can be exploited by an attacker and require expensive and time-consuming patches to address.
The Future of Cloud Application Security
As cloud technologies evolve, adopting a comprehensive and adaptive approach to cloud application security will be crucial for safeguarding digital assets and maintaining compliance.
Cato SASE Cloud offers key cloud security capabilities as part of converged Secure Access Service Edge. To learn more about how Cato SASE Cloud can enhance your organization’s cloud AppSec, sign up for a demo.