Robust Security Architecture and Cyber Resilience, Why Migrating to the Cloud Will Make Your Company More Secure (Not Less)

Too many organisations still think that migrating to the cloud increases the risk of cyberattacks and opens new security vulnerabilities. To demystify this, let’s see how migrating to the cloud can actually enhance your company’s security posture and cyber resilience.

Cybersecurity is a continuous exercise organisations must follow to protect privacy and the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data, or the data entrusted to them by their customers. In reality, reputable cloud service providers (CSP) ensure, first and foremost, robust security architecture, multi-layered security controls, and by consequence cyber resilience because they leverage security features like encryption at rest, IAM (Identity and Access Management), PAM (Privileged Access Management), security logging and regular security patching at industrial scale, while organisations understandably find it hard to implement independently. So, let’s discuss why migrating to the cloud makes your organisation more secure, not less.

Moving your data to the cloud can make it more secure, not less.

Statistics

To base our conversation on real data, let’s look at some evidentiary reports: There’s an undeniable growth in the number of organisations switching to the cloud environment. And while challenges persist, the benefits of cloud adoption far outweigh the risks:

• An OpsRamp survey deduces that 94% of IT professionals feel that cloud computing reduces startup costs, including setup and maintenance costs.
• This Accenture study shows that migrating to the cloud enables eco-friendly organisations to reduce energy consumption by 64% and carbon emissions by up to 84%.
• While this Statista report says the value of the cloud database security market is expected to reach 50 billion US dollars by 2029.

How Cloud Security Is Different From Traditional On-Prem Security

Cloud solutions are more beneficial than traditional on-prem security setups because they offer centralised management, automatic updates, and scalability, and benefit from the shared responsibility model, which transfers responsibility (not accountability though) to the CSP for some of the most onerous security controls.

Shared Responsibility Model: In traditional on-premises security, the organisation has total control over the IT infrastructure and is responsible for maintaining it. However, depending on the Cloud Architecture chosen (IaaS, PaaS or SaaS), several of those responsibilities are then transferred to the CSP. This frees up time for operational teams at our organisation to focus on improving your systems, as opposed to running them.

Cost of Security, from Capex to Opex: Cloud security usually falls under Opex (Operational expenditure) because it uses the ‘pay-as-you-go’ model. On-prem security is more expensive because it involves significant capex (capital expenditure) for purchasing hardware, software, and other infrastructure components. Think about those times where a company had a need for a new firewall, which meant at least 2 appliances (for resilience purposes), and an over-specced device to cater for future growth.

Security Updates, Monitoring, and Patch Management: No one can rule out cyber incidents regardless of your cybersecurity posture. Under such circumstances, cloud security solutions are better than traditional on-prem security setups because they can be easily customised to automatically apply security patches and updates and help reduce the risk of vulnerabilities or system outages.

Compliance Management: Because of the shared responsibility model of cloud computing, most companies leverage SOC2 Type1 or SOC2 Type2 reports for reporting compliance to regulators, making it easier for them to manage compliance. Besides, most cloud service providers (CSPs) offer services that meet industry-specific compliance requirements, such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Why Migrating to the Cloud Will Make Your Company More Secure

Migrating to the cloud environment can make your organisation more secure and cyber threat resilient. CSPs use DevSecOps to integrate security into every phase of the software development and Infrastructure-as-Code cycle and ensure efficiency and security. Migrating to the cloud helps organisations build a robust security architecture and increase cyber-resilience.

Embed security into your security architecture: DevSecOps helps embed security into your architecture by “shifting security left”, meaning implementing security controls at the early stages of the solution, leveraging native security features such as encryption in transit and at rest, security logging, and continuous compliance checks that reduce vulnerabilities and increase cyber resilience. Thus, it makes your organisation more secure.

Fewer responsibilities (but same accountability) for security operations: Migrating to the cloud can improve your systems’ security by leveraging their highly trained professionals who are dedicated to maintaining and improving security measures. Apart from offering advanced security features, 24/7 support ensures that any security issues are promptly addressed, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities.

Continuous compliance: Most cloud services offer solutions that help you meet specific compliance requirements. This support simplifies the compliance process of maintaining compliance. Therefore, it becomes more convenient and efficient for your organisation.

Minimising ongoing reviews and security assessments: Security automation in the cloud helps with continuous control monitoring, efficient security reviews, and assessments. This centralised approach helps improve visibility and control.

Final Thoughts

Cybersecurity is critical to any organisation because any breachs can lead to severe repercussions, such as substantial financial and reputational losses as we’ve seen recently. More organisations are operating online today and have representative offices and clients globally, making migration to the cloud environment not just an option, but an essential step.

If your organisation is considering moving your systems to the cloud securely, our consultants at Cliffside Cybersecurity have helped large financial institutions, regulated organisations and government agencies architect their platforms using the principles of secure-by-design, auditable-by-design, and compliant-by-design. Let us assist you in ensuring your cloud migration is both secure and compliant.