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What is Cloud Network Security?

Cloud network security protects cloud infrastructure from unauthorized access, exposure, modification, or misuse. It does this via a system of controls, technologies, and processes that help assure data security. Commonly used technologies include firewalls, identity and access management (IAM) protocols, software-defined network (SDN) solutions, and more. These, paired with best practice-abiding processes, help protect the data in cloud networks from breaches, keeping adversaries away from potentially sensitive information.

It follows many of the same principles as traditional network security but is custom-tailored to the nuances of cloud environments. Having a cybersecurity solution tailored to the cloud is paramount in overcoming its unique challenges.

Why is Cloud Network Security Important?

With more and more data being migrated from on-premises to the cloud, cloud network security has never been more important. Both enterprises and service providers must ensure their data is secure by taking necessary precautions to protect it. Cloud networks have never been bigger targets than they are now, and this trend is likely to continue as cloudification continues. Deploying the latest measures with the best visibility into network occurrences will get more and more important as time passes.

Challenges of Cloud Network Security

The cloud is always evolving, creating challenges for security professionals. Thanks to technologies like serverless computing and autoscaling, the rapid rate of cloud evolution makes constant data change a reality. Assets are always appearing and disappearing from the network, making monitoring more difficult than traditional networks.

Misconfigurations are another major hurdle to overcome. Every cloud environment (Google Cloud, Azure, AWS, etc.) presents unique challenges in configuring the cloud network security solution, making it imperative to get the deployment right.

Both data and applications can live in the cloud, making a comprehensive cloud security solution necessary. Comprehensive coverage of the cloud infrastructure helps ensure compliance with privacy and data security standards, such as GDPR and CPRA.

Cloud Network Security Strategies

There are several key strategies to employ to ensure adequate cloud network security. In addition to having the proper security stack in place, network segmentation is one key facet of the strategic approach to cloud security. This involves breaking the network up into smaller segments. This isolates data and limits the ability of threats to achieve lateral movement and unauthorized access. This creates a line in the sand and prevents sensitive assets from being accessed in mass by reducing the overall attack surface.

Another key strategy is traffic filtering and monitoring. This is fueled by cloud network visibility, which needs to scale to the size of your environment and then some. Traffic filtering critiques network traffic based on a number of criteria to monitor what types of traffic are coming in and out of the network, detecting malicious intent such as DDoS attacks, breaches, and lateral movement.

Encryption is yet another vital strategy to undertake when thinking about cloud network security. This allows sensitive data to be protected as it moves in and out of the cloud, as well as while it is stored in the cloud, to prevent visibility into what is held within important files. Requiring decryption keys to access this type of information renders it unusable and unreadable to attackers, even if they obtain the file, as they do not have the necessary keys to access the files.

Mitigating Risks in Multicloud Environments

Multicloud environments require special care regarding security policies and threat prevention. Ensuring strong IAM practices, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and least privilege access, is paramount to securing these complex environments.

Some other best practices for multicloud security include service access server edge (SASE) measures to integrate security and networking services to foster a dynamic, safe access environment. Another measure is to leverage virtual private cloud (VPC) to isolate cloud resources, improving security stance. Finally, micro-segmentation contains breaches by dividing networks into secure zones, hindering adversaries' ability to move throughout the network.

Best Practices for Robust Cloud Network Security

There are important, regular steps to take to ensure best practices are met for cloud network security. First, regular audits of your security systems are key to finding and resolving weak points and potential breach points. These audits include a variety of tests and checks, including pentesting, determining the attack surface, standard operating procedure checks, credential reviews, and more.

Next, ongoing employee training is another key area to focus on. You are only as strong as the weakest link in the chain, so all employees must be up to speed on proper security etiquette to ensure the cloud network environment remains secure.

Utilizing the latest advanced technologies in AI/ML also helps you stay ahead of the curve. The automated analysis these technologies provide helps teams learn about and identify threats at record speed, helping them keep networks safe against the latest and most sophisticated attacks.

How NETSCOUT Helps

NETSCOUT Omnis Cyber Intelligence (OCI) allows security teams to monitor cloud networks of all shapes and sizes. This scalable solution uses packet data to provide unmatched cloud network visibility to fuel comprehensive cybersecurity. OCI integrates seamlessly with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms to serve security event information in a single comprehensive location, improving tool sprawl and presenting actionable information in a single location. Achieve multidimensional threat detection with NETSCOUT’s OCI.