Security in the cloud: myths and realities

The several high-profile data breaches in the past few years have definitely ratcheted up companies’ attention to securing and safeguarding their data. This, of course, isn’t news to cloud providers. After all, it’s their business to protect customers’ data. Yet myths persist when it comes to cloud and security, and that needlessly complicates companies’ decisions about moving to the cloud. So I’d like to take a few minutes here to dispel five prominent myths so you can make more-informed decisions about the role of security in your own journey to cloud.

#1: "Cloud is inherently insecure"

This is probably one of the biggest and most stubborn myths about the cloud. Cloud providers take security extremely seriously. They have to—otherwise, they’d have no business. Plus, they’re subject to myriad regulatory bodies and compliance requirements. They employ dozens of different security frameworks and controls—many more than the typical company uses in its own facilities. The fact is, data in the cloud is likely more secure than that in the average company’s data centers.

#2: "There are more breaches in the cloud"

Another myth, related to the first one. Just because the cloud environment is “out there” doesn't mean that it experiences more breaches. Many more security tools are available today that didn’t exist before, and cloud providers (as well as Accenture) use them to put up the best defenses possible against the bad guys looking to exploit vulnerabilities.

#3: "It’s critical for me to have physical control of my data for it to be secure”

This isn’t true. Top-notch data security hinges more on who has access to data rather than the extent to which you can “touch and feel” your servers and disks. This means it’s critical to set up the right encryption and controls for the right sets of data to ensure only those who have permission to use that data can access it.

Top-notch data security hinges more on who has access to data rather than the extent to which you can “touch and feel” your servers and disks

#4: "I can easily use my current security tools in the cloud"

I get asked this a lot: "Can I bring my tool sets that I'm using in my data center over to the cloud?" The answer is no. Some of those tools will work. But because they're built for a data center, most won’t be able to deal with cloud-specific concerns, such security groups being able to be changed on the fly, and rolling out application code without going through a DevOps security process.

#5: "Security maintenance in the cloud will be really complex and different"

False. While the specific tools are different, all of the best practices and operational procedures for security maintenance you had in place before moving to the cloud can still be used to monitor and maintain security in your cloud environment. They will just need to be tweaked somewhat.

No doubt, security in the cloud is a big deal. That’s why Accenture has made security a foundational element of our cloud management platform, Accenture Cloud Platform (ACP). ACP enables clients to manage security through a single control plane instead of using multiple tools.

Advantages of a single control plane to manage security:

• Visibility to the entire cloud estate
• Make sure resources are securely configured
• Track who's doing what
• Receive alerts on non-compliant activities
• Deal with specific incidents or issues

A cloud management platform should be based on a set of security standards and security best practices that cover the full range of controls necessary to create a secure environment. And with PCI- and HIPAA-compliant blueprints, organizations can deploy a complete environment that will pass a PCI or a HIPAA audit. Finally, organizations should be able to automate the deployment of a full range of key security activities. These include identity and access management, authentication, web application firewalls, security configuration monitoring, and threat and vulnerability management.

Companies certainly face a lot of questions when moving to the cloud, and many will encounter obstacles along the way. But with the robust tools and practices now available, security shouldn’t be one of them.

By: Charles Radi
      Global Managing Director & Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) 
      Accenture Cloud Platform