Securing Your Cloud Workload

It’s imperative that businesses ensure the security of their cloud workloads. There is a common misconception that this is the responsibility of the cloud service provider, but if you work with an “infrastructure as a service” such as Amazon Web Services, you share some responsibility. Some of the top threats facing cloud workloads are: Account hijacking, via phishing and social engineering; APIs and user interfaces that are not secure; system bugs and vulnerabilities in your own network, program, and software that hackers can find; rogue or negligent insiders, leveraging legitimate access for unauthorized actions; and insufficient due diligence. In order to best protect cloud workloads, use multi-factor authentication. Leverage identity and access management technologies, which allow you to protect customer data and make it easy to use your applications or website. Educate insiders and employees about your organization’s security policies and their responsibilities in relation to them. A company-wide security awareness program is a good first step.