How do you evaluate cloud computing and virtualization security?

One of the biggest advantage of a cloud security model is the fact that you can have the experts do the heavy lifting for you. Sometimes, we in security believe that we have the most secure infrastructure and we also allow the fear of third party compromise to blind us from Cloud Security's key advantage which is having an external party evaluate our security infrastructure. The fact is that in security two eyes are better than one. Beyond these, cloud security allows for faster vulnerability management as cloud security providers are able to quickly update their threat signatures and provide more up to date vulnerability management. Indeed, while there are a few of downsides to cloud security, I believe it's still the most efficient model.

Each cloud service model has different pros and cons, and even different specific components within your overall architecture can benefit from using different models. For example, IaaS often offers the most flexibility and customizability, but may require more development and operationalization effort to be utilised effectively and securely. SaaS on the other hand benefits from a more "plug-and-play" approach, which may require less effort to implement, but may also be more limited if your use case is more unique to the SaaS product in question. PaaS can be a good middle ground when more customizability is required than a SaaS model, while requiring less implementation effort and upkeep compared to IaaS.

IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS—each carry unique security implications. In IaaS, the user is responsible for securing virtual resources like operating systems and applications. PaaS provides a platform for developers, offloading some security tasks related to infrastructure and operating systems to the cloud provider, but still requires users to secure their applications. SaaS places the most security responsibility on the cloud provider, which manages everything from infrastructure to software. However, users still need to be vigilant about access and data handling. Regardless of the model, enterprises must diligently assess the cloud provider’s security policies, practices, and SLAs, as security is often a shared responsibility.

once you identify the cloud provider you probably would like to audit them, unfortunately this is too complicated for all customers, but there are options. as cloud providers they need to comply with laws and regulation, to evaluate the security, you can ask for last SOC third party audit reports: SOC 1 include the financials controls, SOC 2 are controls related to Security and focus on Availability, integrity, confidentiality to get access to this controls your organization require the sign of NDA. SOC 3 provides public-face information and does not include confidential information, every control include type 1 and type 2, where type 1 includes the controls and type 2 evaluate the effectiveness of the controls.

Cloud and virtualisation have become very crucial as most of the applications and data reside either in a virtualised or cloud environment. The first and foremost thing would be to understand the shared responsibility regarding security and seperate the duties of the provider and internal organisation. At the organisation level, define different pillars of security such as network, data, applications, IAM and infrastructure to define internal roles and responsibilities. Understand the various controls required to secure the gateways, data and applications. Zero trust access and Defence-in-depth strategies must be developed to suit the organisation's needs. Make sure governance for good practices is set up for continuous improvement.

Public clouds offer scalability and cost-efficiency but expose your data to more external threats and compliance challenges. Private clouds provide more control and better security but at a higher cost. Hybrid clouds combine the best of both but introduce complexity in security management. Community clouds are shared among organizations with common goals and require collective governance on security policies. The choice should be based on a comprehensive risk assessment that aligns with the organization's security objectives and involves key stakeholders from IT, compliance, and legal departments. Each model has its own set of trade-offs in cost, performance, and security.

Another commonly used virtualization technology is containerization, through tools such as Docker. While containerization can help with security by isolating applications running within a compute resource, some additional useful security considerations are: - Reducing attack surface within containers e.g. removal of unneeded binaries within container, starting from a more "barebones" base image such as Alpine - Creating a custom user with only minimal required permissions within the container via the USER instruction in the Dockerfile, following principle of least privilege - Regular security scanning of containers for vulnerabilities, and patching via updating of Dockerfile (running containers should be treated as immutable infrastructure)

Virtualization technologies serve as the backbone of modern cloud computing, offering efficiency and scalability by allowing multiple users to share the same physical resources. They also support dynamic resource allocation and migration. However, the implementation of virtualization introduces its own set of security challenges. These include hypervisor attacks, VM escape, VM sprawl, inter-VM attacks, and misconfigurations, among others. As a result, organizations must exercise due diligence in evaluating the security measures and limitations inherent to their chosen virtualization solutions. Understanding best practices for securing virtual environments is critical for safeguarding both data and operations.

One thing I've found really helpful is to not hire anyone who uses AI to write their answers. Have a fully staffed, funded, onshore sysadmin team l who are motivated, have time to be proactive & not so rushed & understaffed that everything is done badly because there isn't time to do it properly. Have staff good enough that they're happy to work with security auditors on a regular basis to have their work checked & tested as well as having budget for tools & training.

once the cloud framework is choose you would like to adopt it quickly, one recommendation to avoid overwhelming with the hundreds of the controls is establishing priorities and use your own categorization that cold be critical, high, medium and low, definition of the categories will depend of how your organization manage the risk and the security posture you would like to adopt. the verification of the controls is a challenging task if you are not having a Cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools, cloud providers offer native CSPM tools that complies different frameworks and cover the majority of the use cases, third party tools provides capabilities of different frameworks, customization and multi cloud support.

Adopting security frameworks and standards is a critical step in enhancing the security posture of cloud computing and virtualization environments. These frameworks offer a structured approach, encompassing guidelines, best practices, and benchmarks, which are invaluable for establishing robust security controls. They also facilitate compliance with various industry-specific regulations, laws, and policies. Widely recognized standards such as ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, and the NIST series (SP 800-145, SP 800-144, SP 800-125) along with CSA CCM, CSA STAR, and PCI DSS serve as comprehensive references. Given their importance, businesses must carefully evaluate these frameworks to ensure their applicability, suitability, and effectiveness.

In case processing under the GDPR is involved bare in mind that there currently is no standard to guarantee compliance: iso 27018 is about PII in the cloud and the definition van PII does not equal the one of "personal data" under the gdpr, there are upcoming gdpr certification schemes, they might help if your processor is certified, successs!

The management of compliance to security frameworks and standards within hybrid cloud environments requires a lower effort compared to traditional on-premises architectures. Finally, compliance tools are directly connected to the technologies needed to perform Cloud Security Posture Management and Vulnerability assessment of any cloud workload, from VMs to code repositories. This new approach allow easier conversations among compliance managers/auditors and security teams to achieve harder goals in shorter time, responding to the high demanding timings posed by new standards and regulations coming from authorities and government entities.

Evaluating the security of cloud computing and virtualization environments, particularly through penetration testing (pentesting), is crucial to ensure robust protection against evolving cyber threats. As an expert, here are key considerations: Network Security: Examine network configurations and controls within the cloud environment. Test for weaknesses in network segmentation, firewall rules, and VPNs. Red Teaming: Go beyond traditional pentesting by conducting red team exercises. Simulate real-world, advanced attacks to evaluate the overall security posture and incident response readiness.

Security testing and auditing serve as a crucial fifth step in safeguarding cloud and virtual environments. These activities aim to identify and mitigate potential security risks and vulnerabilities, thereby validating the efficacy of the implemented security controls. Methods commonly employed include vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, configuration auditing, log analysis, incident response, and compliance auditing. Organizations must thoughtfully assess the scope, frequency, and quality of these procedures to ensure a robust security posture. The objective is not only to evaluate your own security measures but also to scrutinize the controls implemented by your cloud service provider.

When discussing cloud security a lot of the focus is placed on the platform itself (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.). Whilst that's an important part of the puzzle, all of the regular security principles still apply. It's often said that the cloud is "just someone else's computer" and it's true. Hybrid or internal networks based within a cloud environment should still be tested the same way an organisation would test physical servers & networks. The same is true for web applications built & hosted within the cloud.

A "defence-in-depth" approach is often valuable when considering security in cloud computing. Since no single layer of security can be 100% foolproof all the time, implementing multiple layers of security can improve your overall cloud security posture by making it harder for attackers to successfully breach your security defences. Examples of security layers can include: - Firewalls for securing incoming network traffic from external sources - Requiring API keys for API authorization - Segmentation of compute resources via network security controls - Isolation of database via private endpoints and requiring strong authentication - "Principle of least privilege" for identity & access management via usage of custom IAM roles and policies

Security isn't a problem to 'solve' it's a process, once the environment has been created and tested ongoing testing is still important and processes should be revisited and updated where appropriate. A nice analogy is a farmer planting crops, if the seeds aren't regularly watered and protected from pests even the most precisely planted field is likely to fail. Similarly, when dealing with cyber security, it's important to get away from a 'set and forget' mentality. Businesses should engage in regular risk assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration tests – these are not tasks to be completed once, but repeated cyclically as part of an effective security strategy.

prioritize access controls, network segmentation, encryption and monitoring. Multi-factor authentication and strict permissions prevent unauthorized access. Microsegmentation and firewalls contain threats and limit movement. Encrypt sensitive data in transit and at rest. Secure hypervisors to protect VMs. Validate compliance with regulations. Audit configurations and enable logging for visibility. Take a layered defense approach balancing security and performance. Identify gaps in controls to address through policies. With cloud and virtualization, continuously assess protections across infrastructure.Tighten controls to reduce risks. Thorough evaluation of access, network, encryption and monitoring is key to cloud security.