With Multiple Clouds to Manage, Simplifying and Scaling PAM is Imperative
5
NOVEMBER 2019
By: Orhan Yildirim
Despite the continued transformation to cloud services, enterprise IT and OT teams still believe security concerns are a major barrier to adoption. As enterprises continue to move towards “Everything as a Service”, getting cloud right is worth it. While nearly every large enterprise and government organization has already adopted cloud storage, computing and real time communications, conservative companies and teams are reluctant to go all in.
A Deloitte survey on cloud adoption in Europe, for example, revealed that for CIOs who have not yet adopted cloud computing, the main inhibitors are the following:
- Insufficient data security and risk of data availability
- Open compliance and legal issues
- The risk of losing governance or control over data
In this context, IT decision makers are looking for answers, seeking reassurance regarding the ability of an effectively secure controlled environment, to ensure data and applications will remain safeguarded.
There is no single security approach to fit all forms of cloud computing.
Cloud approaches themselves continue to morph and “crossover”, including:
- Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure made available to the public, owned and sold by companies like AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
- Private cloud: the infrastructure designed and operated for a single organization
- Community cloud: a cloud infrastructure shared by a consortium or other groups, and supporting specific communities with similar requirements and regulatory challenges
- Hybrid cloud: two or more clouds listed above
With so much variety, there are many hidden complications and costs that go along with security across multi-cloud architectures. Consequently, a risk-based approach helps determine the best deployment model and hosting option, while detailed security control measures help manage often complex environments on an ongoing basis.
Having a proven Privileged Access Management (PAM) software solution, cloud-native and cloud friendly makes the management of every cloud environment easier and more effective.
It is inevitable that the teams responsible for securing data and assets will confront challenges when it comes to identifying risks, determining roles and responsibilities and automating as much as possible, so the costs of securing clouds and the networks connecting those clouds don’t spin out of control.
When continuing on the march to more SaaS/cloud applications for all the proven benefits, organizations must include security controls and ongoing monitoring and management.
Ironsphere runs on-prem and on-Cloud IaaS platforms including AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Our multi-cloud offering enables our clients to:
- Track and record all privileged activities in their Cloud IaaS platforms through a single pane of glass
- Audit trails and reports to meet regulatory compliance mandates
- Discover system/service accounts and eliminate password sharing
- Auto-discover instances and assets within your cloud environment
- Strengthen credentials by eliminating weak or non-expiry passwords and SSH keys
- Extend “Segregation of Duties” to the cloud, manage who can access what and when
- Extend “Least Privilege Management” (access under what restrictions) to the cloud with advanced in-session controls to run a command, including whitelist/blacklist filtering, context-aware filtering, geofence approval and managerial approval
- Extend accountability (who did what) to cloud IaaS platforms with indisputable log and video records
- Monitor and participate in live sessions, with take & release control
- Secure and Control remote vendor access to their Cloud IaaS platform
We look forward to learning more about your multi-cloud development plans and to engage on how the best of cloud can flourish, but never at the cost of your organization’s most valuable assets, including its reputation.
Similar Blogs
More Than Zero Trust: Zero Touch Privileged Access Management Solutions Save Time, Reduce Risk
We have all found ourselves in a different world of work given the events that have defined 2020, and few professionals are feeling the pressure more than IT and OT teams.
Enterprise Risk Appetite Frameworks Should Include PAM
Just as cyber risks evolve, the evolution of risk appetite frameworks is more active than ever. With more sophisticated adversaries, more digital transformation initiatives, more mobile works, ecosystem partnerships and connectivity to multiple clouds and services, enlightened management teams and their boards are updating their levels of “risk tolerance.”
The Future of Multifactor Identification in Privileged Access Management
Two-factor authentication has been around for decades – requiring an additional step between entering a username and password, for example, then entering a one-time security code sent to a mobile device – to access applications, systems and data.