Security and Risk Assessment for Cloud Migration

Some of the possible advantages of migrating to the cloud include the possibility of saving money, being flexible, and being scalable, among others. However, it also creates new security and compliance risks that need to be considered before implementation. This article offers a general guide on security and risk assessment that technology and business people interested in transitioning to the cloud should consider. 

Understanding Cloud Security Shared Responsibility Model

1. Cloud providers are responsible for the security OF the cloud.
2. Customers are responsible for security IN the cloud.

When moving to a public cloud like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, organizations adopt a shared responsibility model for security and compliance. Simply put:

• Cloud providers are responsible for security OF the cloud – including facilities, hardware, networking, and baseline infrastructure.
• Customers are responsible for security IN the cloud – including guest OS, applications, identity and access management, encryption, regulatory compliance, and more.

Clearly defining these responsibilities, cloud migration assessment and adopting cloud-focused security controls is essential for risk mitigation.

Conducting a Risk Assessment

Before migrating, conduct a detailed risk assessment covering:

Cloud Security Posture

1. Evaluate cloud provider’s security controls, compliance audits, and certifications
2. Review identity and access management, logging/monitoring, encryption offerings
3. Compare to the organization’s existing security controls and posture

Regulatory Compliance

1. Identify applicable regulatory compliance requirements – HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, etc
2. Review cloud provider’s compliance offerings and audit reports
3. Determine gaps that must be addressed

Data Protection

1. Classify the sensitivity of data to be stored in the cloud
2. Define suitable encryption, access controls, and retention policies
3. Address data residency, sovereignty, and cross-border transfer considerations

Application & Architecture

1. Analyze security risks associated with new cloud architecture
2. Shift security left in CI/CD pipelines and DevOps processes
3. Perform application dependency mapping, risk analysis

Business & Operations

1. Evaluate operational risks – vendor lock-in, cloud skills gaps
2. Review disaster recovery, backup/restore contingency protocols
3. Plan security training to address cloud risks

Key Focus Areas for Cloud Security

Migrating to the cloud introduces some new security considerations to be aware of:

Perimeterless Security

1. Adopt zero trust framework – verify explicitly, least privilege access
2. Microsegment applications, encrypt data, use cloud firewalls
3. Employ strict identity and access management controls

Visibility & Monitoring

1. Unify security monitoring across cloud environments
2. Analyze logs, events, and traffic for security incidents
3. Detect misconfigurations and abnormal behavior promptly

Infrastructure as Code

1. Codify and automate the provisioning of cloud resources.
2. Integrate security checks into the CI/CD pipeline.
3. Scan for misconfiguration vulnerabilities.

Cloud-Native Protection

1. Harness cloud-native controls for data protection.
2. Employ cloud access security brokers and cloud workload protection.
3. Shift auditing and compliance to the cloud.

Best Practices for Secure Cloud Migration

Following security best practices is key for a lower-risk cloud adoption:

Security by Design

Adopting a security-by-design approach is crucial for lower-risk cloud adoption. This means incorporating security requirements into the initial architecture and design rather than bolting on controls after deployment. Developing a formal strategy that embeds security across infrastructure, policies, processes and organizational culture lays a solid foundation.

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Defense in Depth

Relying on just a single protective control is rarely enough in the cloud. Instead, implement layered defenses across network boundaries, cloud platforms, and application infrastructure. Key controls across layers include firewalls, access management, data encryption, breach detection systems, and more. Embedding complementary controls at multiple levels creates overlapping security to protect assets and data.

Least Privilege Access

Overly permissive access rights continue to enable many cloud data breaches. Adhering to the principle of least privilege limits risk exposure. Carefully evaluate and approve access to resources based on defined job duties. Provision of temporary elevated privileges as needed, with automatic revocation after specific periods. Integrate tools to streamline access reviews and re-certification.

Continuous Security Monitoring

Preventative controls will never block 100% of attacks. Continuous diagnostics and monitoring of user behavior, asset configurations and network traffic establishes a baseline to identify anomalies quickly. Forward logs to a central analytics platform to correlate events across cloud and on-premises systems. Configure alerts on policy violations or activities indicating potential compromise.

Regular Auditing

While the cloud provider handles underlying infrastructure, customers must regularly audit their own security controls, configurations, data flows and regulatory compliance processes. Conduct risk assessments mapping threats to cloud vulnerabilities, especially for high-value data sets and mission-critical workloads. Remediate gaps based on severity and prioritize improvements.

Staff Training

Despite advanced security services offered by cloud platforms, customers must properly configure protections based on their usage, data types and risk appetite. Specialized training prepares SOC teams, cloud architects, engineers, and end users to uphold their responsibilities in this new environment. Refresh training periodically on the latest threats, tools and best practices.

Cloud Migration Security Checklist

To summarize, the main steps for assessing security when moving to the cloud:

1. Understand the general concept of the shared responsibility model. 
2.  Categorize the data into the sensitivity level. 
3.  Conduct a risk analysis of the new environment. 
4.  Assess the provider’s security measures available in the cloud. 
5.  Identify the areas of non-compliance with regulations. 
6.  Move security left to DevOps. 
7.  Validate disaster recovery provisions. 
8.  Design secure cloud architecture. 
9.  Employ cloud-native security tools. 
10.  Implement access control and encryption of the institute. 
11.  It is possible to unify visibility through logging and monitoring. 
12.  Promote cloud security training. 
13.  Ensure that you do periodic control audits and testing. 

 Adhering to the processes of structured cloud security and risk assessment is the basic requirement for a safe transition to cloud services. This means that when planning for the cloud, both the cloud architects and the security teams should be involved in the planning process so that the organization gets the right cloud environment that meets the organization’s security needs.