A recent report has highlighted the concerning lack of security measures in cloud-first organizations. As these organizations increasingly rely on cloud services, information security has become vital to their operations. The Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022 by IBM has revealed that the average cost of a data breach in the US has risen to over $9 million. With the evolving threat landscape and the growing sophistication of cyberattacks, organizations must go beyond basic security measures to stay ahead of emerging risks and attack techniques.
One of the key findings of the report is the high failure rate of access key rotation for cloud service providers, which stands at 41%. Access keys are crucial for cloud security as they grant users and applications access to various cloud resources. The failure to regularly rotate access keys poses a significant risk to information security. Organizations need to take proactive steps by implementing a key rotation policy, conducting regular access key audits, and utilizing security automation tools to ensure consistency across the organization.
Another concerning statistic revealed by the report is the lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled for Identity and Access Management (IAM) accounts and root accounts in cloud service providers. The report states that 40% of IAM accounts and 21% of root accounts do not have MFA enabled. MFA is a well-documented security measure that adds an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access. Organizations should mandate MFA for all IAM and root accounts and educate employees on the importance of MFA and security best practices.
The report also sheds light on the prevalence of password reuse in cloud service provider logins, with 37% of organizations admitting to this risky practice. Password reuse makes it easier for attackers to gain unauthorized access to multiple accounts by exploiting a single set of credentials. To address this problem, organizations should implement strong password policies and consider using password managers to securely store and manage unique passwords.
To strengthen security hygiene, organizations are increasingly turning to compliance automation tools. These tools allow companies to address routine security tasks and compliance requirements more efficiently. They enable continuous monitoring of systems, collection of documentation for security audits, automation of responses to security questionnaires, and streamlined employee security training. By automating these tasks, IT security teams can allocate more resources to complex business issues.
Automation can be effectively implemented in several areas to improve security hygiene. Vulnerability management can be enhanced through automated vulnerability scanners that regularly assess an organization’s infrastructure for potential weaknesses. Patch management can be streamlined using automated tools that monitor and apply software updates and security patches. Access management can be automated to streamline the process of granting, modifying, and revoking access privileges. Incident response can be improved through automated tools that quickly detect and respond to potential security breaches.
While automation offers numerous benefits, it is crucial to strike a balance between automation and human expertise. Security teams must work closely with automated tools to fine-tune and optimize them. As the security landscape evolves, teams can adapt automated tools to new challenges and regularly assess their performance.
As cloud adoption continues to grow, organizations must prioritize proper security hygiene to protect their valuable assets and data. By embracing automation, organizations can simplify and streamline routine security tasks, elevate their security hygiene, and demonstrate a strong security posture to customers, prospects, and partners.
Compliance automation tools, such as Secureframe Trust, empower organizations to prove a strong security program and build customer trust using real-time data. These tools offer customizable Trust Centers to publicly demonstrate a security program, automate security questionnaires, and provide a Knowledge Base for privacy, security, and compliance documentation.
By effectively leveraging compliance automation, cloud-first organizations can maintain a robust security posture, demonstrate their commitment to security and compliance, and navigate emerging challenges while seizing new opportunities for growth.
Ruoting Sun is the Vice President of Products at Secureframe, a leading all-in-one compliance automation platform.