In a multi-cloud environment, organizations dare not leave cloud security to the risks of human error.
Automation must be a key part of any cloud security strategy, write Parikshit Moitra, Head of Delivery Center and Regional Partner Director at TCS South Africa and Rest of Africa, and Raghvendra Singh, Global Head: Cloud Security Practice at TCS.
Today, South Africa is the leading cloud market in Sub-Saharan Africa, with high demand for data storage and a concomitant growth in investment in data centres. This surge in cloud adoption comes with a pressing need for cloud security. Automation is the way to provide this security – effectively and efficiently.
The enormous complexity and heterogeneous nature of the hybrid and multi-cloud environment makes it difficult to avoid inadvertent human errors in configuring security policies. There are a lot of downsides – security blind spots, risks of data theft, and ransomware attacks.
Major market, major risks
With the South African cloud computing market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 26%, reaching R113 billion by 2028, more businesses are looking to secure their networks.
In seeking to do so, there are significant efficiency risks for companies if they do not adopt cloud security automation – or if they do not do so quickly enough. They also risk losing their competitiveness.
Meanwhile, data breaches have been on the rise in recent years, with cyberattacks increasing by 76% in businesses across South Africa in 2023. Hence, with increased adoption of cloud solutions, there is a need for a stronger, automated, multi-layered cloud. Security, to prevent, detect and combat cyber risks.
During the cloud adoption phase, some on-premises organizations tried to take the easy route, by lifting and moving applications and data, and repeatedly using manually configured security policies.
However, automating security processes and policies is an invaluable and much more reliable approach, helping organizations detect potential threats early, reduce cloud waste, and go to market faster.
Material advantages
Cloud security automation provides tangible business benefits. It allows organizations to secure their cloud data, applications, and infrastructure.
At the same time, automation reduces application development timeframes and enables better cryptographic processes for greater security. It also supports better threat intelligence collection and intelligent security alerts, in order to reduce and address security risks.
Automating cloud security configurations and policies helps security teams focus their time on proactive security rather than responding to an incident. Automation can be task-based, policy-oriented, or cognitive.
Task-based automation eliminates the need for manual security assessment and reporting. Organizations can create data classification policies error-free, with fast response times. Policy-based automation helps organizations define, share, and enforce enterprise-wide security policies. This allows organizations to overcome human errors in granting access and ensures appropriate reporting of incidents.
Cognitive threat management helps organizations leverage machine learning algorithms to report anomalies, detect risky user behavior, classify potential security incidents, and automatically perform remediation if breaches occur.
Great opportunities and great risks
IT managers and senior executives agree on the importance of the cloud as an integral part of their business operations. The question for many of them is how to secure their environment in a hybrid and multi-cloud scenario. Automation must be a key part of doing this.
Ensuring that your servers and networks are protected when sensitive information is transferred to the company cloud is an important aspect of any company's operations. Cloud security automation should also be an important part of this process.
Cloud security automation should include data encryption, data address security, identity access management, as well as privileged access management.
Cloud security automation will be able to manage multiple layers of access through measures such as two-step authentication, to ensure guardrails are in place at each level. This protects an organization's applications, data, servers, operating system, and entire environment.
The interconnected, cloud-based nature of modern business has enabled a multitude of data-driven opportunities and efficiencies. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation are key to leveraging these efficiencies.
However, given the risks this environment also presents, it is crucial that you secure your networks using similar technology-based methods. Automated cloud security is essential for any organization looking to optimize for the future.
