Cloud Security: Protecting Your Infrastructure

Cloud security requires understanding the shared responsibility model and applying security best practices.

Shared Responsibility

Provider: Physical infrastructure, hypervisor, network infrastructure, compliance certifications Customer: Data protection, IAM, application security, OS configuration, network traffic, compliance validation

Identity & Access

Account Structure: Multi-account (AWS Orgs), management groups (Azure), organization/folders (GCP) MFA: Required for all users, especially root/admin accounts, hardware tokens for privileged access SSO: Federate with corporate IDP, SAML/OIDC, conditional access Permissions: Least privilege, RBAC, just-in-time access, regular reviews

Network Security

VPC/VNet: Isolate resources, private subnets, public subnets for internet-facing Segmentation: Separate by environment/sensitivity, micro-segmentation for critical assets Firewalls: Security groups (stateful), network ACLs (stateless), deny by default DDoS Protection: AWS Shield, Azure DDoS Protection, Cloud Armor Private Connectivity: PrivateLink, Private Link, Private Service Connect

Data Protection

Encryption at Rest: Platform-managed keys, customer-managed keys, bring-your-own-key Encryption in Transit: TLS everywhere, enforce HTTPS, VPN for site-to-site Key Management: AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Cloud KMS—rotation, access policies Secrets: Parameter Store, Key Vault, Secret Manager—never hardcode

Workload Security

Containers: Image scanning, runtime protection, registry security, admission controllers Serverless: Function permissions, VPC access, environment secrets, resource limits VMs: Patch management, endpoint protection, security baselines, hardening

Monitoring & Logging

SIEM Integration: CloudTrail, Activity Logs, Cloud Audit Logs to SIEM Security Services: GuardDuty, Security Center/Defender, Security Command Center Alerting: Anomalous activity, policy violations, failed access, privilege escalation

Compliance

Frameworks: Map controls to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS Automation: Config, Policy, Security Command Center for continuous compliance Evidence: Automated collection, audit trails, compliance reporting

Best Practices

1. Enable MFA on all accounts
2. Use separate accounts/subscriptions per environment
3. Encrypt everything (rest and transit)
4. Implement least privilege
5. Enable comprehensive logging
6. Automate security policies
7. Regular security assessments
8. Incident response plan

Platform-Specific

AWS: IAM with SCPs, GuardDuty, Config, Security Hub Azure: Azure AD Conditional Access, Defender for Cloud, Policy, Sentinel GCP: Cloud Identity, Security Command Center, Organization Policy, Chronicle

Bottom Line

Cloud security requires shared responsibility understanding, strong IAM, network isolation, encryption everywhere, and continuous monitoring.