Cloud Security in Cybersecurity
6 Min Read
CloudSec: Boost Your Skills in Cybersecurity Defense
Cloud Security, or CloudSec, as it’s more commonly called, refers to all the tasks, hardware, software, and procedures involved in creating and maintaining secure software.
The Importance of Cloud Security
Web applications can act as a gateway for bad actors to access servers and networks. With the global average cost of a single data breach at an all-time high of $4.5 million, there’s a critical need for companies to take a closer look at Cloud security.1
Top 3 Challenges of CloudSec
From siloed teams to siloed work platforms, there’s no shortage of challenges as developers race against deadlines to deliver the latest app or piece of software. This has turned companies to the cloud.
Challenge 1: Humans are Only Human
More than 56% of the time, vulnerabilities to an app start innocently enough from a misconfiguration or a known, unpatched vulnerability involving a software component.2 And while known issues don’t all pose a major threat to a Cloud’s security, hackers don’t rest. They continue to test penetration methods against known vulnerabilities until they find a way in.
Additionally, updated security tools and legacy code don’t always mix, and errors can happen if code isn’t maintained and fixed.
Challenge 2: Adopting a DevSecOps Approach
Given the prominence of cloud-based web applications and their known vulnerabilities, the cloud application development lifecycle should align closely with software development to identify and resolve issues earlier. This shift-left approach adopts a DevSecOps model, encouraging collaboration between development, security, and operations teams to address vulnerabilities from the planning stage through the application’s lifecycle. However, only 10% of CISOs currently view application security as a shared responsibility across these teams.
Challenge 3: Finding Qualified Experts
Cloud application security is a major industry in our modern world. In 2022, it was noted the number of smartphone users was 6,567 billion, there were almost 2 billion active websites, and over 8.9 million mobile apps were available.4 So, while finding security experts is a top priority for organizations, it’s also a top challenge. With the rate of new Cloud software as a service applications (SaaS), infrastructure as code (IaC), and cloud-hosted software being released daily, the urge for qualified practitioners in Cloud security is ever-growing.
The Future of Cloud Security
As the complexity and challenges of CloudSec grow, so does the marketplace. Forrester analysts expect Cloud security to reach $12.9 billion by 2025.5 For improved Cloud security, organizations need to hire and train a qualified workforce, demand a shift-left approach in processes, and implement integrated tools that work across teams.
Upskill CloudSec and DevSecOps Teams
With the gross shortage of qualified AppSec workforce, more companies look to educating their developer security personnel and using automated tools, which can come with their own vulnerabilities. Additionally, security teams need to improve their own Cloud security training and align their tooling to a more integrated approach.
Make Shift-Left Stages of Cloud Security the Standard
The shift-left approach emphasizes that security efforts begin in the planning stages of a cloud environment and continue throughout its entire lifecycle. The three key stages include:
- Design — Getting it Right from the Start. Cybersecurity architects and cloud engineers collaborate using threat modeling and secure-by-design principles to establish a strong security foundation. This involves identifying cloud assets and threats, analyzing vulnerabilities, and implementing countermeasures to mitigate risks early on.
- Development and Testing — Ensuring Security. Security analysts and engineers work together, using automated tools such as DAST/SAST integrated into CI/CD pipelines to review code and conduct security testing. This step ensures vulnerabilities are identified and addressed before deployment.
- Maintenance — Continuous Security in the Cloud. Systems security analysts and network operations specialists continuously monitor the cloud infrastructure, patch vulnerabilities, and perform regular security testing. This proactive approach ensures the cloud environment remains secure, even as new threats emerge.
These processes ensure security throughout the cloud lifecycle, safeguarding sensitive data, code, and functionality from evolving cyber threats.
Use the Right Tools for the Job
More and more organizations are looking toward automated tools required for comprehensive security, especially those that integrate with developer tools and workflows.
Getting the right people, processes, and systems in place is tough, especially amid a shortage of professionals that know how. But by focusing on continued training and implementing new processes and technologies, Cloud security improves and the urgency and costs of threats can lessen.
Course Spotlights
CloudSec, including web Cloud security training, is included within the core curriculum of the B.S. in Cybersecurity program.
This course provides fundamental instruction on the application of programming languages relevant to the cybersecurity domain. The course explores the impact that computer code has on the implementation, monitoring, and securing of computer systems against attacks and unauthorized access from a cybersecurity professional’s perspective. Students will design, apply, and execute relevant tasks through hands-on assignments. Students will use both the Windows and Linux operating system platforms to perform these tasks. Prerequisite: CYB 101.
In this course, students will explore fundamental concepts of cloud security. Students will develop the knowledge and skills required to set up and automate secure cloud environments to support various business systems and data. The course will examine various platforms and techniques to secure and protect data and critical applications in cloud environments. Prerequisite: CYB 233 (may not be taken concurrently with CYB 233).
Cloud Security Jobs
The need for professionals who have the knowledge, experience, and best-practice processes to implement in the AppSec field is urgent, and jobs are plentiful.
Whether you’re looking to start or advance your career with an Cloud security job, the skills and dedication to excellence you learn in Utica’s online cybersecurity programs will fuel your efforts.
- Cybersecurity Engineer – $139,282/Year: Cybersecurity engineers evaluate systems to determine possible threats and build solutions to stop these problems before they happen.6
- Cybersecurity Architect – $150,277/Year: A cybersecurity architect is responsible for designing and implementing security safeguards to cloud infrastructure and maintaining them. These experts perform vulnerability testing, threat modeling, and more.6
- Secure Control Assessor – $100,058/Year: Security software assessors will often identify high-level coding flaws, create threat models, and consult with engineering staff to evaluate the interface between hardware and software.7
Sources
- IBM. “Cost of a Data Breach Reort 2023.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach.
- Snyk. “Complete Guide to Application Security: Tools, Trends & Best Practices.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://snyk.io/learn/application-security/#pillars.
- Dynatrace. “Application Security.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.dynatrace.com/monitoring/platform/application-security/.
- Jay.devs. “Web App Development in 2022: A Detailed Guide.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://jaydevs.com/web-app-development-a-detailed-guide/.
- Forrester. “The Application Security Market Will Grow to $12.9 Billion By 2025.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-application-security-market-is-on-a-tear/.
- Cyberseek. “Career Pathway.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.cyberseek.org/pathway.html.
- Salary.com. “Security Control Assessor Salary.” Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.salary.com/research/salary/recruiting/security-control-assessor-salary.