In today’s fast-paced digital ecosystem, the evolution of cloud services has revolutionized the way organizations manage their data. Adopting multi-cloud environments has become increasingly prevalent from startups to established enterprises, offering flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. However, this surge in cloud adoption brings new challenges, particularly in safeguarding data across diverse providers while meeting regulatory frameworks. Organizations must address these challenges head-on to ensure data security and integrity, especially regarding Protected Health Information (PHI).
Guardrails for data
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Every organization operates within a unique context, with distinct requirements, priorities, and risk profiles. Cloud security has no one-size-fits-all recipe. If there were only one methodology for cloud security across all business types and industries, then there wouldn’t be as many options for resource deployment. Protective measures play a crucial role in safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining trust, and upholding the ethical standards essential to the healthcare industry.
One of the primary concerns in multi-cloud environments is the potential for misconfigurations. For example, Amazon S3 buckets, which are relatively simple and widely used, have over 23 potential misconfigurations that could negatively impact data. These misconfigurations can lead to data exposure, breaches, and regulatory non-compliance. Safeguards help to understand the relationship between the services and how they are used and look for indicators of configuration, rights management, and access management. When you take a combination of resources, their interaction, and interconnection must also be evaluated from an identity layer to a network layer to a processing layer down to a data layer.
To help prevent the risk of misconfiguration and other concerns impacting cloud environments, we need to implement some safeguards. Safeguards are like highway guardrails, keeping data secure. They are something we create based on vulnerabilities or threats to our cloud infrastructure and the data stored in it. There needs to be some way to test our environment for the presence of this vulnerability or threat.
Safeguards must extend beyond the data storage infrastructure that holds our data at rest and follow the path of data in motion. Organizations must adopt a holistic approach to cloud security, whether the Amazon S3 example or another storage system, network configurations, message infrastructures, compute instances, and identity infrastructure that controls who access it. Strategies must ensure data, especially PHI, is stored securely, transmitted, and accessed safely, especially as the cloud landscape evolves.
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The value of safeguards lies in identifying vulnerabilities and providing prescriptive remediation guidance. For example, quick-fix remediation might involve patching a known vulnerability in one cloud provider’s storage system without considering the broader implications for data accessibility and security across multiple cloud platforms.
Conversely, prescriptive remediation might entail a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability’s impact on all interconnected cloud storage systems, followed by a strategic plan to address the issue, considering factors such as data redundancy, failover mechanisms, and access controls. Safeguards are the cornerstone of adequate cloud security, empowering organizations to address threats and strengthen their defense mechanisms.
Architecture for secure infrastructure
In particular, healthcare organizations must be hyper-diligent when safeguarding PHI, given the sensitive nature of this data. Implementing safeguards and leveraging Cloud Reference Architectures (CRAs) are instrumental in building a robust, secure infrastructure. CRAs provide a standardized framework for designing, implementing, and managing cloud solutions. Organizations adopt CRAs and implement best practices because they are invaluable resources, guiding organizations through the complexities of multi-cloud environments and facilitating informed decision-making.
Tech leaders must champion a culture of security and resilience within their organizations. It’s not enough to react to security incidents; they must proactively anticipate and mitigate threats before they escalate. To create this shift in culture, team collaboration, continuous learning, and investments in cutting-edge security technologies must be prioritized.
With more growth opportunities come misconfigurations, the number one cause of a data breach in the cloud world. By leveraging safeguards, implementing CRAs, and fostering a culture of security, organizations can build resilient, future-proof cloud infrastructures that safeguard data, protect privacy, and inspire trust. It’s crucial to embrace innovation while prioritizing security, driving sustainable growth, and fostering digital resilience in an increasingly interconnected world.
Adequate cloud security requires a dynamic, proactive approach. Threat landscapes change quickly, necessitating continuous monitoring, assessment, and adaptation. Finding problems is only part of the solution. Automated safeguard remediations that evaluate and configure cloud service controls can be activated to fix, reduce, and ultimately prevent issues.
Compliance with regulatory standards and industry best practices is non-negotiable, particularly in the healthcare sector. Organizations must stay abreast of evolving guidelines and regulations, such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2), and ensure stringent compliance.
Stay ahead of the threats
The current security landscape demands a forward-thinking mindset to stay ahead of emerging threats. Proactive threat intelligence is like having a compass that guides organizations through the intricate maze of cyber threats. By emphasizing how to improve an outcome, not just concentrating on the severity of the problem, organizations uncover the right way to fix the problem, not the “right now” way.
The right now way to fix things is a short-term fix. For example, it’s a quick configuration change in the cloud environment to provide immediate protection, but it doesn’t explain why the issue happened in the first place. Eventually, however, the right way to fix the problem must be addressed. Reducing the window of threat opportunity is essential to data security. Safeguards that offer automated remediations can automatically fix and even prevent threats.
Navigating the multi-cloud security landscape is a layered challenge that requires a comprehensive and adaptive strategy. Organizations, especially in healthcare, must remain vigilant in safeguarding PHI, adopting a proactive approach to security that includes robust safeguards, CRAs, and a security-centric culture. By embracing innovation and prioritizing security in tandem, healthcare organizations can confidently stride into the future, building secure multi-cloud infrastructures that stand the test of time while protecting the most valued treasure – patient data.
Photo: turk_stock_photograph, Getty Images
Jim Ducharme leads ClearDATA's Engineering, Product Management, and IT teams. He has more than 25 years leading product organizations in the identity, integrated risk, and fraud management markets. Prior to joining ClearDATA, Jim served as Chief Operating Officer of Outseer, an RSA Company, where he served over 10 years in executive leadership roles. Prior to RSA in 2012, he served in executive leadership roles for Aveksa, CA and Netegrity. Ducharme frequently speaks at industry events and regularly contributes articles to trade publications.
Jim also holds several patents and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree from the University of New Hampshire. He and his wife live in Maine in their dream log home, which was featured in Log and Timber Home Living magazine.
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