Cloud Application Security Checklist and Best Practices

For any cloud environment, it is crucial to have application security features to eliminate security related risks and make the ecosystem more active.

Cloud facility delivers a range of computing services including databases, storage, network functionality, servers, applications, on demand data and analysis over the internet, etc. Google Drive is one of the most prominent examples of a cloud ecosystem.

Cloud Application Security Checklist

1. Set Password policies

Password criteria like length and characters should be fixed along with their expiration period. Also, it is necessary to regularly have password checks running for all users for validation purpose and could change the password as and when required.

2. Set Multi-factor verification Process

Set a two-step login authentication process with a verification code, security question or image prompt in mobile apps for anyone to enter your cloud space.

3. Access Control

The access to the cloud accounts should be restricted and permissions need to be granted before anyone can enter your space. You should control the app permissions to the related cloud accounts.

4. External data sharing guidelines

For the external data sharing for calendar, drive, file or folder amongst users, specific criteria should be established with guidelines on sharing.

5. Look for Vulnerability

There are several methods in which your data security can come to stake. In the era of internet security, it can be easily breached.

Therefore, it is required to make frequent vulnerability checks operational. Otherwise it can lead to loss of data, personal and professional safety and complete system failure.

6. Plan for handling of uncertain events

There should be an established scheme for the handling of any unpredicted calamity in the business, social or political sector.

7. Sensitive data protection

Make sure that the data loss prevention strategy is religiously applied for the protection of sensitive information. Data loss may lead to misuse of data for criminal activities resulting in threats and ransom demands.

Appropriate security services should be installed to protect the integrity of the platform and save sensitive data.

8. End-to-end encryption

Messages are end-to-end encrypted for the protection of confidential data. Even for mobile devices policies are defined for cloud application access in cloud computing.

9. Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Having a working service level agreement with a detailed description of services and associated penalties (for related breaches) is quite necessary.

Cloud Application Security Best Practices

1. Segregation of Responsibilities

It is essential to understand the importance of utilizing the Shared Responsibility Model for cloud ecosystem functionalities. This model suggests proper division of responsibilities for the customer and the vendor.

However, before jumping into cloud vendor selection, you must go through the cloud vendor application security policies so that you have a clear insight of the model.

2. Vigilance and Iteration are two distinct factors

The complete lifecycle of any cloud application includes stages such as planning, development, operations and decommissioning, all which require vigilance at each level by the information security team.

With the scaling of your business it will become increasingly essential to update the construction of the application and the implication of the latest technologies.

3. Security Validation and Tests Automation

Cloud-based applications should be regularly tested for threats and malware attacks with code validation. These routine tests can be automated by an experienced cloud service provider to help ensure continuity, speed and reduction in errors while running manual tests.

4. Compliance to the Rules and Ethics

Customer data privacy and security has to be the prime concern for any business and startup, especially in finance, healthcare and retail service sectors. It is critical to ensure that the data service provider complies to the regulations before it starts with cloud application.

5. Staff and Customer Training

Besides setting up the best security updates, if the staff and customers are not aware and lack proper training, it will cause complete failure of all the steps that we have taken for cloud security. Therefore, staff and customers should be endowed with proper training so that they stick to the security policies because the risks involved with cloud security are too big to handle.

6. Cloud Security Audits and Optimization

Scheduled system and application audits on cloud are important for optimization of rules and regulations. It will keep you updated of any malware or security breach that might be taking place in the cloud environment. These audits can be done weekly, monthly or yearly depending upon the requirement.

Cloud monitoring services are in fact barriers for unauthorized access.

Conclusion

Cloud security development is needed to prevent data loss and privacy breach which can lead to threats and criminal offense. Security related policies have been established that are needed to be abided by all. To ensure your cloud application security it is necessary to maintain a proper record of essential functionalities.

Working with us will open your way to curate a customized cloud application security checklist that matches your company’s security needs.