When to Use Cloud Network Security (And When to Avoid It)

From data storage to business applications and beyond, companies of all sizes rely on the cloud for day-to-day operations and critical business processes. Protecting cloud-based infrastructures with robust security standards is crucial for modern organizations.

Cloud network security is a popular approach. But is it right for your business? Read on to find out.

What is cloud network security?

Cloud network security is a broad term that covers all security measures a company uses to protect its private cloud network, public cloud network, or hybrid cloud network. It includes everything from the technology used to internal policies, processes, and controls.

It helps businesses defend against data breaches, cyber attacks, unauthorized access, service interruptions, and other threats to their infrastructure.

Network security (regardless of how it’s implemented) is just one of the many security layers that businesses use to protect themselves from vulnerabilities. But it’s arguably the most important, as your network is often the first line of defense against attacks.

Deploying cloud network security the right way can be the foundation of your company’s entire approach to IT security.

SEE: How your business can benefit from a network security policy.

How does cloud network security work?

Cloud network security uses multiple defense layers between infrastructure components and devices on your network.

First, software helps set security policies and pre-defined rules for the network. From there, the software inspects all of the data packets and traffic on the network to enforce those policies.

For example, approved users can be granted access to digital assets through an application on the cloud network while unauthorized users are blocked.

It can also integrate with other security protocols, such as gateways and firewalls, to provide organization-wide control over the network. With APIs and other integrations, IT security admins can use cloud network security processes to monitor networks in real time, segment networks, and detect threats based on network patterns.

Many modern cloud security systems depend on AI and machine learning to help detect and block threats, which is something that might not always work with a rules-based security system.

SEE: Check out the best threat protection solutions. 

Pros and cons of cloud network security

Like any IT security framework or methodology, cloud security has its pros and cons. For most, the positives outweigh the negative.

Benefits and advantages

• Centralized management — Cloud network security gives IT admins a single place to configure and monitor security policies, including the ability to integrate with on-premises solutions.
• Automated security monitoring — Once configured, cloud security systems automatically protect against threats without straining IT resources.
• Data protection — Deploying a cloud network security system helps protect data stored in cloud servers and applications on your network (both in transit and at rest).
• Compliance — You can set up your network security systems to comply with regulatory standards, like GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and more.
• Data encryption — While encrypted data doesn’t prevent breaches or attacks, most cloud network security companies include encryption, which makes it more challenging for bad actors to access data if they breach your network.
• Real-time threat detection and prevention — When working properly, cloud network security systems automatically detect and block threats to your network as they happen.
• Scalability — Robust cloud security allows organizations to confidently scale processes and applications using cloud resources, knowing that they’ll have reliable access.
• Policy-based enforcement — System admins have a more granular level of control based on custom policies that scale with your organization.
• Reduce risk of breaches and attacks — A cloud network security solution can drastically reduce security vulnerabilities while preventing hacks, malware, ransomware, and other malicious incidents.

Potential drawbacks and challenges to consider

• Misconfigurations — It can easily be misconfigured and it’s prone to human error.
• Speed of change — As cloud resources change alongside access controls of different employees, malicious users can exploit vulnerabilities before your policies are updated.
• DDoS attacks — Advanced DDoS attacks, which can overwhelm servers and disrupt cloud-based services, could prevent authorized users from accessing your system.
• Accuracy — At times, cloud systems can yield false positives. This can be dangerous if policies are changed due as a result, opening the door for real threats to slip through the cracks.
• Cost — Advanced cloud systems are expensive to deploy and maintain at scale, especially those using AI technology to monitor network traffic and detect threats in real time.
• Insider threats — Someone with privileged access could unknowingly (or intentionally) attack systems from the inside.

When it makes sense to use cloud network security for your business

Any business that has heavily invested in cloud infrastructure is a good fit.

This is especially true if you have a lot of data or run numerous applications in the cloud.

It also makes sense for hybrid cloud environments. Because you have a combination of on-premises and cloud infrastructure, a cloud-based security system can help you centralize everything across your network.

Another common reason why businesses use it is to comply with industry-specific or location-specific compliance standards. You can set up your cloud network security policies to adhere to security protocols for GDPR in Europe, PCI compliance for payment acceptance, HIPAA compliance in the medical industry, and more.

If your organization has remote employees who access your network through an encrypted connection, you can also use cloud security to authenticate them and their devices.

When you should avoid cloud network security

Cloud network security is a necessity for most, but it’s not for everyone.

It may not be enough if you’re dealing with sensitive data that requires the strictest security standards. Organizations working on government contracts or handling confidential information may have to meet DoD standards, and not every cloud security system stacks up to those conditions.

Cloud network security solutions may also not be a good fit if you’re using older, legacy systems that can’t easily migrate to the cloud. In this case, you’ll likely need to use an on-premise security solution instead.

Aside from those two scenarios, it’s tough to deploy a cloud network security solution if you have limited IT security resources or your team isn’t familiar with these systems.

They require a lot of fine-tuned configuration. If you don’t have the resources, you can outsource to a third party (which can get very expensive).

Network security best practices

There are a set of standards that are generally considered best practices. Adhering to them is not only great for deploying a robust cloud network, but it can also help you overcome some of the common challenges and drawbacks we covered earlier.

Some of those best practices include:

• Zero trust network access — The zero trust model requires authentication of every user, application, and device before accessing the network.
• Micro-segmentation within your network — Limiting communication between applications and services within a network can help contain or isolate attacks.
• Identity and access management (IAM) solutions — IAM systems can block unauthorized access at the user level, ensuring that even authorized users only have access to the areas they need to do their jobs.
• Misconfiguration monitoring — Use cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools to identify misconfigurations that could be the result of human error and ensure your configurations are properly set up for specific regulatory compliance standards.
• Continuous monitoring tools — Rather than periodically checking for attacks, you can use continuous monitoring tools to identify threats in real time.
• Regular penetration tests — Your IT team should regularly perform penetration tests on your network to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. From there, they should work to fix them as fast as possible.
• Training — Make sure your team understands the risks associated with breaches and cyberattacks so they know exactly what to do in these scenarios.

Ultimately, cloud network security is an ongoing initiative.

It’s not something you can implement once and move on. There are always going to be changes to your network and systems that need to be addressed plus new threats that your team should understand how to handle.