IT Security Compliance for Cloud Service Providers

IT Security Compliance for Cloud Service ProvidersCompliance with increasingly stringent regulations for organizations providing outsourced IT services, particularly in regards to data protection, is becoming more difficult. Reputation and client trust are fragile assets, and compliance with industry standards and legal regulations is essential to earn and maintain them. Cloud service providers (CSP) consider compliance a magical term: on one hand it’s critical to their success; on the other hand it’s imposing time-consuming burdens on the business.

A special area of compliance is IT security compliance, which is based on legal provisions and international standards. Geographic borders become blurred, however, in the provision of cloud services, making it impossible to regulate the sector solely based on local regulations. This calls for international IT security standards, such as PCI-DSS, ISO:27001, or SSAE 16/ISAE 3402 (formerly SAS 70). The largest CSPs such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure strengthen their customers’ trust by meeting these standards.

The standards include a broad range of requirements that require a comprehensive approach to compliance. In each instance, CSPs need to understand and interpret the requirements from their own perspective, then enact a thorough implementation program. This includes meeting certain requirements with specialized software. Privileged access management and centralized log management are areas in which software is typically used to meet compliance requirements, and can lead to significant cost reductions, as well as an increased level of security.

The Current Market Landscape Among Cloud Providers

Which percent of their yearly IT budget is spent on compliance investments? What is their primary motivation to meet regulations? Which are the most important industry regulations they need to meet? Which are the most important control areas when talking about compliance strategy? What type of users’s activities should be primarily monitored in cloud environments? How matured are the Privileged User’s Management strategies at cloud providers?

BalaBit IT Security and KPMG in Hungary jointly conducted an international market survey1 titled “Compliance in the IT Service Provider Sector”. The research involved 120 IT directors of IT and cloud service providers, and was conducted in February.

Figure 1 shows that approximately 60 percent of service providers spend more than 10 percent of their annual IT budget on investments related to IT security compliance. Moreover, almost one out of five spends more than 20 percent of their annual budget on compliance related items, which is well above the industry average.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed use compliance with standards primarily to ensure secure operations. This result is a positive development, as it indicates that most IT cloud service providers regard industry regulations as a framework for developing their companies’ risk management practices.

The vast majority of respondents use compliance for maintaining their reputation and acquiring more customers, which clearly shows that service providers see compliance as crucial to building trust.

Results of the survey also showed that most IT service providers consider compliance with the international standards (for example, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS) important. Naturally, the data protection regulations of the countries where a given service providers’ data centers reside are important. It is, however, essential to note that legal regulations usually build upon the principles of some international standard.

It turns out that (privileged) user access control and log management are critical elements of service providers’ compliance strategies, whereas basic technologies such as antivirus and firewall systems are much less important.

For the majority of respondents (57 percent), monitoring internal and external access to cloud infrastructure is equally important. This can be explained by the fact that access monitoring systems provide strong evidence for service providers in disputes with their customers and can settle differences of opinion quickly and cost-effectively.

It is clear from our research that most service providers employ generic user management and various levels of authorization and authentication systems. However, only 42 percent of respondents monitor and audit privileged users’ activity. Without the right auditing tool, it is impossible to definitively determine “who did what” in a given network, which can lead to disputes over responsibility and costly investigations.

This article originally appeared in the August 2014 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

  • The Stage is Set

    The security industry spans the entire globe, with manufacturers, developers and suppliers on every continent (well, almost—sorry, Antarctica). That means when regulations pop up in one area, they often have a ripple effect that impacts the entire supply chain. Recent data privacy regulations like GDPR in Europe and CPRA in California made waves when they first went into effect, forcing businesses to change the way they approach data collection and storage to continue operating in those markets. Even highly specific regulations like the U.S.’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) can have international reverberations – and this growing volume of legislation has continued to affect global supply chains in a variety of different ways. Read Now

  • Access Control Technology

    As we move swiftly toward the end of 2024, the security industry is looking at the trends in play, what might be on the horizon, and how they will impact business opportunities and projections. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge. 3

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation. 3

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions. 3