Part 2 will discuss the remaining security aspects involving cloud compliance as previously mentioned.

Incident Response Plan

It is crucial that the roles of the user and cloud provider are well defined so if a cyber security incident results in a data breach, the steps both should take are clearly outlined in the incident response plan. That incident response plan should be tested regularly.  

Management of Assets

The successful management of your company’s cloud assets in terms of data security will require detailed records of the systems it has deployed, noting and ensuring the security level required by each.

Security Policies

In order to meet regulatory standards, cloud providers are required to maintain compliance and security controls. Users will undertake some risk when transferring their security requirements to cloud providers. Carefully review the security and policy details in the cloud services agreements for each provider you are considering. The roles and responsibilities of the user and cloud provider involving data security will depend on the platform, infrastructure, and the SaaS (software-as-a-service) solution.

System Development & Maintenance

Properly begin this process by applying secure configuration standards to every cloud-based environment. Using pre-configured secure images conserves time and effort, letting organizations deploy already compliant systems for various business purposes.

For organizations developing cloud-based solutions, the implementation of CIS Hardened Images will conveniently provide security from the beginning. After secure configurations are put in place, the next step is maintenance for the prevention of configuration drift. As part of the control framework, regular comparisons of cloud configurations to the “golden” hardened image should be made thereafter.

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