Cloud security is not a problem only for the private sector. Government bodies and other public institutions are the ones who are suffering from cyber threats. But, we need to state that public sector and private sector requirements for cloud security are quite different. So, organizations must recognize cyber threats and weak points, then be prepared to deal with them.
Both on-premises and cloud-based organizations need to step up their online security. However, when it comes to cloud-based or hybrid systems, organizations should be more vigilant and prepared. Because organizations keep their payroll systems, client data, or financial data on the cloud and these are the most vulnerable assets of an organization. For instance, imagine a hospital that has all its systems based on a cloud. Once cloud safety is put in line, there is no doubt it will be a disaster both for the hospital and the patients.
Why Public Sector Cloud Security Is Important?
The public sector has as many responsibilities and obligations as private companies. Because both have processed personal data and some of them deal with sensitive data that need to be protected more diligently. Although every data breach harms enterprises in many ways, it is more dangerous for government bodies. The public sector includes healthcare institutions, law enforcement, the military, and municipalities. All of them should keep going and fulfill their duties to fulfill the requirements of the social state understanding.
When an attack occurs on a public organization, it blocks digital systems such as computers, tablets, or servers. So, the organization can not communicate online. Almost all of the government bodies have been digitized. They can not pursue their work without digital communication. Consequently, there is no way to give a privilege to government bodies.
Digital Health states that specific ransomware which is called WannaCry costs the UK government £92m in total by attacking the National Health Service (NHS) in 2017. Due to the attack, some operations could not be made and healthcare organizations needed to cancel appointments. This example tells that in a large and vital industry such as healthcare services, cyber security weakness can not be accepted.
Public institutions should protect their assets with the most reliable and comprehensive methods. They can only protect themselves from malicious attacks and data breaches by adopting up-to-date services. Yes, it is impossible to eliminate cyber threats %100 but there is always an option to mitigate risks and damages.
Another concern in protecting clouds is to provide safety without compromising on velocity. It is known that most of the legacy methods that are used for cyber security slow down employees’ work. So we can easily say that the public sector requires both safety and pace at the same time.
3 Tips to Pace and Safe Public Sector Cloud Security
1. SASE Adoption
SASE (Security Access Service Edge) provides both safety and network technology in one service. SASE framework is perfect for safe network connectivity. Enables organizations to switch into a cloud system at high speed. There are two main functions that SASE operates for robust security: malware disclosure and wide-area networking. Malware detection is essential for public entities. Because hackers mostly use phishing attacks by sending malware emails to users. SASE, as a software-defined solution, can prevent organizations from falling victim to these malicious attacks.
Remote working has been accelerated and even the public sector migrates their business to cloud environments. This leads to the network area becoming wider. When the network expands, the attack surface also expands and multiplies the risk. At this point, monitoring and filtering the network becomes urgent. This is where SASE shows up and offers a great range of cloud security solutions.
SASE adoption should be appropriate and include all core necessities. To take advantage of SASE in the cloud, organizations should know how to adopt SASE properly. Following up a comprehensive and effective standard such as SASE adoption guide by NordLayer or getting help from a SASE specialist in your organization will step up your business.
2. Preparing an Entire Safety Policy
Beginnings are always important so public organizations should start securing their cloud by revising their security policies. So many public sector organizations migrated to hybrid or cloud-based systems. They can no more rely on on-premises cyber security methods and policies. They must keep both their policy and technology up-to-date to avoid undesirable consequences.
Rethinking your organization makes you more aware of what you have, what are your strong and weak points, what is your prior requirement and so on. Recognizing your attack surface, and user behaviors, and being aware of legal responsibilities boost your cloud safety. To reach your ultimate goal in terms of cloud security, you need to have your plan and appropriate tools with you. Make sure that any applications you have built in the cloud are following the best application security practices while still in the development phase.
3. Network Segmentation
Network segmentation means separating the network into smaller pieces. This activity helps organizations to observe their network more particularly and in detail. The most beneficial thing about segmentation is that it prevents malicious attacks from spreading. Even if a data breach or cyber attack has occurred in one segment, an organization can intervene and eliminate it without infecting other segments.
Network segmentation is a part of the Zero Trust approach. Zero Trust security is a cyber security method that eliminates privileges. It always asks for authentication to be sure that only authorized credentials have access to the resources. Network segmentation provides Zero Trust to work efficiently by separating networks into more observable and manageable pieces.
Last Words
The public sector is an amazing target for hackers due to its priceless data and importance. Now public entities also depend on cloud systems and run their works by using online systems. This forces public bodies to increase their awareness of cyber security and take up-to-date precautions. Among others, SASE adoption is new and effective cloud security and can be highly recommended for establishing a trustable public sector cloud infrastructure. But, the concerned must be sure that they implement SASE properly to get optimum benefit.
