Last updated at Tue, 16 May 2023 18:46:20 GMT

Globally, IT experts recognise security as the most significant barrier to cloud adoption, in part because  many of the ways of securing traditional IT environments are not always applicable to cloud-native infrastructure. As a result, security teams may find themselves behind the curve and struggling to keep up with the ambitious digital transformation programs set by their senior leadership teams.

As technology evolves and threats change rapidly, organizations that stay abreast of the latest developments, trends, and industry standards tend to have fewer security risks than those that don't. Failure to do so can lead to data breaches, compliance violations and increased costs. From creating a security culture to implementing innovative solutions, it’s clear a new approach to security is required; one that is more automated and based on best practices that consider the following:

Speed vs security

Finding the right balance between security and speed can be difficult, especially when trying to keep pace with your organization’s cloud migration and digital transformation strategy. Securing your continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipeline can be challenging if visibility, governance and compliance lack across your IT environment.

Ensuring errors and missteps are detected and minimised requires a consistent set of processes, people, and tools. By putting challenges into logical groups, you can address each one more effectively.

For example, the first stage of the CI/CD pipeline is vulnerable to human error. Adopting the DevSecOps model adds security to the DevOps working processes as a continuous activity, allowing security policies to be defined and enforced at every pipeline stage — including development and testing environments. Although, moving away from traditional processes requires strong foundations to transform and change.

Operationalising cyber security

As the number of workloads in the cloud increases, security challenges can sometimes fall between the gaps and outside of traditional processes, increasing additional risk from a technical and operational perspective. When everyone understands cybersecurity processes, their importance and why it's necessary, they'll take action. Holding people and business units accountable for their efforts lets you measure your cyber security programs' effectiveness to discover any necessary improvements. This will result in better decision-making and measurable risk reduction; not to mention greater understanding and awareness of security across your organization.

Begin by understanding where and how security gaps are being created. Once you’ve identified these gaps, prioritise them based on business impact and the likelihood of occurrence. Ask your peers; in the event of a breach, what data would you be most concerned about if hackers applied ransomware to it? With this information in hand, it becomes easier to identify the appropriate controls and solutions to help identify your organization's cyber maturity.

Knowledge sharing

Encouraging knowledge sharing is a great way to help address the skills gap. The more we share our experiences, the easier it is to improve processes and procedures to reduce the risk of mistakes reoccurring. But how do you make sure you get it right?

Join Alex Noble, cloud security lead and Jason Hart, chief technology officer EMEA, for our Lunch and Learn Series: Stay ahead of the curve. During these exclusive, interactive virtual sessions, we will explore emerging best practices driven by new technologies and evolving business models. Don’t miss your chance to connect with local peers and team members over a complimentary virtual lunch.

Join the conversation and save your seat.