Are Your Cloud NHIs Truly Protected? – Source: securityboulevard.com

Are You Doing Enough to Secure Your Cloud NHIs?

Is your organization’s cloud security robust enough to protect your non-human identities (NHIs)? This is a question that has been increasingly haunting CISOs, cybersecurity professionals, and businesses thriving in the cloud. With cloud computing continues to revolutionize industries like finance, travel, healthcare, and DevOps, the need for an inclusive approach towards NHIs and Secrets Security Management escalates.

Why is NHI Security Necessary?

NHIs are machine identities, and their management is an essential aspect of cybersecurity. These identities are created by combining a unique identifier, known as a ‘Secret'(like an encrypted password, key, or token), and the permissions granted to this Secret by a server. This phenomenon can be compared to a tourist granted a visa based on their passport. Managing the NHIs and their secrets involves not just securing these identities and their access credentials, but also constantly monitoring their behaviours. So how do you safeguard a ‘tourist’ wandering?

Advantages of Effective NHI Management

Effective management of NHIs is more than just enhanced security. It extends to benefits such as:

• Reduced Risk: Proactively identifying and mitigating security risks helps to reduce the chances of breaches and data leaks.
• Improved Compliance: Adept NHI management aids companies in meeting regulatory requirements through policy enforcement and audit trails.
• Increased Efficiency: Automation of NHIs and secrets management allow security teams to concentrate on strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced Visibility and Control: It provides a centralized view for access management and governance.
• Cost Savings: Automatic secrets rotation and NHI decommissioning can lead to significant operational cost reductions.

The Limitations of Point Solutions

While point solutions like secret scanners may offer a degree of protection, they can be limited in their capabilities. The emphasis of NHI management platforms is on a holistic approach, addressing all stages in an identity’s lifecycle. From discovery and classification to threat detection and remediation, NHI management platforms offer context-aware security, providing insights into ownership, permissions, usage patterns, and potential vulnerabilities.

Securing your Cyber-Tourist in the Cloud

Organizations need to go beyond conventional cloud security measures and adopt an inclusive approach towards NHI and Secrets Management. However, this is not about embarking on a journey. It’s about laying a comprehensive security foundation, one brick at a time. It’s about being proactive, adaptive and prepared. Are you doing enough to ensure your NHIs are protected? If not, it’s time to reconsider your cybersecurity strategies and align them to defend and control your cyber-tourists effectively.

Take the Strategic Route

Addressing NHI security is not a one-time initiative, it’s an ongoing process. It’s about aligning your security measures with cloud technology and cybersecurity. It is easier to tackle threats when you understand them thoroughly. For instance, one can look into the biggest data breaches of the 21st Century to comprehend the scale of threats that businesses face today.

For further insights on Secrets Security, consider exploring how prioritizing risks and vulnerabilities in secrets security can help your organization. You can also delve into security frameworks explained for a well-rounded understanding of the domain.

At the end of the day, securing your NHIs is about safeguarding your organization’s future. So, ask yourself again – are your cloud NHIs truly protected?

Understanding the Threat Landscape

With our digital universe growing at an unchecked pace, the complexity and surface area for threats have also significantly expanded. How significant is this proliferation? According to a recent Gartner research, worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $4.1 trillion in 2021, a 8.4% surge from 2020.

With businesses continue to gravitate towards cloud services, the risks associated with unprotected NHIs proliferate. The complex and multi-faceted realm of cybersecurity requires constant vigilance and action. As cyberattacks grow in complexity and sophistication, traditional defense mechanisms and reactive measures no longer suffice. Organizations require a multi-faceted approach to build a resilient cybersecurity infrastructure; NHI being one of the primary pillars.

Building Resilience through Proactive NHI Management

Strong cybersecurity strategies necessitate a proactive approach to NHI management rather than a reactive one. In other words, organizations must anticipate potential threats and take preventative action before they materialize. Think of this as a never-ending cycle of learning, adjusting, and improving.

Proactive NHI management involves continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and adjustments. Organizations need to be proactive in classifying, profiling, and monitoring their NHIs, evaluating vulnerabilities, and implementing preventive measures. This would not only strengthen their cybersecurity posture but also ensure compliance with relevant regulations.

A study by the Ponemon Institute reveals that organizations that identified a breach in less than 100 days saved more than $1 million compared to those that took more. This report further stresses the importance of proactive management in cybersecurity.

Adapting to Your NHIs Behavior

Understanding and adapting to your NHIs behavior is crucial in managing their security. Analysis of usage patterns, permissions, and owner activities allows organizations to forecast potential vulnerabilities and make data-driven decisions.

This valuable data can be used to regulate access, adjust permissions, and carry out preventive interventions. An adaptive approach to NHI management will keep potential threats in check, ensuring continuous delivery of critical services and maintaining customer trust.

Exploring the Value of AI and ML in NHI Management

One couldn’t discuss NHI management without mentioning the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). These advanced technologies support the continual analysis and adaptation essential to effective NHI management. They accelerate threat detection, automate routine tasks, and enhance decision-making. With AI and ML, cyber analysts can process vast amounts of data, identify anomalies, and anticipate potential threats.

Capitalize on your NHIs

While securing NHIs is crucial, it is equally important to leverage them to boost organizational operations. Properly managed NHIs can not only reinforce security but also accelerate digitization, improve customer experience, and drive innovation. NHIs can be a competitive edge. However, this requires a synergy of technology, strategy, and execution, all anchored around effective NHI management.

Experts predict that investing in AI for cybersecurity can lead to massive cost savings, with potential savings estimated at up to $6 trillion annually by 2022. This showcases yet another aspect of NHI management – it’s not just about defense but also value creation.

To further understand this domain, you can explore resources such as our post on third-party security risks and remediation as well as challenges and best practices in IAC secrets security.

Ultimately, the goal of securing NHIs is not just about being on the defensive against potential threats. It’s also about creating value for the organization through efficient operations, improved customer service, and innovative products and services. Improved NHI management truly serves as the cornerstone for realizing these benefits and securing the future of your organization.

The post Are Your Cloud NHIs Truly Protected? appeared first on Entro.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Entro authored by Alison Mack. Read the original post at: https://entro.security/are-your-cloud-nhis-truly-protected/