{blog}
The Evolution of IaC – Part 1
Historically, in the software development life cycle (SDLC), once code was written, it had to be manually deployed to physical servers. As you can imagine, this process was both time consuming and fraught with complications. Oftentimes, a single script was used to establish dependency libraries, setup load balancers and complete other necessary tasks. Also preparing the server to host the code was a daunting task. As a result, only a few people would be capable of understanding all the moving parts and be able to make changes, launch updates and problem solve. A server could be down for...
The Basic Functions of DevOps Can Still Speed Up Your Entire Security System
The deployment of basic functions of DevOps allows organizations to boost their software delivery and takes into account critical aspects of operations and development. Once DevOps eliminates the ops bottleneck in the main delivery pipeline, it speeds up the production and improves the operational feedback loop. Consequently, it grants developers the freedom to have more control over their code throughout the production process. But increasing the delivery timeframe translates into the security vulnerabilities. It puts companies in a spotlight to review their security system and address...
SQL Injection Cyber Attacks
A comprehensive cloud security strategy requires a clear understanding of potential vulnerabilities and ongoing monitoring to identify and address breaches and emerging threats. When executed correctly, cloud security can be an invaluable tool that protects a business’s sensitive information and reputation. However, not all companies are investing enough time and effort into cloud security, which leaves them open to attack. As technology evolves, SQL injection attacks are becoming one of the more popular forms of cyber attacks. In this post, we will take a closer look at how SQL injections...
How Exactly Each Type of Cloud Computing is Different from Other
Every cloud computing service relies on the same remote infrastructure for a conceptual framework. Servers located in the data center power this framework. As there are a lot of similarities between them, we can consider this computing system as a pyramid with three layers. Every layer has its own specialty. However, the basic infrastructure is the same. Lower layers of the cloud computing system are broader, representing their customizability, versatility, and have a wide application range. The upper layers have a specific purpose to follow, so they are narrower. Below, you will find three...
Drive-By Cyber Attacks
In many cases, a cyber attack is only successful if a user takes a certain action, including clicking on a malicious link or entering information into a cloned website. However, with drive-by cyber attacks, malware is spread by targeting websites with security vulnerabilities and without requiring any action on the part of the user. This makes drive-by attacks an especially problematic and insidious type of hack and threat to cloud security. Keep reading to learn more about how this type of cyber attack works and what you can do to prevent your website from being targeted. Hackers can only...
Password Cyber Attack
When it comes to cloud security, passwords are often the first line of defense. They play an essential role in authenticating users and making sure that only certain people have access to information. For this reason, passwords are also targeted in cyber attacks. Hackers can easily exploit weak passwords or use other techniques to uncover login credentials. Learn more about this type of attack and how to prevent them. Password Attack Techniques Brute-Force Attack While certain types of cyberattacks use sophisticated methods, password attacks can be relatively simple. Someone may be able to...
Phishing Cyber Attacks
Cyber attacks come in a variety of forms and malicious parties are constantly working to find new ways to access sensitive and personal information. That is why cloud security and compliance has to be a priority for any business. The first step in preventing attacks and mitigating damage is understanding the different ways hackers will launch attacks. In this post, we will take a closer look at phishing and spear phishing and ways individuals and businesses can avoid becoming a victim to this type of attack. What is Phishing? Essentially, phishing involves sending a malicious email that...
Recent Attack on Twilio Highlights Need for IaC Security
If you aren’t familiar with Twilio, it is a communication service company that uses a cloud-based platform to allow developers to communicate via their APIs. Users can programmatically make calls, send tests and support other messaging applications. In recent years, Twilio has been in the news for its enormous growth and profits that has seen stock prices grow by 160% in 2020 alone. On July 19th, 2020, the company was once again in the news, but for completely different reasons. A security breach revealed a common vulnerability that continues to plague IaC users and had the company...
Proactive Infrastructure as Code Security and Compliance Approaches
In the past, cloud security practices relied on developers catching misconfigurations, identifying risks, and compliance violations after the system has already been provisioned and is essentially up and running. While this is certainly an effective approach for implementing and managing IaC, it can also be time-consuming. Developers are put in a position where they have to fix mistakes when they should be focusing on the creation and feeding of new ideas into the DevOps pipeline. This is changing as security mores “towards the left. Shifting Security to the Left If you have been keeping up...
The Next Phase of IaC
In just the past couple of decades, there have been three major revolutions when it comes to data centers. As a result of these advances, the hierarchies that traditionally ruled companies are being upended in a way that is handing more responsibility than ever to developers. The productivity and future of companies are being placed squarely on the shoulders of developers. While this can significantly speed up innovation in an increasingly competitive global marketplace, it also created some concerns when it comes to security and governance issues. In this post, we will take a closer look at...
IaC and DevOps Report for Summer 2020
Accurics has just released the latest erosion of its “State of DevOps” reports for the summer of 2020. This report looks at the different types of security challenges that are emerging as more companies adopt cloud technology and Infrastructure as Code (IaC). While the report shows that cloud breaches have the potential to increase in number and scale in the coming months, the study also suggests concrete steps that can be taken to avoid these problems while still taking full advantage of IaC. Most Common Security Challenges 1- Cloud misconfiguration. While cloud misconfiguration isn’t...
Infrastructure as Code: Mutable Vs Immutable
As Infrastructure as Code (Iac), Internet of Things (IoT), big data and cloud computing become the new standard in IT and business best practices, infrastructures are becoming immutable. This marks a major shift from traditional modes of operation and is worth taking a closer look at. Before we dive into specifics and understand the benefits of immutable IaC systems, let’s take a moment to review and define key terms. If you aren’t familiar with the term mutable, it refers to something that is prone to change and is easily mutated. Immutable, on the other hand, describes something that is...
What is a denial of service attack (DoS)?
In the complex and ever-changing world of the cloud, achieving security of applications and infrastructures are becoming more important each day. Threats from growing number of cybercriminals are increasing and the demand for qualified security professionals is accelerating as many companies are becoming more aware of the importance of the cloud security. In this blog post we are talking about one of the most common types of attacks, Denial of Service (DoS). DoS Attacks Denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks are one of the major security challenges in the developing cloud computing models. DoS is a...
Procedural Versus Declarative Language in Infrastructure as Code
Different software provisioning and configuration management tools for Infrastructure as Code use different programming languages. Both Chef and Ansible are popular options that encourage the use of procedural language. Terraform, Open Stack Heat, CloudFormation, SaltStack and Puppet prefer a declarative language approach. So which option is right for you and what are the advantages and disadvantages of procedural and declarative languages? What is Procedural Language? Procedural language is also often referred to as imperative language and it outlines a specific set of steps that must be...
ARM Templates and IaC Best Practices
When it comes to deploying infrastructure as code (IaC), there are a variety of different tools available. If you rely on Azure solutions to manage your cloud technology, then ARM templates can be a great way to define and configure your infrastructure as code (IaC) project. These templates use a declarative approach, which allows you to state what the final result should look like instead of having to outline each step in a sequence. This makes it easier to manage updates without having to worry about identifying the exact order of operations. Another advantage to ARM templates is that you...
A Guide to Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Unless you are well-versed in IT terms and concepts, it can be difficult to understand both the needs of your company and what resources are available to help support your technology and security needs. One of the most recent advancements in IT that you may be coming across during your research is infrastructure as code or IaC. This new approach to infrastructure allows businesses to manage software, hardware, and other network tools without having to manually configure and monitor the different components. Automating infrastructure through code allows for faster innovation and development....
Secure APIs for Better Cloud Security
A secure API is an important part of cloud security, but what exactly is it and how does it work with the rest of available security features? In this post, we will explore the basics of an API, how it can create security vulnerabilities and important best practices that will help you avoid problems. What is an API? Essentially, an Application Programming Interface (API) is a piece of software that serves as an intermediary that allows different applications to communicate. It has become an essential tool for web developers who want to share data and information. With API security, certain...
Understanding Encryption and Cloud Security
Today’s business models rely heavily on cloud technology in order to collaborate, innovate, and keep pace as business continues to rapidly evolve and advance. This can create vulnerabilities that malicious actors will try to exploit in order to access private information. That is why cloud security has to be at the forefront of any cloud computing strategy. Encryption is one of the fundamental elements of cloud security. It works by scrambling data so that even if a malicious party is able to access your cloud, they won’t be able to view the information. It relies on complex algorithms to...
What is a SSL Certificate?
With the right tools, it is possible to achieve cloud security that allows businesses to safely transmit and store sensitive data. Encryption is one of the basic tenets of cloud security and it is supported by SSL security certificates. Employing these security practices not only adds credibility and security, but it also contributes to SEO efforts that will help you generate more business. Keep reading to learn more about security certificates and how they work. History of Security Certificates Security certificates or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates were first introduced in 1994 as...
What is a Firewall and How Does it Work?
Firewalls have been a key part of network security for over 25 years. Essentially, a firewall is a device that examines both incoming and outgoing traffic and blocks certain traffic based on a set of predetermined rules. This helps to create a wall between incoming traffic, your internal network, and external sources, including the internet. It is one of the most fundamental ways businesses can block traffic from malicious actors and viruses and improve cloud security. Each company establishes their own rules for what traffic should be flagged as suspicious and blocked. The firewall works to...