What is Cloud-Native Security? Best Practices & 4 C’s Explained

Cloud computing opens up all-new opportunities for businesses looking to innovate and improve their current processes and services. Cloud-native applications have been designed with cloud computing at the forefront, allowing businesses to scale and change their offerings with greater ease and speed than ever. However, cloud-native environments also come with cloud-specific security risks. Security is listed as the second-biggest cloud challenge for organizations of all sizes on Flexera’s 2024 State of the Cloud report. Here are some cloud-native security considerations your business shouldn’t overlook during your journey to the cloud.

What Is Cloud-Native Security?

Cloud-native security refers to security concerns that may be specific or exclusive to applications and other resources that are designed and built to run in cloud environments. Many different practices and technologies can help maintain your security posture in components common in cloud-native architectures, including containers, microservices, and serverless functions.

These resources can be subject to cloud vulnerability exploitation, misconfigured cloud resources, supply chain attacks, and API security breaches. Because there are so many potential entry points for attackers, cloud-native security needs to include a holistic approach that covers the entire application lifecycle from development to deployment.

The Four C’s of Cloud-Native Security

To help protect against the unique security challenges cloud-native applications present, organizations can apply the four C’s of cloud-native security: Cloud, cluster, code, and container.

Cloud

All parts of cloud-native security roll up to the cloud level, which is the culmination of code development, containerization, and clustering. Because of this, the underlying cloud infrastructure, including networks, virtual machines, and storage, all need to be considered as part of public cloud security. To ensure confidentiality and data privacy, businesses should consider implementing the following:

• Data encryption
• Security information and event management (SIEM)
• Network security measures
• Identity and access management
• 24/7 monitoring
• Threat detection
• Intrusion detection
• Business continuity and disaster recovery tactics

Cloud security also includes necessary considerations for compliance with industry regulations and standards, such as PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Cluster

Cluster is a component within a cloud architecture that includes a collection of nodes interconnected by a private network. Cluster environments host and manage containerized applications. On the cluster level, organizations should be thinking about orchestration security to protect the platforms that manage and deploy containers, such as Kubernetes and Docker Swarm. They should also be focused on isolating containers and services via network segmentation to minimize the impact of breaches and implement authorization and authentication mechanisms strong enough to thwart unauthorized access attempts.

Container

A container is a layer of cloud-native security—after code has been developed, it will be put in containers. Businesses should implement image scanning before deployment and during runtime to check for vulnerabilities and identify any anomalies or malicious activity. This continuous scanning ensures vulnerabilities are identified both pre- and post-deployment. Privileged container management can restrict privileges granted to containers to limit potential damage to other parts of the environment.

Code

At the base of cloud-native security, you have the code. Application security, supply chain security, and working within a DevSecOps framework are all important in maintaining the security of the code. Application security protects the code from vulnerabilities when it’s within the containers. Potential security vulnerabilities that can impact code include buffer overflows, cross-site scripting, and injection attacks.

In modern software supply chains, it can be difficult to maintain visibility and control over the code. Supply chain security measures ensure the integrity of the codebase and its dependencies remain intact.

Another approach businesses might apply is choosing a DevSecOps methodology—combining software developers, operations specialists, and security teams, to integrate security practices into the software lifecycle from the beginning.

Cloud-Native Security Challenges

Cloud-native applications are subject to several security challenges, some due to the unique nature of the applications, and others that can be common across all applications.

Dynamic Environments

Because cloud-native environments can be subject to frequent updates and deployments, it can be hard to maintain a consistent security posture. Containers and other resources in the cloud can also be ephemeral, making it complicated to track and protect them. Cloud security complexity comes mainly from these dynamic environments.

Increased Attack Surface

Microservices architecture in cloud-native applications can provide added flexibility and scalability, but it also presents a larger attack surface with more potential entry points. Cloud-native applications also tend to use more APIs, which can expose vulnerabilities if steps aren’t taken to properly secure them.

Compliance and Regulations

Like many other resources, cloud-native applications need to comply with certain industry and business-specific regulatory standards, such as GDPR and HIPAA, depending on the type of business and the nature of the data being protected. When businesses are working to protect data privacy in cloud environments, they need to strictly adhere to data privacy laws.

Shared Responsibility Model

Businesses need to understand their responsibilities for cloud-native security in terms of what they need to handle and what cloud providers will cover—this is known as the shared responsibility model. Determining which security responsibilities belong to your business can be complicated. When there is a misalignment in this understanding, security gaps appear.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

If there aren’t solid identity and access management (IAM) practices in place, businesses can fall victim to unauthorized access or breaches from malicious insiders. It’s important to provide the right level of access for the right users and prevent infiltration attempts with robust controls.

Best Practices for Your Cloud-Native Security Strategy

Once businesses understand their cloud-native security challenges, they can face them head-on. By implementing zero-trust architecture, adding strong IAM practices, automating processes, and regularly monitoring cloud-native application environments, businesses can build and maintain a strong security strategy.

Implement Zero-Trust Architecture

With zero-trust architecture, you are always operating under the assumption that a breach can occur at any time. Each request needs to be verified every time, regardless of origin, and users are granted the lowest level of necessary permissions (the least-privilege principle). Critical systems and data should also be segmented from the rest of your IT environment.

Use Robust IAM Practices

Robust identity access and management (IAM) practices can help organizations manage access to cloud resources and applications. To restrict access to only what is truly necessary, businesses can employ extra layers of security through multifactor authentication (MFA) on top of using the least privilege principle. Regularly review the access given and revoke credentials as needed. 

Automate Security Processes

Manual processes can leave more room for error. Methods like Infrastructure as Code (IaC), with tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation, can be used to automate configuration management and ensure that security settings are consistent across users. Businesses can also perform automated vulnerability scanning to find and address security issues quickly. Patch management processes can be automated to keep applications updated on a schedule. 

Regularly Monitor and Audit

Security threats and anomalies can come in at any time. Tools like SIEM and cloud security posture management (CSPM) can monitor for threats and anomalies on an ongoing basis. Teams should also plan and coordinate tests for incident response to ensure that during security breaches, all systems will work as intended.

Take Security Matters into Your Own Hands

Don’t stay on the sidelines—take control of your cloud-native security matters. TierPoint is here to help make your journey to the cloud seamless and beneficial. Learn more about our services and how we can help you become more secure with your cloud-native applications and beyond.