Beyond the Firewall: How Businesses Can Secure Connections Between Cloud Applications

The traditional corporate network simply no longer exists. For years, companies have used a robust firewall to block intruders from accessing their information and to secure the data inside. In modern times, organizations depend upon dozens of applications which are based in the cloud for their daily operations. To function properly, these applications have to exchange information continuously. This tremendous change has rendered the perimeter defense model completely obsolete. Securing the unseen links between the cloud’s digital workspaces is something that’s now a critical part of protecting your business.

The Expanding Cloud Ecosystem

Today’s businesses rely on intricate software infrastructures. Your accounting software talks to your customer relationship management system. Your online storefront is automatically updated by your inventory tracker. These constant conversations happen through Application Programming Interfaces. Every time a new platform is added, you create another connection point. Without these pathway protections, they become an easy pathway for cyber criminals to gain access to sensitive corporate and customer information without raising the traditional alarm.

Understanding Application Vulnerabilities

To make sure software pathways are secured, you need to understand their practical operation. If attackers are able to exploit a poorly configured integration, they don’t have to go around the main network defenses. As noted by Patrick Putman of Alabama, API security is often the overlooked foundation of modern digital platforms. A lot of organizations are not aware of the number of active connections they hold. If you do not know your systems, you will be unable to protect them, so you need to be able to find them and catalogue them all.

Implementing Continuous Verification

Authentication is only the beginning of a strong defense strategy. Unlimited access is not warranted simply because an application has the proper password. The implicit trust in business is to be replaced by continuous verification models. This requires checking permissions on a per-request basis. The system should automatically deny the request for a massive download of customer records, and request additional verification before allowing it to continue.

Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility

The weakest vendor in your cloud security chain equals the weakest security. When you add a third-party application to your systems, you assume those vulnerabilities. Of course, you need to take into account the data safeguarding measures taken by partners and review permissions given regularly. Ongoing critical supplier assessments are essential to effective third-party risk management. Having tight control on exactly what data you’re moving to external partners can stop potentially catastrophic data breaches from ruining your business.

Encrypting Data in Transit

Data is extremely sensitive when it’s transferred between cloud applications. Using modern encryption is imperative. Encryption scrambles data so that even if a cybercriminal intercepts the transmission, they cannot read the contents. This protection should never be viewed as an optional upgrade. It should be a rule of thumb for any platform you select for your corporate setting. Secure transit means that customer information is never exposed during its journey, all the way to its digital destination.

Monitoring for Abnormal Behavior

Threat detection must happen in real time. Since attacks against application connections mimic legitimate traffic, the attacks may go undetected for months. Intelligent monitoring tools need to be employed that allow a baseline of normal behavior. They can then immediately alert to suspicious activity such as an unusual number of requests or unusual geographical access patterns. The earlier these weird things are spotted, the more time your technology teams have to investigate and respond to the incident – before it becomes a data breach problem.

Conclusion

Today, there are new security requirements to modern cloud computing. Using only traditional firewalls is a sure way to leave your business open to new threats. The critical links between your applications need to be discovered and access and monitoring need to be in place and kept under control. When you make application security a business priority, you’re safeguarding your reputation and establishing long-term trust with your customers. Taking these very important and proactive steps ensures your organization can safely innovate and grow within an increasingly dynamic and interconnected digital world. 

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