The cloud has completely changed the way companies and organizations store and manage their data. The cloud servers offers a wide range of benefits, such as cost reduction, the scalability and the flexibility.
But in the desire to adopt the Cloud Computing, many safety criteria are omitted, increasing the associated risks. Therefore, it is crucial to take appropriate precautions to ensure the security of those implemented in the cloud.
In this article, we will discuss several tips to ensure the cloud server security, as in the case of Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
1. Use specific and secure data storage options
GCP offers different options data storage, as Cloud Storage and Cloud SQL. It is important to choose the option that best suits the needs of the organization and that has sufficient capacity to store the data.
Furthermore, it is essential to have a specific and secure software to protect stored data. For example, it is recommended to use Cloud Storage to store large files and Cloud SQL for applications that require a relational database. In this way, if an impact were to occur on the server, the information in the repositories and/or in external database instances would not be compromised.
2. Protect data with updated antivirus software
To guarantee the cloud server security, it is essential to protect data with updated antivirus software. He antivirus software It is an essential tool for protecting cloud servers from potential threats, including malware, viruses, and other types of malicious software.
Antivirus software works by scanning the system for known and unknown threats, and removing any malicious software that is detected. However, it is important to note that viruses and other types of malware evolve and change over time, which means that antivirus software must update regularly to make sure you can detect and eliminate threats most recent.
It is important to choose good antivirus software that is suitable for the cloud server and the type of data being stored. Additionally, it is essential that antivirus software is updated regularly to ensure it is up to date with the latest threats and vulnerabilities.
Another important measure is to ensure that your antivirus software is configured correctly and running regularly. This may include setting up regular automatic scans, running security updates, and setting up alerts to notify the security team of potential threats.
Additionally, in GCP It is possible to use different security tools, such as Cloud Armor, which works at the application layer level of the web services that we have implemented on our server, providing a additional layer of protection against possible threats. On the other hand, intrusion detection tools can be used, such as Cloud IDS, for detect possible attacks before they cause damage.
3. Back up and restore data
Another crucial measure to ensure the cloud server security is make a security copy and data restoration on regular basis. Backups allow companies recover lost or damaged data in the event of a system outage or failure, which may be caused by various reasons such as cyber attack, hardware failure, human error, among others.
To ensure adequate data protection, it is important to carry out backup frequently. This may depend on the type of data and the frequency of data updates, but it is generally recommended to perform daily or weekly backups. Additionally, it is important to store backups in a secure location, outside of the cloud server, to prevent data from being lost in the event of a system failure.
It is also important to regularly test the restoreability of backups to ensure that they can be restored. recover data effectively in case of an interruption or failure. It is essential that the Operations team is trained to restore data effectively and quickly in the event of an incident.
Additionally, it is important to note that backups are not a complete security solution in themselves, but rather a prevention measure. It is necessary to adopt other security measures, such as those mentioned above, to prevent failures from occurring in the first place.
4. Use security monitoring and analysis tools
When using a cloud server, it is important to have tools security monitoring and analysis to detect and prevent possible cyber attacks.
Monitoring tools can help monitor the network traffic and the real time server usage, which can help detect suspicious patterns and possible attack attempts. This may include identifying unusual traffic patterns or detecting malicious activity such as failed login attempts or attempts to exploit known vulnerabilities.
On the other hand, the security analysis tools can help identify vulnerabilities in the system and in the applications hosted on the server. This may include penetration testing to identify potential weaknesses in the system, identifying known vulnerabilities in the software used, and performing code analysis to detect potential security gaps.
GCP offers different tools to monitor cloud activity, such as Cloud Logging and Cloud Monitoring. Additionally, security analysis tools can be used, such as Cloud Security Scanner, to detect possible vulnerabilities in the different resources implemented as well as poor parameterizations applied to our servers.
5. Use updated software
It is important to use cloud-specific software that adapts to the needs of the company and is regularly updated with the latest patches and security updates. This includes the aforementioned antivirus software.
6. Set access control policies
It is essential to establish access control policies based on roles (RBAC) and configure user permissions so that they can only access the necessary resources. This can help prevent unauthorized access and reduce the risk of cyber attacks.
In GCP, You can use Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) to manage roles and access permissions to cloud resources. IAM allows you assign roles to users and groups, and these roles define the permissions they have to access and manage resources.
Additionally, it is important to keep your server software up-to-date and regularly apply security updates. GCP offers tools such as system update manager (OS patch management) to help you keep servers up to date.
It is also advisable to use security monitoring and analysis tools to quickly detect and respond to potential security threats. GCP offers tools like Cloud Security Command Center to monitor and analyze the security of your cloud resources.
7. Traffic of interest
Another important measure to protect cloud servers is to properly configure the network firewalls to limit incoming and outgoing network traffic. Different clouds offer an integrated firewall that allows you control incoming and outgoing network traffic to your VM instances.
In these scenarios, the firewall is a security tool that is used to control incoming and outgoing network traffic from a server or network. In Google Cloud Platform (GCP), you can use the firewall to protect your virtual machine instances (VM) and other network resources running in the cloud.
He gcp firewall is configured through firewall rules that specify what network traffic is allowed and what traffic is blocked. These rules can be configured at the network-level firewall rules and at the instance-level firewall rules.
Firewall rules can be based on different criteria, such as source or destination IP address, protocol, and port used. For example, you can configure a firewall rule that allows HTTP traffic (port 80) from any incoming IP address to your VM instance.
It is important to remember that the firewall is not a complete security solution on its own, and that it must be used in conjunction with other security measures, such as role-based authentication and authorization, security monitoring and analysis, and regular software updating.
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