If you have found yourself in the same predicament that I did, it’s time to learn how to avoid some common configuration mistakes. CSPM Solutions can help you avoid these mistakes and take your setup a step further.

If you’re working with a team on a CSPM solution, or even running your own server, it’s easy to make mistakes that could be difficult to fix. CSPM solutions are not only complex and extensive, but building them can be difficult as well. All that being said, there are some common configuration mistakes you might have made as well. Here are a few so you can fix them going forward!

Configuration mistakes

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Avoid Common Configuration Mistakes With CSPM Solutions.

As per Gartner’s top security and risk trends, cybersecurity mesh is the leading trend organizations have to deal with. As companies are moving away from traditional enterprise infrastructure and adding clouds to provide a remote and flexible working environment, configuring and safeguarding the entire environment becomes challenging.

You will need CSPM solutions to establish security baselines, continuously monitor, detect deviations, correct or report issues to concerned teams. With CSPM, you can get improved visibility and a centralized dashboard to optimally perform administrative tasks.
Why is Cloud Misconfiguration an Issue?

There are a thousand different settings and configurations in a single cloud environment that one can apply. If your organization runs on a multi-cloud environment, the complexity involved in configuration also increases multifold.

You cannot effectively configure, monitor, and manage environments using traditional security measures. In addition, the system’s complexity could create blind spots, which would eventually lead to unidentified vulnerabilities.

Out of the many thousands of settings, a few misconfigurations could lead to data breaches and compromise the integrity of your system. Outages and interruptions would hinder you from customer service activities. You could fail to comply with federal regulations, which could cost you money and your credibility.

Thus, you should not take cloud misconfigurations lightly; use CSPM solutions and strengthen security across your multi-cloud environment.
What are Common Cloud Misconfiguration Issues?

Providing user accounts with excessive privileges is one of the most common mistakes that organizations globally commit. Users should have access to only those systems and information that impact their work and responsibilities. Therefore, there is no need to load user accounts with the highest administrative privileges.

Identity security is one of the leading risk trends that organizations need to watch out for. If a hacker gets access to one such privileged user account, it could become a serious security breach. Follow the principle of least privilege and leverage automated CSPM tools to identify such accounts.

Unencrypted storage buckets being open to public access is one of the more famous mistakes that you will see in cloud environments. For example, you might grant a storage bucket world read access to speed up your work. But such open storage buckets are sitting targets for hackers. They can easily read the information stored by simply pointing their browser to the open object.
How CSPM Solutions Help Avoid Common Configuration Mistakes?
Built-In Security Frameworks

As businesses, you need to follow and comply with specific security frameworks to safeguard data. For example, HIPAA is a federal law that states you need to protect a patient’s sensitive health information and not disclose it without their consent or knowledge. Similarly, you have NIST CSF, which outlines best practices for managing customer data.

Data is one of the most prized aspects of any business. These frameworks ensure you manage and safeguard data the best possible way. In addition, CSPM solutions have built-in frameworks that meet the standard federal regulations, laws, and other security policies that organizations follow.

You can also create new frameworks tailored to your organization’s unique security policies. With CSPM, you can establish solid baselines and ensure compliance.
Automated Monitoring

Once security frameworks are in place, you must ensure the cloud environment continuously maintains a compliant state. Unfortunately, keeping an eye on every cloud entity and cloud resource is not feasible using traditional security procedures.

With CSPM, you can continuously monitor the cloud environment to ensure the security measures are in place and working as expected.
Drift Detection

If your system deviates from the established security baselines, owing to automated monitoring, the issue will be flagged immediately. For example, suppose cloud storage or databases are unencrypted, open storage buckets, unsecured internet paths, or misconfigured network functions. In that case, these are deviations that the CSPM tools will identify. Alerts will be generated and sent to concerned teams for appropriate corrective actions.
Improved Visibility

A web of interconnected resources better represents your cloud infrastructure than a linear pathway. Therefore, you need to know how the system is accessed and how entities and resources interact.

CSPM provides improved environment visibility and lets you structure better security frameworks. With a centralized dashboard, your DevOps, security, compliance, and audit teams can access a single source of truth.
The Bottom Line

Cloud misconfigurations could prove to be expensive mistakes for your organization. You could leak sensitive client data, fail to provide quality customer service, lose money and also your reputation as a result of this.

CSPM solutions help organizations avoid common cloud misconfiguration mistakes with built-in and customizable security frameworks, monitoring, drift detection, and compliance enforcement features.