The cloud is king.
94% of organizations rely on the public cloud in some capacity, and 84% have a “multi-cloud” strategy. The rise of hybrid and remote work, the proliferation of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the general digitization of once analog industries has turned the cloud into a “must-have,” especially with its pricing, space, and ability to be accessed from anywhere.
But with new technologies comes new threats. Cloud security is now a top concern for organizations, as is the need for proper cloud telemetry.
What Is Cloud Telemetry?
Cloud telemetry refers to the overall telemetry gathered from cloud sources. This includes both infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and SaaS applications, such as Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS, and more.
Cloud telemetry works by gathering, analyzing, and presenting sets of information for all (and more) of those applications, offering insights into the cloud environment. This telemetry is critical for not only monitoring the cloud environment but making proactive security decisions and responding to immediate cloud threats.
While the cloud offers a new world of data storage and digital business operations, it’s a tool that also comes with risks.
Cloud Security Challenges
According to Arctic Wolf’s threat detection for 2022, 47% of threats included a compromised cloud component, and 92% of organizations have an active cloud security gap in their infrastructure. That research is confirmed by organizations themselves, who told Arctic Wolf in the 2023 Trends Report that 48% had suffered a cloud breach — meaning cloud threats are far from hypothetical. There are multiple reasons that the cloud has security challenges, including:
- Configuration complexity which leads to misconfigurations
- An increased attack surface accessed by remote users
- The security skills gap which leaves organizations without cloud-centric employees
- Rapid adoption that has far outpaced cloud security development and implementation
- A lack of understanding by organizations for what parts of cloud security they are responsible for
- A lack of cloud telemetry and continuous monitoring
Organizations are starting to recognize and act against these challenges, with 46% stating they would like to learn more about cloud infrastructure and security. But you can’t secure what you can’t see, so strong cloud security begins with proper cloud telemetry.
Hybrid Cloud Security Risks Increase Breach Costs
In addition to the risks associated with the data organizations store in their hybrid cloud environments, the savings gained by utilizing the cloud can be wiped out in the event of a hack. According to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, migration to the cloud increases the mean cost of a data breach by $218,362.
Paying attention to cloud security, which is amplified by cloud telemetry, literally pays off.
How Cloud Telemetry Eases Security Challenges
Considering how complex the cloud can become, visibility is essential to securing the environment. According to Arctic Wolf data, in 2022 10% of IaaS observations led to ticketed incidents and 15% of SaaS observations led to ticketed incidents, highlighting how all applications of the cloud create challenges, and how visibility can help stop immediate threats by helping organizations take proactive action.
Benefits of IaaS visibility include a decreased workload due to the shared-responsibility model, and the ability to detect threats before a perimeter breach. Benefits of SaaS visibility include insights into various SaaS applications.
However, one source of telemetry is never enough, not just because of limited visibility, but because for every positive there is a negative. For example, SaaS monitoring can lead to increased alerts and alert fatigue, and the shared responsibility model involved with IaaS is complicated, at best. That’s why organizations need to not only continuously monitor the cloud but reduce their threat landscape by monitoring every aspect of their environment, therefore achieving holistic visibility.
Want to learn more about holistic visibility? Register for our upcoming webinar, “Leveraging Holistic Visibility in an Unpredictable Threat Landscape.”
Arctic Wolf and Cloud Telemetry
When it comes to cloud telemetry, 24×7 monitoring paired with human insights, customization, and flexibility is the path to strong cloud security. Arctic Wolf has two cloud solutions, Arctic Wolf® Cloud Detection and Response and Arctic Wolf® Cloud Security Posture Management, which work together to help organizations respond to immediate cloud threats while building a roadmap toward proactive cloud management.
With broad visibility and the Concierge Security® Team (CST), Cloud Detection and Response helps organizations see and respond to immediate cloud-based threats. Cloud Security Posture Management identifies cloud resources at risk and, through the CST, provides guidance on hardening the security posture.
Learn more about cloud telemetry and holistic visibility with “Seeing Is Securing: Holistic Visibility.”
Explore cloud security in-depth with “Cloud Security Buyer’s Guide.”
