Benefits of Automating Cloud Security and Compliance

By Marianne Chrisos - Last Updated on June 4, 2020
benefits of automating cloud security and compliance

How your business can benefit from security automation.

Increase safety and data security with automation for cloud security and compliance.

Information security remains one of the top concerns about cloud computing and storage. Additionally, compliance can be a confusing issue for some businesses, as the cloud service provider is responsible for some levels of security and the business utilizing the cloud is responsible for other areas of security.

One way to increase security is to follow automated cloud security and compliance procedures. In fact, cloud computing lends itself very well to many features of automation. Here are a few ways that automating the security controls and processes for your cloud server enhances your security.

  • Continuous monitoring: Automated security programs run checks automatically against certain threat parameters, including user privilege, permission changes to files, and monitoring against known security threats.
  • Evaluation: Certain compliance automation programs will not only search for threats but analyze findings and sort by perceived or predicted severity for a team member to review.
  • Correction: Any suspicious activity can be automatically run up the ladder to the appropriate person or the program can be coded to take certain next steps of action. Businesses can customize what steps should automatically be taken against certain threats, allowing for human intervention when appropriate.

A continuous, automated security protocol protects your business around the clock from a host of threats, as well as helps a business save time.

Benefits of Cloud Security Automation

Once you’ve started automation for your cloud security, you might notice the following benefits:

Reduced time spent on security operations: Automated responses are often happening in the background, running faster than IT professionals could run manual processes, and work time spent on security is reduced by having personnel involved only at certain points.

Consistency in security processes and functions: Automation means reports and analysis are run at the same time, looking for consistent and well-defined threats, reducing overall ambiguity and heightening security.

  • Reduced human error: Automation means that no threats are missed due to human error.
  • Better compliance: Automated software will check to ensure that there is security at every level mandated by compliance rules.
  • Advanced security measures in place if there is a breach or attack: Built into most automated security programs is a protocol for the first steps if there is a security issue detected.
  • Greater solution speed and consistent procedures and results are highly desirable security features that automation can help support.

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Best Automated Compliance Tools

Once you’ve decided that automated security compliance can be an effective and valuable tool for your business, you might want to look at these cloud-specific tools to help support your automated security and compliance journey.

  • ThreatStack: Their motto is “We make compliance easy. We make security happen.” This tool helps businesses go beyond the standard compliance protocols and ensures your cloud infrastructure and cloud workloads are protected.
  • CloudCheckr: This software provides security based on the current cloud safety best practices, compiled from a list of security experts and cloud vendor companies. This is a great tool for businesses using public cloud storage solutions.
  • Amazon Guard Duty: For AWS (Amazon Web Services) users, Amazon Guard Duty is an add-on service that can provide automatic and continuous security monitoring to protect AWS accounts.

Has your business moved to automated security in your cloud journey?

Marianne Chrisos | Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a company near Dallas and contributing writer around the internet. She earned her master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University in Chicago and has worked in publishing, advertising, digital marketing, and content strategy.

Marianne Chrisos | Born in Salem, Massachusetts, growing up outside of Chicago, Illinois, and currently living near Dallas, Texas, Marianne is a content writer at a c...

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