Elevate Your Cloud Defense: 6 Top Strategies for Safeguarding Cloud

A cloud-native application is specifically created to operate seamlessly within a cloud environment, taking advantage of cloud infrastructure and services to achieve top-notch performance, adaptability, and reliability. They use microservices instead of monolithic structures, allowing independent development and deployment. Microservices are hosted in containers, providing a lightweight and portable runtime environment. Serverless computing, which enables code execution in response to events without managing underlying infrastructure, is another key element of cloud-native architecture. While this approach is embraced by 94% of all enterprises, it also opens a world of potential security risks which must be addressed. In this article, we will cover the current threat landscape and then investigate six most effective strategies for safeguarding cloud-native applications along with some real examples demonstrating their successful implementation by leading organizations.

The threat landscape for cloud-native applications is constantly evolving, with new types of attacks and vulnerabilities emerging all the time. Some common types of attacks on cloud-native applications include:

Understanding cloud-native security, and implementing the best practices mentioned below for secure cloud-native applications is crucial to address these challenges.

The path to safeguarding cloud-native apps rests in taking a proactive stance on security, incorporating it into the development cycle, and cultivating an environment of ongoing learning with collaborative efforts. This will enable organizations to stay ahead of emerging threats and safeguard their valuable data and resources.

Securing cloud-native applications demands a different set of security practices compared to traditional applications, and keeping on top of protection is an ongoing duty that demands continual alertness. The guidelines in this article can help to enhance the security of your cloud-native applications.

As a security engineering leader at Coinbase and a former senior manager, Dilip Ravindran has developed extensive experience and expertise in the technology industry, including cloud security, hyperscale cloud computing, engineering leadership, and blockchain technologies.

Dilip has a Masters degree in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and about 15 years of Software engineering experience. In his current role as the head of the cloud security efforts at Coinbase, he is responsible for developing and implementing the infrastructure security strategy, policies, and procedures to make it the most secure crypto platform in the world. He also manages a team of security engineers, conducts regular security audits to identify vulnerabilities and potential threats, and oversee the implementation of security technologies such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and SIEM.

Dilip is passionate about staying current with the latest advancements in cloud technology and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this guest author article are solely those of the contributor, and do not necessarily reflect those of Tripwire.