What Is Cloud Security?

Today, we are more connected than ever. Cloud security is a broad set of technologies, policies, and applications that are applied to defend online IP, services, applications, and other data against cyber threats and malicious activity.

What are the main benefits of cloud security?

Cloud security helps you better manage risks for the way the world works today. It shields users against threats no matter how they access the internet, and it secures data and applications in the cloud. Cloud security can also help:

  • Block threats earlier. Cloud security solutions can help you identify threats faster. With better intelligence and visibility, you can stop malware before it spreads to your network or endpoints, resulting in less time spent remediating infections.
  • Enable a more secure cloud. A cloud security platform can improve—and even simplify—security in complicated, multicloud environments without impacting end-user productivity.
  • Secure hybrid and remote work. Protect apps, data, and users in the cloud against compromised accounts, malware, and data breaches. Support better policy compliance.
  • Extend protection. Eliminate hidden threats and secure users no matter where they work. A cloud security solution helps you secure every point of potential attack, including users, devices, networks, applications, and even IoT.  
  • Secure at scale. A cloud-delivered security solution helps you protect everything, everywhere. As you add more connections—users, cloud applications, devices, and more—you'll be able to protect them quickly and easily against threats.

Why is cloud application security important?

In a multicloud world, we choose what stays on-premises and what lives on different private, public, or hybrid clouds. While connecting to all those clouds is easy, managing the different environments can get complicated quickly. 

Cloud security can help you manage and protect your entire ecosystem, whether your data and apps live in the cloud, on-premises, or in a combination of both. That means your servers and storage in the data center, IoT in your warehouse, remote laptops, phones, and all employees at branch locations can be covered with cloud security. 

What are the types of cloud security?

Whether your data and applications live in the public cloud, a private cloud, or a hybrid of the two, they need protection.

Cisco Secure offers a cloud security solution for just about every connection and cloud service, so you can prevent cyberattacks and build resilience in the face of threats. 

Secure access to the cloud

Cisco Umbrella secures cloud access that protects users anywhere they access the internet.

Cisco Secure Workload offers workload protection for multicloud environments by enabling a zero-trust model using segmentation.

Cloud security for SaaS apps 

Cisco Cloudlock helps safeguard the use of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. Cloudlock protects sanctioned apps and manages shadow IT by discovering the full extent of SaaS apps being used, providing risk profiles, enforcing data security policies, detecting suspicious behavior and enabling healthy cloud adoption.

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox blocks and remediates email threats. 

Cloud infrastructure security

Cisco Secure Cloud Analytics monitors your SaaS instances and creates alerts for suspicious activities. You gain visibility for the public cloud to detect abnormal behavior and respond to threat activity.

Cisco Attack Surface Management improves security monitoring and cuts emerging threats on your attack surface.

Types of cloud security threats

Malware

Malware is a type of software designed to gain unauthorized access or cause damage to a computer. 


Ransomware 

Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to extort money by blocking access to files or the computer system until a ransom is paid. Paying the ransom does not guarantee that the files will be recovered or the system restored.


Phishing

Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent emails that resemble messages from reputable sources, with the aim to steal sensitive data like credit card numbers and login information. Phishing is the most common type of cyberattack. You can help protect yourself through education or a cloud security solution that filters malicious emails.


Social engineering

Social engineering is a tactic that adversaries use to trick you into revealing sensitive information. It is used to solicit a monetary payment or gain access to your confidential data. Social engineering can be combined with any of the threats listed above to make you more likely to click on malicious links, download malware, or trust a malicious source.

Learn more about social engineering tactics