Cloud Security Automation

The Cloud Security Problem

Most agencies are learning as they go along when moving to the cloud. The movement of IT resources to the cloud has preceded a management structure to monitor and control how cloud resources are provisioned and used.

 The lack of clear standards for cloud usage has caused serious vulnerabilities for major agencies. The current landscape is dominated by:

  • Over-provisioning, over-scheduling & underutilized cloud assets
  • Lack of usage guidelines for harding, encryption, and vulnerability monitoring
  • Cloud services in use that are not FedRAMP-approved and insecure

44%

of security incidents in 2021 were due to improper usage

 

The Solution

As a first step, agencies need to determine the cloud standards to enforce. There are proven industry standards available, like Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks (for AWS, Azure, and GCP), NIST SP 800-53 & 800-207, and CSP Best Practices.

The large CSPs have developed many of the cloud security best practices that are needed for security-related automated remediation, which is required to move towards a Zero Trust approach as mandated by the Biden Administration. 

Here at STS, we help agencies implement a controls-as-code approach that includes three operational phases which fully integrate cloud-native monitoring and remediation within existing agency systems for long-term security and success:

STEP 1: Enablement

Establish a standards baseline

STEP 2: Empowerment

Automate standards monitoring & reporting

STEP 3: Enforcement

Automate standards remediation

Two colleagues discussing ideas using a tablet and computer

How our Cloud Security Automation Approach Works

Case Study: How USCIS Saved $4M+ in Annual Cloud Costs

RCA-saved-USCIS-$4M

Working with STS and AWS, a cost-management strategy was developed to realize immediate savings of over $4M and establish processes to lock in those savings moving forward. 

READ THE CASE STUDY

How RCA Works

HubSpot Video

 

RCA is a suite of server-less cloud automation solutions that use AWS managed services, native tagging capabilities, and Lambda scripts.

Download the Guide

Download our free Guide to Achieving Cloud Security for Federal Agencies, fill out the form below.

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Keep IT Simple

Read about cloud security in our blog Keep IT Simple.

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