The Security Case for Containerized Cloud Architecture
Cloud-based containerized architecture is critical for cybersecurity and is especially relevant in the era of remote work
As COVID-19 cases spike across the country, some companies have already made the difficult choice to delay office reopenings and extend remote work policies. What started as a short-term solution to prevent viral spread may last an indefinite amount of time, and all organizations should be considering long-term strategies for securing their current—and potentially growing—workforces. This would be a daunting task under normal scenarios but the pandemic forced organizations to transform quickly.
Over the past few months, remote work has exposed serious security vulnerabilities in company networks. Since the pandemic forced employers to send home their workforces, employees have been accessing company data away from their offices’ security networks at increased rates and hackers have jumped at the chance to steal information. Recent reporting has shown that over the last few weeks alone, there has been a considerable rise in sophisticated attacks aimed at remote employees. This is made more dangerous by the increased use of cloud-based productivity apps including Google Suite, Slack and Dropbox, which have undoubtedly helped drive efficiency but have also offered bad actors a new way to access company information.
We’ve talked about the value of switching to cloud-based cybersecurity platforms to support mobile workforces. Cloud-based security is critical for the protection of company networks, especially now when employees are working outside of their offices. But not all cloud cybersecurity platforms are alike. To ensure infinite scalability, data control and protection, companies should also leverage containerization in their cybersecurity architecture. Cloud-based containerized architecture is critical for cybersecurity and has become increasingly popular in recent years, proving to be more than capable of keeping organizations safe without impacting productivity.
Containerization became popular as a useful way for development teams to build and deploy software efficiently and operate at an unprecedented scale. It is particularly valuable in cybersecurity because it allows systems to store an organization’s data in separate compartments in the cloud, making sure your company’s data never overlaps with that of any other organization’s. This architecture also allows cybersecurity systems to scan each container in the cloud and decrypt traffic, perform web filtering, detect infections and prevent data loss as data moves to and from users and the internet. Similar to how physical shipping containers arrive in a port to be inspected by customs, cloud-based containers are examined for security flaws before they are released to prevent exposing vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.
Beyond security, containerized architectures that leverage microservices also help organizations maximize productivity, as they are designed to automatically scale and grow in size to meet the increasing demands in bandwidth and reduce latency. As more client bandwidth is required, more containers can be added to expand cloud space, ensuring no lapses in productivity or increases in latency. This means that organizations can assuredly operate at their current size or increase their remote workforce while never suffering slowdowns and protecting company data at all times.
Containerized cybersecurity architecture also ensures companies can easily remain compliant with regional data privacy protection regulations such as GDPR. By allowing administrators to create zones, containers ensure that your data remains in the regulated region. Additionally, it allows administrators to anonymize user log events generated by the cloud to ensure privacy regulations are met. These log events are critical to understanding user activity and identifying infected devices.
COVID-19 has been a catalyst for many organizations to rethink their cybersecurity strategies. Remote work measures will likely continue to be extended for most organizations and businesses can no longer afford any delays in productivity or efficiency. Companies need to quickly and safely process information and meet the scaling needs of a distributed workforce. Most of the applications we use for work today already run in containers and the only way to guarantee company networks and users are protected is by taking a containerization approach to their cybersecurity strategy.