DSPM vs CSPM - Why It is Important to Secure Both

In today’s digital world, data is a valuable asset for businesses of all sizes. As the amount of data that organizations handle continues to grow, so does the need to protect it from breaches and leaks. As a result, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) have become necessary solutions for security management.

With these solutions, organizations can enhance their security posture, mitigate risks, and achieve compliance with regulations. In this article, let's understand the differences and similarities between CSPM and DSPM to create a robust and effective security strategy.

Data Security vs Cloud Security: On The Fence

As mentioned above, both data security and cloud security are related but have their differences as well. Before digging into the nitty gritty details, it can be simply put that cloud security is a subset of data security and that data security addresses a broader scope and focus.

No matter where sensitive data is stored or handled, data security posture management (DSPM) refers to the aggregated process of discovering, assessing, and mitigating risks to that data. Safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of sensitive data encompasses putting security controls in place, keeping an eye out for potential threats, and periodically evaluating the effectiveness of these measures.

Management of a company's cloud-based infrastructure and services is the specific emphasis of cloud security posture management. It entails making sure that the cloud environment of the company, whether it be a hybrid cloud, private cloud, or public cloud, is set up and secured in a secure way. Implementing suitable access controls, data encryption, network security measures, and adherence to cloud-specific security requirements are all part of this.

In a nutshell, data security deals with the overall security of an organization's data, while cloud security specifically focuses on securing data present on the cloud.

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Cloud Data Security: Degree of Scrutiny

One obvious question that arises at this point is if data security is the superset of cloud security, wouldn’t DSPM shield cloud infrastructure as well? Vaguely speaking, it might, to some extent, but there’s always a gateway to directly penetrate through the cloud infrastructure and comprise the data on the cloud.

The foremost reason to protect the cloud is that it is prone to vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities may arise as a result of factors including shared infrastructure, possible setup errors, and dependency on third-party providers. Organizations may make sure that these risks are accurately detected and managed by concentrating on cloud security posture management.

Moreover, When handling sensitive data, organizations must abide by a variety of compliance regulations. These criteria frequently also apply to data that is handled or stored in the cloud. Organizations may assure compliance with industry-specific rules and standards like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS by emphasizing cloud security posture monitoring.

Lastly, for corporate processes to run smoothly and continue, cloud services are frequently essential. Any security events or breaches in the cloud environment could have serious repercussions, such as downtime, data loss, and reputational harm to the company. Securing the cloud environment contributes to service availability and dependability, reducing outages and preserving business continuity.

Bulletproof Ways to Secure Data on The Cloud and Beyond

It is assumed that it is quite clear, if not full, about the differences between cloud and data security and why it is important to secure both. Now let us look at how to secure them. Since both data and cloud security are correlated, it is safe to blur the line and incorporate the best practices on both ends.

The first step in creating a secure environment is to set up effective access controls to ensure that individuals with the proper authorization can access sensitive data and cloud resources. This involves employing reliable authentication methods, putting in place role-based access restrictions, and routinely evaluating and updating user privileges.

To further enhance security systems, organizations should also mandatorily encrypt sensitive data. This acts as a fallback even when authorization fails. Data should be encrypted when stored and in transit between the cloud and on-premises. Although encryption serves as an additional layer of security, organizations should aim to minimize any point of failure by regularly updating the systems. It is advised to maintain the most recent security patches and updates for your cloud infrastructure as well as your data storage systems. This assists in addressing known vulnerabilities and lowers the chance of an attacker utilizing them.

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Since no system is one-hundred percent secure, it is always important to have all the measures to respond to any attacks in place. There are several ways to accomplish this. For instance, organizations can put in place reliable monitoring and detection systems to spot potential security incidents as they happen. To identify any unusual activity or unauthorized access attempts, security information and event management (SIEM) systems, intrusion detection, and prevention systems, and log analysis tools may be deployed.

Going by the rule of thumb, it is always strongly recommended to have a data backup system in place and perform backups at regular intervals, which can be recovered if things go south. Further, to discover potential vulnerabilities and dangers to both data and cloud infrastructure, a thorough risk assessment can be carried out. An evaluation of data transportation, storage, access restrictions, and the cloud environment itself could all be part of this assessment.

Finally, to avoid human errors, it is also advised to conduct an employee awareness program wherein the employees are taught about the best practices for data and cloud security, such as the value of secure data management, the use of strong passwords, and avoiding phishing scams. Employees can understand their role in preserving data and cloud security with regular training sessions.

Conclusion

Although data security posture management addresses the overall security of an organization's data, protecting the cloud environment is crucial because of the particular risks, data exposure concerns, compliance necessities, business continuity considerations, and the shared accountability model of cloud service providers. Organizations may guarantee the security and integrity of their data in the cloud by zeroing in on cloud security posture management.