How can small and medium enterprises ensure cloud security on a budget?

In the realm of cybersecurity, a common pitfall is the one-size-fits-all approach. SMEs must avoid this. Context is key. Knowing what you want to safeguard is the first step in defining your cloud security journey. For instance, protecting patient medical records demands a different approach compared to seasonal sales data. With every piece of data holding unique value and risks, understanding your landscape can lead to tailored, and consequently, more efficient budgetary security decisions. Remember, it's not just about saving money—it's about strategically investing it.

Stick to the basics, don't be alarmed by the buzzwords. Know your business/data to be secured. Legal/Regulatory implications. Internal/External threats. Decide on the type of security control framework to start with (Zero trust vs Least privilege). Based on the above, list and prioritize your cloud security requirements. Typically risk assessment activity will help you get these information. Once you are clear with the cloud security requirements and its priorities, budgeting would be relatively easier.

Following your assessment, you may learn that your development team is well versed in the GCP stack whereas corporate would like to use O356, and AWS for the SaaS offering. Choosing a CSP or several can be daunting but consider exploring your local job market for availalble talent to explore the available talent pool. Lastly consider hiring a consultant with experience in the field to assist you in the selection using informed decisions.

By following the best practices and expertise of trained professionals SMBs and startup can control their budget and secure their environment as well.

As most small and medium enterprises lack the human resources or budget to build a full-fledged information security team or program, implementing and maintaining security controls that adapt to changes in the business or the threat landscape can be a challenge. However, engaging the services of a reputable managed security services provider (MSSP) with a focus on the small and medium enterprise market can prove to be a worthwhile investment that makes the difference between business growth and total loss due to reputational damage, intellectual property loss/theft or regulatory fines.

Just like securing any applications and services. Information security policy is essential - defined and enforced Passwords, software updates, permissions. The most significant emphasis is on the precise identification of business needs and then protection accordingly.

If we start a good information Security Awareness process then we can elemenate the week peace of information Security chain.. by identification of risks and responsibilities of miss using the company information systems and infrastructure even if the infrastructure is on-premise or cloud.

Educating your team on the use of cloud services is a good way to reduce security incidents and assessing knowledge is the key to measuring the level of security awareness. Your team doesn't need to be technical experts, they need to have the tools to identify and report any suspicious activity or behavior.

As your cloud attack surface grows with tenants in various CSPs and SaaS services, consider using Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) to create policies meeting your requirements in securing access to cloud assets.

The best part about this practice is that you can imbibe as many services you want to and meet the required control effectiveness. Once you reach a certain perspective and require more, you can just add them as you grow !! When you finally start reporting your compliance and needed requirements like SOC 2 etc., you would be well informed of your vulnerabilities and can make controlled decisions.

Just some tips - Don't be afraid of spending for the better EPDR system (most if not all breaches are initiated by staff) - Less is more, by this I mean have your connections and services really locked down. The less places can access the better. - Not set and forget - cyber security is an evolving beast and will continue to be. - Sh! Happens.. Make sure you have a recovery plan -MFA on all the things -generated passwords on all the things

There is the tendency of many small and medium enterprise leaders to think, "We're too small; no threat actor is interested in hacking us." This is a dangerous perspective that could spell doom for a business. Most large organisations have the resources and reputation to survive a successful cyber attack. Therefore the impact may be low compared to a small or medium enterprise. Similarly, as most small and medium enterprises lack the financial and human resources to develop a robust security programme, their level of exposure tends to be high. These two factors make small and medium enterprises the ultimate low hanging fruit for an attacker.