Modern-day businesses are complex & perpetual both in terms of technology and customer deliverables; to keep agile, enterprises are transforming traditional IT assets with virtual assets and migrating their workloads to cloud infrastructures (private cloud, public cloud, hybrid & multicloud) for the same. Businesses require extremely secured infrastructure to manage data and its privacy. With limitations of vendor lock-ins by public cloud service providers, major enterprises are moving their cloud choices from public to private cloud. Since private cloud being an integral part of enterprises gives users the flexibility to manage, monitor & secure according to their own business needs. Gartner predicts that ‘By 2025, 99% of cloud security failures will be the customer’s fault’, and from a customer point of view it shows the need for private cloud enabled organizations like you to understand the key strategies and best practices to follow to safeguard a private cloud.

Through this blog we explain everything you need to know about private cloud security and its architecture in detail. Read further to know it.

Need Of Private Cloud Security Architecture

The CIO’s & CSO’s believe cloud security is one major layer of private cloud management that organizations need to look out and understand to safeguard the data and applications. It needs to be addressed right from the stage of building a private cloud architecture for a business ecosystem. In private cloud architecture, security management is a shared responsibility between the private cloud services provider or a private cloud hosting provider and the user. Both the parties need to understand their security management roles and should play an integral part of designing a private cloud architecture as a whole.

Vision to build a security based private cloud architecture eliminates the security holes or leakages which may act as a gate point of vulnerabilities providing easy access for attackers. Planning this phase in the early days of architecting a solution gives the users fruitful results compared to building a security solution to mitigate after threats.

This practice of strategizing a future-proof private cloud architecture for security is the need of the hour as more organizations are shifting their data to clouds specifically to multicloud or hybrid cloud models.

Elements of a private cloud security architecture

The best practice to build a secured private cloud architecture is to start with a statement of goals. The private cloud security architecture starts at the attack points ( ingress or egress ) for private cloud hosting or edge computing. In either case, the private cloud service provider will install intelligent security devices or intrusion prevention systems (ISP)- enabled firewalls as a primary point of threat detector that allows users to monitor the flow of in & out traffic. It follows the implementation of SSL, TSL, VPN, and other advanced security frameworks in the form of security-as-a-service.

The cloud security patterns follow a series of independent yet collaborative functions for private cloud management in the whole architectural design. These include the following layers: network security, data security, application security, and service security. The responsibilities are shared among organizations & private cloud service providers according to their SLAs.

Private cloud security architecture should include the following elements :

• Security Control endpoints – Includes technologies & steps to secure API endpoints and mechanisms to control the boundaries of network connectivity linkage of applications and services of private cloud.
• Security protocols – Implementation of security frameworks for private cloud architecture with Integrations such as SSL, IPSEC, SFTP, LDAPS, SSH, SCP, SAML, etc.
• Security token – Token management approaches such as OTP, secret keys, private keys, etc., for authentication, authorization, & administration of private cloud to safeguard access of applications & its data.
• Encryption methods – Includes techniques like masking, duplicating, hashing, triple DES, AES, blowfish, RSA to encrypt data to avoid vulnerabilities of a private cloud.
• Security event logging & auditing – Designing flow of event logging ingestion with the help of tools or discrete approaches to capture, monitor & audit the activities within the private cloud.

Three prominent private cloud architectural patterns to meet safety

• Federated identity pattern: It is a system where multiple organizations enable its users to use shared credentials in digital identity to access all their networks.
• Firewall pattern: It is a system where managed firewalls are installed between users and application resources to validate rights and access.
• User token pattern: It is a mechanism that allows users to access the resources for a limited period of time

Private cloud management via shared security responsibilities

Cloud services are deployed via various models across private cloud: IaaS where a virtual host is provided, PaaS supports platform-specific tools and acts as middleware, SaaS offers entire cloud application service is deployed and in each model, the security architecture varies as per the roles and responsibilities shared between private cloud hosting providers & organizations.

IaaS deployment gives users a highly flexible network security environment to manage & monitor the status & health of both physical & virtual assets. With IaaS deliverables, private cloud service providers act as pillars of reliable hosting resources. The majority of the application-related security handlings are under the managed schema of the customer.

Key security inclusions of IaaS cloud deployments

• Network fragmentation and flow analysis
• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and Intrusion prevention systems (IPS)
• Virtual firewalls, VPN, SSL, SD-WAN connectors for edge compute, SSL/TLS layers to secure web applications.

PaaS acts as middleware and delivers to customers as platform-based services to support enterprise applications without the overhead of managing complex hardware & back-end services. In this private cloud security model, more focus is aligned towards the creation of trust zones & centralized security fronts. Here most of the private cloud security management is carried out by CSP while compared to IaaS, but still, organizations have their role in securing the infrastructure.

Key security inclusions of PaaS cloud deployments

• Secured API gateways (throttling targets, access to VPC, firewalls, SSL certificates)
• IP restrictions and geo whitelisting
• User restrictions and audit reports

SaaS providers offer security through a software-defined application that establishes a relation between the internal workflow components and the organization’s network components via restful APIs. Compared to other security deliverable models in SaaS, CSP maintains the responsibility of most of the security stacks while organizations only need to look after a few modules of security layers.

Key security inclusions of SaaS cloud deployments

• Logging, alerting, scheduling
• User access controls, IAM roles
• Support of security frameworks (DISA, NIST, etc.) and compliance to guidelines (GDPR, PCI, HIPAA, SOX, ISO,)

Over the years, the chief security officers of several cloud-enabled organizations realized that the best practice to design a private cloud architecture with the highest levels of security is through the synchronization of the private cloud service provider and the user. So while framing the security frameworks, organizations need to be handheld by security experts, and only the inclusion of best-fit security elements & practices give highly secured private cloud-hosted infrastructure.

Also you can check our blog on ‘How to improve your private cloud security postures’ from here.

Security at its best with United private cloud

Cloud security is no longer a choice; it’s the need of the hour and our G3 private cloud is the epitome of a secure cloud, where users get a fully managed security-as-a-service. With us, you can proactively identify, respond and mitigate any security threats against your IT infrastructure through our industry-leading security solutions. We protect your infrastructure and data through advanced Firewalls, DDoS, VPN, SSL/TLS, VLAN segmentation, restricted IP, and ports.

G3 cloud is solemnly designed with a motto to ensure our private cloud users with the highest level of security compared to all other major private cloud providers by providing industry leading solutions for ransomware protection, infrastructure protection, hybridcloud acceleration, public cloud data protection and complies with all major data security compliance standards(CIS, NIST, DISA, GDPR, SOX, SSAE, PCI, HIPAA, FEDRAMP) globally with our compliance ready private cloud.

Talk to our security experts today and get your private cloud security architecture framed.

Most businesses have speeded up their cloud journey to enable new ways of working and developing future resilience. They’ve come a long way, but there’s still a lot of ground to cover. Cloud computing is not a one-time endeavour. It’s a lifelong commitment, similar to learning a language. Companies need to keep refining their approach to achieve excellence. Hence, there is a need for a paradigm shift from cloud migration to modernization. With that focus in mind, these are the top trends emerging this year of 2022.

• Rise Of Hybrid Cloud And Hybrid Cloud Management Platforms

Cost is the key factor for many companies who are migrating to the cloud. Therefore hybrid cloud becomes the most preferable choice in terms of higher security and being cost effective to scale operations and meet higher demands. Additionally, with the rise of multi-cloud, IT infrastructures have become more complex to handle. As of now, hybrid cloud is at an early adoption stage, and organizations across all verticals are implementing it to support their remote workforce. As per a report, a rapid increase in the private cloud solution adoption is driving the hybrid cloud market. This market is only expected to touch an aggregate of $241.13 billion by 2022. It’s only logical to infer that the technical aspects require to handle hybrid cloud will lead the companies to choose various hybrid cloud management tools based on their advantages such as:

A. Aggregating services: Shows services and applications running on multiple cloud environments in one place and allows them to be managed as a single unit.
B. Managing costs: Allows users to set flexible policies for cost across cloud solutions and maximize the return on investment.
C. Self-servicing with ease: Allows users to run, consume, and terminate workloads without them having to worry about the underlying infrastructure.
D.Migrating workloads: Provides automation, fast and low-risk options for migrating workloads from private to public cloud environments and vice versa.

•  Popularity Of Kubernetes

The renowned container orchestration platform – Kubernetes is set to have its breakout year in 2022. Kubernetes, which was first released as an open-source project by Google in 2014 and is now managed by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, automates several activities related to the administration and deployment of containerized applications. Developers are increasingly drawn to the platform because it enables a new approach to application development based on a microservices architecture. It is all due to the fact that K8s provide a perfect and consolidated API for deployment and containers. According to a study, which was based on responses from 3,800 people between November 2020 and February 2021, 31 percent of all backend engineers utilize Kubernetes currently, equating to almost 5.6 million developers globally. The figures emphasize that enterprises have made significant progress in adopting cloud-native technologies in public, private, and hybrid environments. Kubernetes private cloud cluster assures efficient deployment and a fully budget-friendly management cost, making it a go-to solution for this year.

• Fast Emerging Dedicated Private Cloud Services

Popular cloud service providers such as UnitedPrivateCloud, Cisco Systems, Dell Inc., HP Inc, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and others offer private cloud services such as SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS to host, manage, and operate all types of cloud services in a private deployment model. Private cloud services offer all types of users, including large and small and medium businesses, convenient access to servers, networks, and storage either on premises or on a separate infrastructure which is provided by these cloud providers. Allied Market Research’s findings state that due to the rise in ICT expenditure by governments in various developed and developing regions, such as North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the global private cloud services market is predicted to grow rapidly. A report from Infoholic Research suggests that Dedicated (Private) Cloud Services, which comprises hosted private cloud services and the fast-growing Dedicated Cloud Infrastructure–as-a-Service (DCIaaS) segment, would expand at a quicker 31.0 percent CAGR in 2021, although from a considerably smaller revenue base of $5 billion. The reason behind this is simple, migrating workloads from public to private cloud solutions ensures tailored services, less risky, and better performance. An enterprise-grade private cloud such as UnitedPrivateCloud has such advantages and even more with a guaranteed 30% lower costs than the leading public clouds.

• Edge Computing Is Set For Growth

There has been an abundance of the usage of smart devices which has put a strain on internet infrastructure, leading cloud-based companies to adapt and find new avenues to serve their customers. With edge computing, storing and processing data as close to the end user, this ever expanding requirement of real-time data and localized actions are being met. In fact, edge computing is getting traction in industry 4.0. Analytics insight states that the worldwide market for this technology is estimated to reach 10.9 billion USD this year, growing at a CAGR rate of 14%. The solutions backed up with this technology can take many forms be it from mobile in a vehicle or smartphone or static as a part of a building management system, manufacturing plant, or off-shore oil rig. They can also be used as a mixture of these two dynamics to be used in hospital or other medical settings. These diverse applications make edge computing more promising and expansive.

• Cloud Security At The Center Of Focus

The last 2 decades have been all about the booming of cloud computing. A lot of innovation has happened so far along the lines of serverless pieces of technology to the evolution of cloud automated security. On the plus side, these advancements have led to companies being more agile and reducing their costs of operation. On the flip side, the cloud computing progress has also led to an increase of the attack surfaces. That’s why organizations must have the right tools and processes in place to manage and secure their data throughout their cloud journey. MarketWatch predicts that the cloud security market size is expected to grow from USD 4.09 billion in 2017 to USD 12.73 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.5%. The report further states that factors such as increased adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Internet of Things (IoT0 trends, rise in adoption of cloud-based security solutions, increasing demand for cloud computing & increasing government initiatives, and emergence of smart cities are driving this exponential growth.

It goes without saying that the cloud helps employees, customers, and partners have better experiences. However, in order to achieve this, companies must foster a cloud culture in which employees welcome change and aren’t scared to try new things. The key to mastering cloud solutions in 2022 and beyond will be a cycle of continual learning, feedback, and innovation — with the correct controls in place.

In the second week of December, 2021, Amazon Web Services experienced one of its worst outages ever. During the holiday shopping rush, the problems spread to the company’s retail operation, which uses AWS-based software and apps.

According to AWS’s explanation of what went wrong, “An automated activity to scale capacity of one of the AWS services hosted in the main AWS network triggered an unexpected behavior from a large number of clients inside the internal network, this resulted in a large surge of connection activity that overwhelmed the networking devices between the internal network and the main AWS network, resulting in delays for communication between these networks.”

What happened with the AWS outage?

The most recent of AWS’s major outages occurred in the second week of December and lasted five hours, affecting customers using specific application interfaces in the us-east-1 region: North Virginia. A five-hour outage is a significant incident in a public cloud the size of AWS. 

Several AWS services in the region were affected like:

• Management console
• Route 53
• API Gateway
• Amazon Connect
• EC2

Basically, AWS unintentionally triggered a Distributed Denial of Service (or DDoS attack) on their own internal network. The issue had a broad impact, causing varying degrees of difficulty for services like Twitch, Star Trek Timelines, the PlayStation Network, Clash Royale, Intuit Quickbooks, Slack, Netflix, USPS, Ring, Starbucks, Snapchat etc. It also affected many Amazon services, such as Prime Music, Ring doorbells, logistics apps in their fulfillment centers, and parts of the Amazon.com shopping site.

How were the customers impacted?

Firstly, the main AWS network was unaffected, which meant that AWS customer workloads were “not directly impacted”. Customers were affected by AWS services that relied on the company’s internal network.

However, the internal network glitch had a wide range of consequences for customer-facing AWS services, including computing, container, content distribution services, databases, desktop virtualization, and network optimization tools.

How can United Private Cloud help you avoid these outages?

A full report from AWS is still to come, but in the meantime, IT pros should start bolstering their cloud disaster recovery strategies now – before the next outage. United Private Cloud can help you avoid these outages by offering SLA of 99.999% service uptime.

United Private Cloud offers suites of managed services for our private cloud customers to help them meet their dynamic requirements.

We understand vulnerabilities can occur during day-to-day IT processes, which is why we offer resources to monitor your entire cloud stack, from the infrastructure to the application layer through the operating system.

The G3 Private Cloud is a software-defined private cloud architectured like a public cloud and engineered for scale and service availability of 99.999% uptime globally. It also comes with 24x7x365 fully managed enterprise support with 15 minutes response time and expert escalation every 30 minutes until resolution. With us, you get all the benefits, including high-performance, high availability, on-demand scalability, along with enhanced security of your cloud computing processes. 

We also offer a variety of network security services as well as network management, cloud services and disaster recovery services to overcome any unprecedented events,

We have industry leading partnerships for providing cloud security to our customers with 10+ virtual security solutions in place.

And lastly, we enable organizations to gain performance advantages, lower costs, rapidly respond to unpredictable demand, and easily solve data sovereignty and compliance requirements across 5 continents. 

About United Private Cloud

United Private Cloud comes with all the benefits of cloud computing but with the greater controls and security of an enterprise-grade software-defined private cloud.

Our experts will assist your company in developing the best multicloud strategy, no matter where it is on its cloud journey. Our experts will also analyze your current infrastructure and application portfolio, evaluate your cost structure, and recommend the ideal platforms for your needs.

Put our experts to work for your IT transformation here!