Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an ideal solution for any enterprise to experience unmatched business flexibility. It caters to varied business requirements via its robust technology-led security solutions. While AWS provides cloud security, it is also the responsibility of organizations to ensure their AWS environment is well protected from cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
This is where the Centre for Internet Security’s (CIS) benchmarks can be put to great use. It is one of the most promising solutions to overcome security related challenges and has a set of best practices that help you detect security gaps and bridge them.
What do CIS benchmarks comprise of?
A new software would always come with all default settings. This would mean that there is a possibility of all ports remaining open or unnecessary services being turned on. However, it is advisable to be precautious as default configurations might be vulnerable and lack appropriate security measures.
In such situations, CIS benchmarks can be leveraged as best practices to configure IT systems. It helps comply with security norms and meets necessary industry standards to ensure asset safety. The list comprises of over 100 benchmark checks that apply to all leading vendors and these benchmarks fit into two levels based on the long and short-term organizational needs.
- Level 1
It includes recommendations that help businesses overcome surface-level vulnerabilities. Furthermore, organizations can maintain uninterrupted business continuity.
- Level 2
It provides an advanced level of security measures for increased protection. That is one of the reasons they remain cumbersome to implement due to cost and resource complications. These measures also pose major risks in case of system misconfigurations and is mostly applicable for organizations with sensitive data.
Significance of the AWS CIS benchmark
It is a compliance standard that comes with a set of guidelines which can be used to monitor AWS accounts. The CIS has mapped out a security framework to ensure the internet is safer for business conduct. The standards enable secure configuration of IT systems, networks, and software, necessary for regulatory compliance.
AWS security practices
A wide range of security tools and features are available for AWS. These give you the same amount of control and flexibility you would get with on-premises infrastructure. The various security measures on offer are –
- Data encryption
- Infrastructure security
- Monitoring and logging
- Inventory and configuration management
- Identity and access control
Adopt CIS benchmarks today
CIS benchmarks are the most sought-after measures for streamlining the security of any enterprises’ cloud infrastructure. These best practices have the backing of experts worldwide, which makes them popular among global businesses.
CIS benchmarks are one step ahead of compliance measures like HIPAA and GDPR as they are not confined to specific regions. Organizations with critical operations like finance and healthcare are best suited for CIS benchmarks.
How CloudEnsure can help you stay AWS CIS compliant?
CloudEnsure covers an exhaustive list of compliance standards, AWS CIS benchmark being one of the many that helps provide a comprehensive analysis of cloud environments. The compliance module is specifically built for multi-level, role-based continuous monitoring, and audit to help vendors understand and adhere to industry compliance benchmarks.
CloudEnsure multi-cloud governance platform generates reports, provides percentile compliance scores for the respective cloud accounts and highlights the area of improvement for businesses to understand how compliant they are and how they can best match up to AWS CIS compliance practices to ease remediation and mitigation of risks.