5 Steps to Build Multi-Cloud Security Skills

Struggling with multi-cloud security? You're not alone. With 92% of enterprises using multi-cloud infrastructures and 96% facing challenges, securing these environments is critical. Misconfigurations alone caused 19% of data breaches in 2021, costing an average of £3.5 million per incident. Here's how to build the skills your team needs:

1. Assess Team Skills: Identify gaps in infrastructure security, data protection, identity management, and incident response. Ensure compliance with standards like GDPR and ISO 27001.
2. Plan Training: Blend vendor-neutral certifications like CCSK with platform-specific training for AWS, Azure, and GCP. Use hands-on exercises to reinforce skills.
3. Set Up Test Environments: Use tools like Terraform to create secure, realistic environments for practising security protocols.
4. Establish Common Rules: Write standardised security policies (e.g., Policy as Code) and use centralised monitoring tools like CSPM and CIEM.
5. Test and Update Skills: Conduct regular security tests, penetration testing, and ongoing training to stay ahead of threats.

Quick Takeaway: Multi-cloud security requires structured training, clear policies, and hands-on practice. Start small, focus on automation, and continuously refine your approach to reduce risks and costs.

Unlocking Multi-Cloud Security Success with SANS Training

Step 1: Check Your Security Skills

A surprising 22.4% of organisations lack the expertise to manage AWS and Azure clouds securely. This challenge becomes even more pronounced when handling multiple cloud environments.

Map Team Skills

Start by evaluating your team's abilities in key areas of multi-cloud security. Here's a breakdown of the crucial domains and the skills to assess:

As one cloud security architect from Palo Alto Networks puts it:

"If you can't see it, you can't secure it".

This highlights the importance of maintaining full visibility across your cloud infrastructure. Given that AWS holds 31%, Azure 25%, and Google Cloud 10% of the market, mastering security across multiple platforms is non-negotiable.

Once these skill gaps are identified, ensure your team is also aligned with the necessary compliance standards.

List Required Compliance Standards

For UK organisations, adhering to these compliance standards is critical:

1. UK Cloud Security Principles

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advises:

"The cloud security principles are designed to help you choose a cloud provider that meets your security needs. You will separately need to consider how you configure your cloud services securely".

2. GDPR Requirements

With fines reaching up to 4% of annual global revenue or €20 million, GDPR compliance is essential. Focus on:

• Data sovereignty rules
• Mechanisms for explicit consent
• Principles of purpose limitation
• Maintaining data accuracy

3. ISO 27001:2022

Demand for ISO 27001 certification has grown by 30% annually. This standard offers a solid framework for managing cloud security risks and includes:

• Routine risk assessments
• Documented security controls
• Continuous monitoring
• Regular security audits

To stay ahead, review your team’s compliance knowledge and skills quarterly. Regular assessments can help identify gaps early and reduce the likelihood of security incidents.

Step 2: Plan Security Training

Creating a structured training programme is key to developing strong cross-cloud security skills. This involves blending vendor-neutral knowledge with platform-specific expertise, ensuring your team is equipped to handle both compliance needs and operational challenges.

Focus on Vendor-Neutral Certifications

The CCSK v5 certification provides comprehensive, vendor-agnostic cloud security training across 12 key domains. Dr. Victor Monga, CISO and Adjunct Professor at Virtually Testing Foundation, highlights its importance:

"The CCSK certificate is a cornerstone for vendor-agnostic cloud security education. It effectively strengthens the fundamentals across essential cloud security domains and plays a critical role in upskilling talent to meet modern security challenges."

The certification's coverage includes:

With an exam bundle priced at approximately £355, CCSK provides an affordable way to establish a strong foundation in multi-cloud security. Once this base is set, the next step is to incorporate platform-specific training into the programme.

Incorporate Training for Specific Platforms

Companies like Netflix and Spotify show that combining vendor-neutral knowledge with targeted platform training, supported by tools and automation, enhances flexibility while avoiding vendor lock-in.

Key areas to focus on for platform-specific training include:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use vendor-neutral frameworks to manage infrastructure.
• Containerisation: Enable workload portability across platforms.
• API Management: Standardise and document APIs for better integration.
• Service Decoupling: Implement strategies to reduce dependencies.

Build Hands-On Experience with Security Scenarios

Practical exercises are essential to reinforce multi-cloud security expertise. Simulated security incidents across platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP can help your team develop skills in areas such as Identity and Access Management (IAM) and serverless security.

As Andrey Leskin, CTO of Qrator Labs, explains:

"Taking incremental steps towards securing your multi-cloud environment is far better than doing nothing at all. While achieving 100% protection is unlikely, each step enhances your security posture, making it increasingly difficult for cyber threats to succeed."

Design your hands-on training to include:

• Simulated incidents across various cloud providers
• Exercises for identifying vulnerabilities
• Developing effective response strategies
• Tackling cross-platform security configuration challenges

Step 3: Set Up Test Environments

Setting up secure test environments is crucial for practising multi-cloud security without putting live systems at risk. With 81% of organisations now relying on multiple cloud providers, these environments offer a safe space to validate security protocols effectively.

Create Test Systems

Using tools like Terraform, you can build isolated test environments that closely resemble your production systems. This infrastructure-as-code approach ensures consistency across different cloud platforms while avoiding the pitfalls of vendor lock-in.

When designing these environments, keep the following in mind:

These considerations ensure your setups support practical training while aligning with the hands-on learning approach discussed earlier.

Paul Jackson, Regional Managing Director at APAC Cyber Risk, Kroll, underscores the importance of realistic environments:

"Realistic simulation of current threats is the only way to test and improve response readiness, and to ensure that the impact of a real attack is minimized."

Run Security Drills

Regular security drills are a must, especially when the average cost of a data breach is around £3.85 million. To make these drills effective, incorporate the latest threat intelligence and frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK to simulate realistic attack scenarios.

Rick Howard, author of Cybersecurity First Principles, highlights the main objective:

"Reduce the probability of material impact due to a cyber event over a finite set of time."

Here’s how to structure your drills:

• Hybrid Exercises: Combine tabletop discussions with hands-on attack simulations. This approach ensures all stakeholders understand their roles and can practise effectively.
• Scenario Customisation: Tailor drills to reflect your organisation's specific threat landscape.

Make sure these drills are integrated with your incident response and business continuity plans. Ideally, schedule them annually or after significant infrastructure updates.

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Step 4: Set Common Security Rules

With 86% of organisations adopting multi-cloud strategies and 80% reporting security incidents in 2022, establishing consistent security rules is no longer optional - it's essential. A unified approach can help safeguard your multi-cloud environment.

Write Security Standards

To maintain consistent security across platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, use Policy as Code formats such as JSON or YAML. These allow you to define and enforce security standards systematically.

"In a multi-cloud, what we want and need is centralisation."

Start by defining policies with tools like OPA, store them in version-controlled repositories, and integrate automated checks into your deployment pipelines. Regular audits will help ensure compliance and highlight any gaps.

Recent breaches have shown that relying on manual processes is risky. Automated, robust security standards are the way forward.

Set Up Central Monitoring

Managing security across multiple cloud platforms demands a centralised monitoring system. Traditional tools often fall short, so consider specialised solutions designed for multi-cloud environments. Once your policies are in place, continuous monitoring ensures they remain effective and helps detect threats quickly.

• Security Posture Management
  Use Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools to automatically detect and fix risks in your infrastructure. For example, tools like Trivy by Aqua scan for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations across multiple environments.
• Access Management
  Implement Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) tools to standardise access permissions across platforms, ensuring no gaps in user access control.
• Threat Detection
  Deploy Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) tools to identify and respond to security threats. For instance, CloudMapper works well for AWS, while CloudSploit supports a range of providers, including Azure and GCP.

Regular monitoring reviews not only help refine your policies but also uncover trends that could inform future security measures. By combining standardised rules with centralised insights, you'll create a solid foundation for ongoing security improvements and skill development.

Step 5: Test and Update Skills

After structured training and realistic simulations, it’s time to validate and refine your security skills. This step is crucial for improving security measures and gauging team awareness levels.

Run Security Tests

Regular testing is essential to identify vulnerabilities. This can be achieved through a mix of automated tools and manual exercises.

Some organisations streamline audits by leveraging open-source solutions tailored for multi-cloud environments.

"Regular penetration testing is essential to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in multi-cloud infrastructure before attackers do."

A standout example is British Petroleum, which employs an automation-driven approach to detect threats and respond to incidents. By combining continuous monitoring with regular security drills, they uphold rigorous security standards.

Once vulnerabilities are identified, it’s important to address them while enhancing team training to bridge any skill gaps.

Track Team Training

Use the results from security tests to guide ongoing training efforts. Research shows that while IT departments are responsible for 25% of security incidents, non-management employees account for 50%. This highlights the need for widespread education.

Here’s how to track and improve team training:

• Skills Assessment Matrix
  Create a system to monitor individual progress across various security areas. This can include certifications, hands-on exercises, and platform-specific expertise.
• Behavioural Analytics
  Evaluate key metrics such as:
  • Response rates to phishing simulations
  • Accuracy in reporting security incidents
  • Adherence to security policies
  • Quality of cross-platform security implementations
• Continuous Learning Programme
  Regularly update the team through:
  • Briefings and hands-on workshops on the latest threats and tools
  • Knowledge-sharing sessions across teams
  • Updates on platform-specific security measures

To tie it all together, implement Protection Level Agreements (PLAs) that link security awareness to measurable reductions in risk.

"The key objective for any enterprise security awareness program should be to shape employee behavior so that it reduces the likelihood and impacts of security incidents." - Richard Addiscott, Senior Research Director at Gartner

Conclusion

Cloud data breaches are hitting organisations hard, with average costs soaring to £3.5 million per incident. To tackle this, businesses must focus on structured training and practical experience to build the multi-cloud security expertise needed to minimise such risks.

The complexity of cloud security highlights the importance of tailored strategies. While it may seem daunting, 74% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are making security a top priority. This five-step framework offers a practical way to address specific security challenges without stretching resources too thin.

"Security is not a product, but a process. The process must be integrated into every phase of your cloud strategy."
– W. Hord Tipton, former CEO of (ISC)²

Automation plays a key role in reducing human error and allowing SMBs to make the most of their limited resources. For example, multi-factor authentication can block 99.9% of account compromise attacks. Despite this, 38.9% of tech professionals still identify cloud security as their biggest skills gap.

"To remain competitive, organisations must foster a culture in which employees are empowered to update their skills through a mix of formal training, hands-on experience, and knowledge sharing."

FAQs

What are the benefits of earning a vendor-neutral certification like CCSK for multi-cloud security skills?

Vendor-neutral certifications, such as the CCSK, are a great way to develop skills in securing multi-cloud environments. They offer broad relevance, providing knowledge that applies across various cloud platforms. This flexibility is particularly useful for working in diverse and complex setups.

Another advantage of the CCSK is its accessibility. With no strict prerequisites, it’s an option for professionals at different points in their careers. It offers a solid grounding in cloud security, addressing key topics like risk management, compliance, and security best practices. For those aiming to build their expertise and boost their professional credibility, the CCSK stands out as a practical and well-regarded certification.

How can organisations safely create test environments for practising multi-cloud security protocols?

Organisations can create secure test environments for multi-cloud security by sticking to a few essential practices. One effective method is leveraging Infrastructure as Code (IaC). By automating the setup of environments, IaC ensures consistency and reduces the likelihood of human error. This approach allows test environments to closely mirror production systems, all while avoiding the exposure of live data.

Another valuable practice is using containerisation. Containers provide lightweight, isolated environments ideal for testing, enabling teams to replicate production-like conditions while keeping systems compartmentalised and secure. Adding regular security audits and running simulated attack scenarios can further help pinpoint vulnerabilities early, strengthening your security measures.

Lastly, implementing a multi-layered security approach is key. By safeguarding networks, applications, and data at multiple levels, this strategy reduces the impact of possible breaches and ensures that testing remains both secure and effective.

Why are unified security rules and centralised monitoring essential in a multi-cloud setup?

In multi-cloud environments, having unified security rules and centralised monitoring is essential for maintaining a strong and consistent security framework across all platforms. When security policies are standardised, organisations can better address potential vulnerabilities caused by inconsistent practices and more easily meet regulatory requirements.

With centralised monitoring, teams gain real-time insights into security events across various cloud providers. This enables faster detection and response to threats, streamlining security management even in complex multi-cloud setups. By adopting a unified approach, organisations can strengthen their defences, reduce risks, and confidently scale their operations.

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