Cloud Security Best Practices for Alaska (2025)

Introduction: The Evolving Cloud Security Imperative

Cloud computing has fundamentally transformed how organizations build, deploy, and manage their IT resources. The benefits of scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency have driven widespread adoption, but this shift has also introduced new security challenges that require dedicated strategies and solutions.

According to the latest industry reports, over 95% of enterprises now use multiple cloud services, with the average organization leveraging more than five different cloud platforms and hundreds of SaaS applications. This complex, distributed environment creates an expanded attack surface with unique security considerations that differ significantly from traditional on-premises infrastructure.

As we move further into 2025, several key trends are shaping the cloud security landscape:

• Multi-cloud complexity: Most organizations now operate across multiple cloud providers, creating challenges for consistent security policy enforcement
• Serverless and container proliferation: The rapid adoption of serverless architectures and containerized applications requires specialized security approaches
• AI-enabled threats: Adversaries are increasingly leveraging AI to discover and exploit cloud vulnerabilities at scale
• Regulatory expansion: New data protection and industry-specific regulations are creating additional compliance requirements for cloud deployments
• Zero Trust adoption: Organizations are shifting from perimeter-based security to Zero Trust models that better align with cloud architectures

The 2025 Cloud Security Landscape

Before diving into specific best practices, it's important to understand the current cloud security landscape and how it continues to evolve in 2025.

Shared Responsibility Model Evolution

The traditional shared responsibility model is becoming more nuanced as cloud service offerings diversify. While cloud providers continue to secure the underlying infrastructure, the boundaries of responsibility are increasingly blurred in modern service models like serverless computing and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).

Organizations must clearly understand their security responsibilities across different cloud models:

Cloud Model	Provider Responsibility	Customer Responsibility
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)	Physical infrastructure, network, storage, virtualization	Operating systems, applications, data, access management, configurations
Platform as a Service (PaaS)	Physical infrastructure, network, storage, servers, operating systems, middleware	Applications, data, access management, application-level configurations
Software as a Service (SaaS)	Physical infrastructure through application functionality and maintenance	Data, access management, user controls, compliance requirements
Serverless	Physical infrastructure, runtime environment, scaling, patching	Function code, data, authentication, authorization logic

Emerging Threat Landscape

The cloud threat landscape continues to evolve with increasingly sophisticated attack methodologies:

• Supply chain attacks: Targeting cloud service provider ecosystems and dependencies
• Identity-based attacks: Exploiting weak authentication and authorization mechanisms
• Automated exploitation: Using automated tools to discover and exploit cloud misconfigurations at scale
• API vulnerabilities: Targeting the numerous APIs that connect cloud services and components
• Container escape attacks: Breaking out of container isolation to access host systems or other containers

The Alaskan Cloud Challenge: Latency & Resiliency

In the Lower 48, cloud connectivity is taken for granted. In Alaska, when your primary connection is a VSAT link in Deadhorse or a microwave hop in Bethel, standard cloud architectures fail.

Identity and Access Management

Identity has become the new security perimeter in cloud environments. With traditional network boundaries dissolved, robust identity and access management (IAM) is the foundation of effective cloud security.

Implement the Principle of Least Privilege

Least privilege access is a fundamental security principle that should be applied across all cloud resources:

• Grant only the minimum permissions necessary for users and services to perform their required functions
• Regularly review and audit permissions to identify and revoke excess privileges
• Implement just-in-time (JIT) access for administrative functions rather than standing privileges
• Use attribute-based access control (ABAC) where appropriate to create more dynamic, context-aware permissions

Adopt Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust principles align perfectly with cloud security requirements:

• Verify explicitly: Authenticate and authorize based on all available data points, not just user credentials
• Use least-privileged access: Limit user access to only what is needed
• Assume breach: Design with the assumption that your environment may already be compromised
• Implement continuous verification rather than one-time authentication
• Apply zero trust principles across all access scenarios, including user-to-application, application-to-application, and application-to-data paths

Strengthen Authentication Mechanisms

Strong authentication is critical for cloud security:

• Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all cloud service accounts, especially for administrative access
• Consider phishing-resistant MFA methods like FIDO2 security keys for high-privilege accounts
• Implement conditional access policies that consider user location, device health, risk signals, and other contextual factors
• Standardize on single sign-on (SSO) solutions to provide consistent authentication experiences across cloud services
• Consider passwordless authentication methods where supported

Manage Service Accounts and Machine Identities

In modern cloud environments, non-human identities often outnumber user accounts:

• Implement robust lifecycle management for service accounts and API keys
• Use time-limited credentials and automatic rotation for machine identities
• Consider managed identity services (like AWS IAM Roles, Azure Managed Identities, or GCP Service Accounts) instead of storing credentials in application code
• Monitor service account activity for unusual patterns that might indicate compromise

Data Protection Strategies

Data protection in cloud environments requires a comprehensive approach that addresses data at rest, in transit, and in use.

Data Classification and Discovery

You can't protect what you don't know about:

• Implement automated data discovery and classification tools across all cloud environments
• Establish clear data classification policies based on sensitivity and regulatory requirements
• Maintain up-to-date data inventories that identify where sensitive information resides
• Use cloud provider native tools (like AWS Macie, Azure Purview, or Google Data Catalog) to supplement your classification efforts

Encryption and Key Management

Encryption remains a fundamental data protection control:

• Encrypt sensitive data at rest in all cloud storage services (block storage, object storage, databases)
• Enforce transport layer security (TLS 1.3) for all data in transit
• Consider field-level encryption for particularly sensitive data elements
• Implement customer-managed keys (CMK) for critical data rather than relying solely on provider-managed encryption
• Use hardware security modules (HSMs) or key management services (KMS) for secure key storage
• Establish robust key rotation policies and secure key lifecycle management

Data Loss Prevention

Prevent unauthorized data exfiltration with comprehensive DLP controls:

• Deploy cloud-native DLP solutions that can monitor data across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS environments
• Implement egress filtering and monitoring at cloud network boundaries
• Control data sharing settings across cloud storage and collaboration platforms
• Use cloud access security brokers (CASBs) to enforce consistent DLP policies across multiple cloud services

Data Sovereignty and Residency

Address geographical considerations for data storage and processing:

• Understand data sovereignty requirements for your organization's regulatory landscape
• Leverage region-specific cloud deployments to maintain compliance with data residency laws
• Implement technical controls to enforce data location requirements
• Consider confidential computing technologies for sensitive workloads in multi-tenant environments

Cloud Infrastructure Security

Securing the foundational infrastructure components of your cloud environment is essential for overall security posture.

Network Security in the Cloud

While the network perimeter has dissolved, network security remains crucial:

• Implement network segmentation with virtual networks, subnets, and security groups
• Use private connectivity options (AWS PrivateLink, Azure Private Link, Google Private Service Connect) to minimize public Internet exposure
• Deploy next-generation firewalls and web application firewalls (WAFs) for cloud workloads
• Implement DDoS protection at both network and application layers
• Consider Cloud-Native Network Security solutions that provide advanced traffic analysis and microsegmentation

Configuration Management and Hygiene

Misconfigurations remain the leading cause of cloud security incidents:

• Implement Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) solutions to continuously monitor for misconfigurations
• Use infrastructure as code (IaC) with security validation to ensure consistent, secure deployments
• Establish secure baseline configurations for all cloud resource types
• Perform regular cloud security posture assessments and remediate findings
• Implement automated remediation for common configuration issues

Compute Security

Secure the compute foundation of your cloud workloads:

• Maintain hardened, regularly updated base images for virtual machines
• Implement host-based security controls like anti-malware and host intrusion detection
• Use secure boot and trusted execution technologies where available
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on cloud workloads
• Implement file integrity monitoring for critical system files

Container and Kubernetes Security

As container adoption continues to grow, specialized security practices are essential.

Container Image Security

Secure your container supply chain:

• Implement vulnerability scanning for all container images in your CI/CD pipeline
• Use minimal base images to reduce the attack surface
• Enforce signature verification for container images
• Maintain a secure container registry with access controls and scanning capabilities
• Establish policies for using only approved base images

Kubernetes Security

Secure your container orchestration platform:

• Implement least privilege for Kubernetes RBAC roles and service accounts
• Use network policies to control pod-to-pod communication
• Enable Pod Security Standards (PSS) or Pod Security Policies (PSP) to enforce security standards
• Regularly update Kubernetes clusters to address security vulnerabilities
• Use admission controllers to enforce security policies at deployment time
• Consider Kubernetes-native security tools for runtime protection

Runtime Protection

Protect containers during execution:

• Implement container runtime security solutions to detect and prevent suspicious activity
• Use behavioral analysis to identify abnormal container behavior
• Deploy system-call level monitoring to detect container escape attempts
• Implement drift detection to identify unauthorized changes to running containers

Integrating DevSecOps for Cloud

Security must be integrated throughout the development lifecycle to be effective in cloud environments.

Shift-Left Security

Addressing security early in the development process:

• Integrate security testing into CI/CD pipelines
• Perform infrastructure as code (IaC) security scanning
• Implement pre-commit hooks for security validation
• Use policy as code to automate security checks
• Provide security tooling and training for developers

Continuous Security Validation

Regularly test your cloud security controls:

• Implement automated security testing in production environments
• Conduct regular penetration testing of cloud workloads
• Use chaos engineering to test security resilience
• Perform regular red team exercises against cloud environments
• Consider bug bounty programs for cloud-specific vulnerabilities

Cloud Compliance and Governance

Maintaining compliance in cloud environments requires specialized approaches.

Cloud Compliance Frameworks

Adapt compliance efforts to cloud environments:

• Map regulatory requirements to specific cloud controls and configurations
• Leverage cloud-specific compliance frameworks (e.g., CSA STAR, CIS Benchmarks for cloud providers)
• Implement continuous compliance monitoring rather than point-in-time assessments
• Utilize cloud provider compliance tools and reports (e.g., AWS Artifact, Azure Trust Center)
• Establish clear responsibility matrices for compliance controls in shared responsibility models

Cloud Governance

Establish a comprehensive governance framework:

• Implement cloud resource tagging for ownership, cost allocation, and compliance tracking
• Use cloud management platforms for multi-cloud governance
• Establish guard rails with service control policies or similar mechanisms
• Implement automated policy enforcement for resource provisioning
• Maintain centralized logging and monitoring for governance verification

Cloud Incident Response

Traditional incident response processes must be adapted for cloud environments.

Cloud-Native Detection

Leverage cloud capabilities for threat detection:

• Implement cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) solutions
• Enable cloud provider detective controls (AWS GuardDuty, Azure Security Center, Google Security Command Center)
• Deploy cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) for runtime threat detection
• Establish baseline behavior patterns and monitor for deviations
• Implement automated alerting for suspicious cloud activities

Cloud Forensics

Adapt forensic processes for cloud environments:

• Implement comprehensive logging across all cloud services
• Use immutable log storage to prevent tampering
• Establish procedures for collecting forensic data from cloud environments
• Develop capabilities to capture volatile data from cloud instances
• Maintain chain of custody procedures for cloud-based evidence

Incident Response Automation

Automate response actions for cloud security incidents:

• Implement auto-remediation for common security findings
• Use serverless functions for automated response actions
• Create playbooks for cloud-specific incident scenarios
• Leverage cloud provider security automation capabilities
• Conduct regular tabletop exercises for cloud incident scenarios

Essential Cloud Security Tools

A well-rounded cloud security program requires the right tooling. Here are the key categories of tools to consider:

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

CSPM tools provide continuous visibility into cloud infrastructure configurations, identifying misconfigurations and compliance violations. They typically offer:

• Configuration assessment against security best practices and compliance frameworks
• Multi-cloud visibility from a single dashboard
• Risk prioritization based on potential impact
• Automated remediation capabilities
• Continuous compliance monitoring

Leading solutions include Wiz, Prisma Cloud, Lacework, and the cloud providers' native offerings like AWS Security Hub and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

CWPP solutions protect cloud workloads at runtime, focusing on:

• Vulnerability management for VMs, containers, and serverless functions
• Runtime protection against malware and unauthorized activities
• Application control and file integrity monitoring
• Container and Kubernetes security
• Memory protection and exploit prevention

Notable solutions include Aqua Security, Trend Micro Cloud One, CrowdStrike Cloud Security, and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud Compute.

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

CIEM tools help manage access permissions across cloud environments:

• Discovery and visualization of all identities and permissions
• Detection of excessive, unused, or risky permissions
• Automated right-sizing of permissions
• Lifecycle management for cloud identities
• Anomalous access detection

Leading solutions include CyberArk Cloud Entitlements Manager, Ermetic, Sonrai Security, and Zscaler CIEM.

Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)

CNAPP solutions provide comprehensive protection across the cloud application lifecycle:

• Infrastructure security posture management
• Cloud workload protection
• Identity and entitlement management
• API security
• Development security operations

Notable CNAPPs include Palo Alto Prisma Cloud, Check Point CloudGuard, and Aqua Security Cloud Native Application Protection Platform.

Conclusion: Building a Resilient Cloud Security Program

As cloud environments continue to evolve, so must security approaches. The best practices outlined in this guide provide a comprehensive framework for securing modern cloud deployments, but implementation must be tailored to your organization's specific needs and risk profile.

Building a resilient cloud security program requires:

• A holistic approach: Addressing people, processes, and technology aspects of cloud security
• Continuous adaptation: Regularly updating security practices as cloud services and threats evolve
• Deep visibility: Maintaining comprehensive awareness of your cloud environment's security posture
• Automation: Leveraging automation for consistent security implementation and rapid response
• Shared responsibility: Clearly defining and implementing security responsibilities across teams and with cloud providers

By implementing these cloud security best practices, organizations can confidently pursue the transformative benefits of cloud computing while effectively managing the associated security risks.