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Introduction to Object Data in AWS: Enhancing Cloud Security with AWS Security and Automated Incident Response

Superna

July 12, 2023
In today's digital landscape, data has become the lifeblood of enterprises, driving better innovation, faster decision-making, and increased competitive advantage. With the proliferation of cloud computing, businesses are increasingly leveraging cloud storage solutions to harness the benefits of scalability, cost efficiency, and flexibility. Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leading cloud services provider, offers robust and secure object storage capabilities that empower organizations to store and manage, to achieve better business outcomes. This article marks the beginning of a series dedicated to helping enterprise clients plan, secure, and optimize their object data workloads in the AWS Cloud, with a specific focus on AWS Security and automated incident response.

The Shift from On-Premises to the Hybrid Multi-Cloud Environment

87% of enterprises are using some form of cloud service, with 72% adopting a hybrid cloud strategy
The era of solely relying on on-premises storage is rapidly giving way to a hybrid multi-cloud approach. Enterprises are leveraging a combination of on-premises infrastructure, public clouds like AWS, and private clouds to meet their evolving data storage and processing needs. This transition is driven by several factors, including the need for seamless scalability, cost optimization, faster disaster recovery, and expanding to new services, such as AI, ML or Analytics.

According to recent statistics, the shift to the hybrid multi-cloud environment is gaining significant momentum. A survey conducted by Flexera revealed that 87% of enterprises are using some form of cloud service, with 72% adopting a hybrid cloud strategy. Moreover, Gartner predicts that more than 85% of organizations will embrace a cloud-first principle by 2025.

The Importance of Protecting Your Data with AWS Security and Cybersecurity

Protecting your data in the cloud is a shared responsibility.
Protecting your data in the cloud is a shared responsibility. Customers can not just rely on the hyperscaler of choice to protect their most valuable assets, data. While the hyperscaler is responsible for their infrastructure protection, customers need to either build their own data protection and security strategy, or simply get a data security solution that fits their needs. As data becomes increasingly valuable, protecting it from cyberattacks, data breaches, and accidental loss is paramount. In today's digital landscape, cybersecurity threats pose significant risks to businesses across all sectors. Data breaches can lead to financial losses, regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and customer churn.

Consider the following statistics to understand the magnitude of the data protection and cybersecurity challenge:

  1. The average cost of a data breach was estimated at $4.35 million in 2022, according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report.
  2. Cybercrime is projected to cause damages worth $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, as reported by Cybersecurity Ventures.
  3. The Global Data Protection Index 2021, a survey by Dell Technologies, found that 69% of organizations are concerned that they will experience a disruptive incident related to data protection in the next 12 months.

Given these risks, it is crucial for enterprises to establish robust data protection strategies with a strong emphasis on AWS Security and cybersecurity measures. By leveraging the advanced security features and services provided by Superna for AWS, organizations can enhance their security posture, protect their object data workloads, and effectively respond to security events.

Object Data in the AWS Cloud: Leveraging AWS Security and Automated Incident Response

AWS offers a powerful and scalable object storage service called Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3). S3 enables businesses to store and retrieve vast amounts of data, ranging from a few kilobytes to petabytes, in a secure and cost-effective manner within the AWS Cloud. Object data in the AWS Cloud is stored in containers called "buckets," and each object within a bucket is assigned a unique identifier (key). This simple yet flexible structure allows organizations to organize and access their data efficiently, while providing the opportunity to benefit from the robust AWS Security and cybersecurity solutions provided by Superna Defender for AWS.

Why Choose AWS S3 for Object Data Storage and AWS Security?

  1. Scalability: AWS S3 provides virtually limitless scalability, allowing businesses to expand their storage capacity on-demand. As data volumes grow, organizations can seamlessly accommodate their storage requirements without upfront investments in additional hardware, automating the process to meet evolving workload demands.
  2. Durability and Availability: AWS S3 automatically replicates object data across multiple geographically distributed data centers, ensuring high durability and availability. With its 99.99% durability and 99.99% availability, S3 provides a secure service for mission-critical data workloads.
  3. Cloud Security: AWS prioritizes cloud security and offers a comprehensive set of AWS Security features and services. These include data encryption at rest and in transit, access control mechanisms, identity and access management, AWS Security services like AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) and AWS Key Management Service (KMS), and integration with other AWS Security solutions including Superna Defender for AWS. Organizations can leverage these cloud security measures to protect their object data workloads and automate incident response processes.
  4. Compliance and Certifications: AWS has established a strong presence in various sectors, including healthcare, public sector, and financial services, by providing compliance frameworks and industry-specific certifications. Organizations can benefit from AWS's adherence to regulatory standards such as NIST, HIPAA, and GDPR, further enhancing data security in the AWS environment.
  5. Cost: AWS’s S3 enables customers to slash their storage expenses by more than half, thanks to its diverse spectrum of file and object storage solutions tailored to specific needs. Ranging from the swift, robust, and feature-packed standard S3 to the budget-friendly, somewhat lower-performing deep archiving options with reduced SLAs, S3 has you covered. The granular consumption-based pricing further helps customers to keep their cost down.

As enterprises embrace the hybrid multi-cloud environment, effectively managing, protecting, and optimizing object data workloads within the AWS Cloud becomes essential. The statistics showcasing the shift from on-premises storage to the hybrid multi-cloud model, combined with the growing risks of cyberattacks and data breaches, emphasize the need for robust data protection strategies and AWS Security measures. AWS S3's scalability, durability, AWS Security features such as server/client-side and encryption and over +250 native services, and compliance capabilities make it a compelling choice for storing, managing, and protecting object data workloads in the AWS Cloud.

In the upcoming articles in this series, we will delve deeper into planning object data migration, best practices for data cleansing and transformation, understanding data integration and replication, exploring migration tools and techniques, managing object data across hybrid environments, automating object data workflows, implementing incident response strategies, and optimizing data security in the AWS Cloud. These topics will further guide enterprise clients in effectively safeguarding their data, enhancing AWS Security, and optimizing their object data workloads within the AWS Cloud.

Remember, in the age of cloud computing, safeguarding your data, enhancing cloud security, and automating incident response are not just priorities; they are job-zero and necessities for the long-term success, resilience, and compliance of your organization. As a trusted AWS Partner, Amazon and the AWS Marketplace provide a comprehensive ecosystem of services, certifications, and training resources to support your journey in securing your data and workloads in the AWS Cloud.

If you are currently storing your data on AWS S3, visit https://superna.io/defender-for-aws-ransomware-s3-object-data-cybersecurity to learn more about how Superna helps protect your mission critical business data.