Top 6 Hybrid Cloud Security Solutions: Key Features for 2024

Hybrid cloud security uses a combination of on-premises equipment, private cloud deployments, and public cloud platforms to secure an organization’s data, apps, and assets. It’s vital to the success of any organization that uses hybrid cloud network infrastructure.

The key factors that make hybrid cloud security different from other types of security solutions are flexibility and agility. 

Your hybrid cloud security solution must be able to prevent, detect, and respond to threats regardless of the assets they compromise.

That means being able to detect anomalous behaviors and enforce policies across physical endpoints, cloud-hosted software-as-a-service (SaaS) deployments, and in public cloud data centers. You need visibility and control wherever your organization stores or processes sensitive data.

What is Hybrid Cloud Security?

To understand hybrid cloud security, we must first cover exactly what the hybrid cloud is and how it works. Hybrid cloud infrastructure generally refers to any combination of public cloud providers (like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and private cloud environments.

It’s easy to predict the security challenges hosting some of your organization’s apps on public cloud infrastructure and other apps on its own private cloud. How do you gain visibility across these different environments? How do you address vulnerabilities and misconfiguration risks?

Hybrid cloud architecture can create complex problems for security leaders. However, it provides organizations with much-needed flexibility and offers a wide range of data deployment options.

Most enterprises use a hybrid cloud strategy because it’s very rare for a large organization to entrust its entire IT infrastructure to a single vendor. As a result, security leaders need to come up with solutions that address the risks unique to hybrid cloud environments.

Key Features of Hybrid Cloud Security

An optimized hybrid cloud security solution gives the organization a centralized point of reference for managing security policies and toolsets across the entire environment. This makes it easier for security leaders to solve complex problems and detect advanced threats before they evolve into business disruptions.

Hybrid cloud infrastructure can actually improve your security posture if managed appropriately. Some of the things you can do in this kind of environment include:

• Manage security risk more effectively. Lock down your most sensitive and highly regulated data in infrastructure under your direct control, while saving on cloud computing costs by entrusting less sensitive data to a third party.

• Distribute points of failure. Diversifying your organization’s cloud infrastructure reduces your dependence on any single cloud platform. This amplifies many of the practical benefits of network segmentation.

• Implement Zero Trust. Hybrid cloud networks can be configured with strict access control and authentication policies. These policies should work without regard to the network’s location, providing a strong foundation for demonstrating Zero Trust.

• Navigate complex compliance requirements. Organizations with hybrid cloud infrastructure are well-prepared to meet strict compliance requirements that apply to certain regions, like CCPA or GDPR data classification. With the right tools, demonstrating compliance through custom reports is easy.

• Real-time monitoring and remediation. With the right hybrid cloud security solutions in place, you can gain in-depth oversight into cloud workloads and respond immediately to security incidents when they occur.
  

How Do Hybrid Cloud Security Solutions Work?

Integration with Cloud Platforms

The first step towards building a hybrid cloud strategy is determining how your cloud infrastructure deployments will interact with one another. This requires carefully reviewing the capabilities of the major public cloud platforms you use and determining your own private cloud integration capabilities.

You will need to ensure seamless operation between these platforms while retaining visibility over your entire network. using APIs to programmatically connect different aspects of your cloud environment can help automate some of the most time-intensive manual tasks.

For example, you may need to manage security configurations and patch updates across many different cloud resources. This will be very difficult and time-consuming if done manually, but a well-integrated automation-ready policy management solution can make it easy.

Security Controls and Measures

Your hybrid cloud solution will also need to provide comprehensive tools for managing firewalls and endpoints throughout your environment. These security tools can’t work in isolation — they need consistent policies informed by observation of your organization’s real-world risk profile. That means you’ll need to deploy a centralized solution for managing the policies and rulesets these devices use, and continuously configure them to address the latest threats.

You will also need to configure your hybrid cloud network to prevent lateral movement and make it harder for internal threat actors to execute attacks. This is achieved with network segmentation, which partitions different parts of your network into segments that do not automatically accept traffic from one another. Microsegmentation further isolates different assets in your network according to their unique security needs, allowing access only to an exclusive set of users and assets.

Dividing cloud workloads and resources into micro-segmented network zones improves network security and makes it harder for threat actors to successfully launch malware and ransomware attacks. It reduces the attack surface and enhances your endpoint security capabilities by enabling you to quarantine compromised endpoints the moment you detect unauthorized activity.

How to Choose a Hybrid Cloud Security Provider

Your hybrid cloud security provider should offer an extensive range of features that help you optimize your cloud service provider’s security capabilities. It should seamlessly connect your security team to the cloud platforms it’s responsible for protecting, while providing relevant context and visibility into cloud security threats.

Here are some of the key features to look out for when choosing a hybrid cloud security provider:

• Scalability and Flexibility. The solution must scale according to your hybrid environment’s needs. Changing security providers is never easy, and you should project its capabilities well into the future before deciding to go through with the implementation. Pay close attention to usage and pricing models that may not be economically feasible as your organization grows.

• SLAs and Compliance. Your provider must offer service-level agreements that guarantee a certain level of performance. These SLAs will also play an important role ensuring compliance requirements are always observed, especially in highly regulated sectors like healthcare.

• Security Posture Assessment. You must be able to easily leverage the platform to assess and improve your overall security posture in a hybrid cloud model. This requires visibility and control over your data, regardless of where it is stored or processed. Not all hybrid cloud security solutions have the integrations necessary to make this feasible.

• DevSecOps Integration. Prioritize cloud security providers that offer support for integrating security best practices into DevOps, and providing security support early in the software development lifecycle. If your organization plans on building continuous deployment capabilities now or in the future, you will need to ensure your cloud security platform is capable of supporting those workflows.

Top 6 Hybrid Cloud Security Solutions

1. AlgoSec

AlgoSec is an application connectivity platform that manages security policies across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It allows security leaders to take control of their apps and security tools, managing and enforcing policies that safeguard cloud services from threats.

AlgoSec supports the automation of data security policy changes and allows users to simulate configuration changes across their tech stack. This makes it a powerful tool for in-depth risk analysis and compliance reporting, while giving security leaders the features they need to address complex hybrid cloud security challenges.

Key Features:

• Complete network visualization. AlgoSec intelligently analyzes application dependencies across the network, giving security teams clear visibility into their network topology.

• Zero-touch change management. Customers can automate application and policy connectivity changes without requiring manual interaction between administrators and security tools.

• Comprehensive security policy management. AlgoSec lets administrators manage security policies across cloud and on-premises infrastructure, ensuring consistent security throughout the organization.

What Do People Say About AlgoSec?

AlgoSec is highly rated for its in-depth policy management capabilities and its intuitive, user-friendly interface. Customers praise its enhanced visibility, intelligent automation, and valuable configuration simulation tools. AlgoSec provides security professionals with an easy way to discover and map their network, and scale policy management even as IT infrastructure grows.

2. Microsoft Azure Security Center

Microsoft Azure Security Center provides threat protection and unified security management across hybrid cloud workloads. As a leader in cloud computing, Microsoft has equipped Azure Security Center with a wide range of cloud-specific capabilities like advanced analytics, DevOps integrations, and comprehensive access management features into a single cloud-native solution.

Adaptive Application Controls leverages machine learning to give users personalized recommendations for whitelisting applications. Just-in-Time VM Access protects cloud infrastructure from brute force attacks by reducing access when virtual machines are not needed.

Key Features:

• Unified security management. Microsoft’s security platform offers visibility both into cloud workflows and non-cloud assets. It can map your hybrid network and enable proactive threat detection across the enterprise tech stack.

• Continuous security assessments. The platform supports automated security assessments for network assets, services, and applications. It triggers alerts notifying administrators when vulnerabilities are detected.

• Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) compatibility. Microsoft enables customers to extend visibility and protection to the IaaS layer, providing uniform security and control across hybrid networks.

What Do People Say About Microsoft Azure Security Center?

Customers praise Microsoft’s hybrid cloud security solution for its user-friendly interface and integration capabilities. However, many users complain about false positives. These may be the result of security tool misconfigurations that lead to unnecessary disruptions and expensive investigations.

3. Amazon AWS Security Hub

Amazon AWS Security Hub is a full-featured cloud security posture management solution that centralized security alerts and enables continuous monitoring of cloud infrastructure. It provides a detailed view of security alerts and compliance status across the hybrid environment.

Security leaders can use Amazon AWS Security Hub to automate compliance checks, and manage their security posture through a centralized solution. It provides extensive API support and can integrate with a wide variety of additional tools.

Key Features:

• Automated best practice security checks. AWS can continuously check your security practices against a well-maintained set of standards developed by Amazon security experts.

• Excellent data visualization capabilities. Administrators can customize the Security Hub dashboard according to specific compliance requirements and generate custom reports to demonstrate security performance.

• Uniform formatting for security findings. AWS uses its own format — the AWS Security Findings Format (ASFF) — to eliminate the need to normalize data across multiple tools and platforms.

What Do People Say About Amazon AWS Security Hub?

Amazon’s Security Hub is an excellent choice for native cloud security posture management, providing granular control and easy compliance. However, the platform’s complexity and lack of visibility does not resonate well with all customers. Some organizations will need to spend considerable time and effort building comprehensive security reports.

4. Google Cloud Security Command Center

Google’s centralized platform helps administrators identify and remediate security risks in Google Cloud and hybrid environments. It is designed to identify misconfigurations and vulnerabilities while making it easier for security leaders to manage regulatory compliance.

Some of the key features it offers include real-time threat detection, security health analytics, and risk assessment tools. Google can also simulate the attack path that threat actors might use to compromise cloud networks.

Key Features:

• Multiple service tiers. The standard service tier provides security health analytics and alerts, while the premium tier offers attack path simulations and event threat detection capabilities.

• AI-generated summaries. Premium subscribers can read dynamically generated summaries of security findings and attack paths in natural language, reducing this technology’s barrier to entry.

• Cloud infrastructure entitlement management. Google’s platform supports cloud infrastructure entitlement management, which exposes misconfigurations at the principal account level from an identity-based framework

What Do People Say About Google Cloud Security Command Center?

Customers applaud the feature included in Google’s premium tier for this service, but complain that it can be hard to get. Not all organizations meet the requirements necessary to use this platform’s most advanced features. Once properly implemented and configured, however, it provides state-of-the-art cloud security that integrates well with Google-centric workflows.

5. IBM Cloud Pak for Security

IBM’s cloud security service connects disparate data sources across hybrid and multi-cloud environments to uncover hidden threats. It allows hybrid organizations to advance Zero Trust strategies without compromising on operational security.

IBM provides its customers with AI-driven insights, seamless integrations with existing IT environments, and data protection capabilities. It’s especially well-suited for enterprise organizations that want to connect public cloud services with legacy technology deployments that are difficult or expensive to modify.

Key Features:

• Open security. This platform is designed to integrate easily with existing security applications, making it easy for customers to scale their security tech stack and improve policy standards across the enterprise.

• Improved data stewardship. IBM doesn’t require customers to move their data from one place to another. This makes compliance much easier to manage, especially in complex enterprise environments.

• Threat intelligence integrations. Customers can integrate IBM Cloud Pak with IBM Threat Intelligence Insights to get detailed and actionable insights delivered to cloud security teams.

What Do People Say About IBM Cloud Pak?

IBM Cloud Pak helps connect security teams and administrators to the content they need in real time. However, it’s a complicated environment with a significant amount of legacy code, well-established workarounds, and secondary components. This impacts usability and makes it less accessible than other entries on this list.

6. Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud

Palo Alto Networks offers comprehensive cloud-native security across multi-cloud and hybrid environments to customers. Prisma Cloud reduces risk and prevents security breaches at multiple points in the application lifecycle.

Some of the key features this solution includes are continuous monitoring, API security, and vulnerability management. It provides comprehensive visibility and control to security leaders managing extensive hybrid cloud deployments.

Key Features:

• Hardens CI/CD pipelines. This solution includes robust features for reducing the attack surface of application development environments and protecting CI/CD pipelines.

• Secures infrastructure-as-code (IaC) deployments. Extensive coverage for detecting and resolving misconfigurations in IaC templates like Terraform, Kubernetes, ARM, and CloudFormation.

• Provides context-aware prioritization. Palo Alto Networks addresses open source vulnerabilities and license compliance problems contextually, bringing attention to the most important issues first.

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What Do People Say About Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud?

Palo Alto Networks is highly regarded as an enterprise security leader. Many customers praise its products, and Prisma Cloud is no different. However, it comes with a very high price tag that many organizations simply can’t afford. This is especially true when additional integration and implementation costs are factored in. Additionally, some customers have complained about the lack of embedded Identity and Access Management (IAM) controls in the solution.

Optimize Hybrid Cloud Security with AlgoSec

Security leaders must continually adapt their security deployments to meet evolving cybersecurity threats in hybrid cloud environments. As the threat landscape changes, the organization’s policies and capabilities must adjust to meet new demands.

Achieving this level of flexibility is not easy with purely manual configuration and policy workflows. Human error is a major element in many data breaches, and organizations must develop security best practices that address that risk.

Implementing the right cloud security platform can make a significant difference when it comes to securing complex hybrid cloud deployments. The ability to simulate in-depth configuration changes and automate the deployment of those changes across the entire environment offers significant advantages to operational security.

Consider making AlgoSec your cybersecurity co-pilot for identifying vulnerabilities and addressing security gaps. Avoid costly misconfigurations and leverage intelligent automation to make your hybrid cloud environment more secure than ever before.