How Can CIEM Enhance Security

Recently, companies are getting concerned about the complexity and security challenges in their cloud environment, and as a result, they are thinking about a much more robust cloud security strategy. If you are one of those companies struggling with the complexity of a multi-cloud environment, you need CIEM.

CIEM stands for Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management. The new, cutting-edge technology lowers the security risks from excessive entitlements. CIEM is based on a framework that allows organizations to monitor and manage every human and non-human identity across multiple cloud infrastructures.

CIEM performs multiple functions, such as:

CIEM solutions manage permissions and entitlements while enforcing the least privilege in the cloud.
Through continuous enforcement of the least privilege policy, the CIEM solution enhances productivity.
The pressure and workload on the security teams are mitigated.
It supports the DevOps team by taking care of the security factor completely. Therefore, the DevOps team is now entirely driven by innovation and agility.
CIEM automates excessive permission removal without interrupting the DevOps team.
Since excessive entitlements are managed proactively, the risk of data breaches in the public cloud is removed.

The Cloud Security Challenges

Most companies embrace different cloud service providers to include a diverse range of applications, workloads, business processes, and data. Sometimes, enterprises may consist of more than a thousand different users and services, and such huge numbers make the process more complex.

Users require entitlements that grant them access to various resources in the cloud. However, in addition to users and roles, there are non-human entities, such as applications, machines, etc., thus adding to the situation’s complexity.

So, it is essential to provide entitlements to applications and devices to ensure proper data sharing and mitigate the risk of unwarranted access to crucial business information. Automation is the most organic solution to handle thousands of resources with millions of entitlements.

Managing Entitlements

In the past, several cases of mismanaged entitlements have caused destructive effects for organizations. Attackers use misconfigured permissions and unauthorized accounts to find their way to destroy the cloud deployments.

Unfortunately, security solutions like Privileged Access Management (PAM) cannot entirely address such entitlement issues. Most security-based technology tools fail to provide visibility into enterprise entitlements and instead focus on the configuration process. Some devices are incapable of managing potential risks in the cloud.

To manage entitlements, the enterprise must obtain an overview of all entitlements and monitor who sees what information is in the cloud. The security team must manage human and non-human users and their ability to access resources in the cloud.

How Can CIEM Help?

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management protects cloud assets by providing a unified visualization platform. CIEM provides a single dashboard that allows entitlement security management across multiple cloud platforms.

Its automated reporting capabilities allow comprehensive and robust security infrastructure. The dashboard includes a high-level view of entitlements to help build powerful risk mitigation strategies. A well-built CIEM solution can provide the following functionalities to ensure optimal cloud security for your enterprise.

All cloud transactions are defined.
Accurate characterization of cloud transactions helps establish the enterprise policy and identify abnormal transactions that deviate from the policy.
Every external and internal threat from a human or non-human entity is identified.
CIEM helps to maintain an accurate and updated inventory of all entitlements.
Problematic entitlements are identified, and the cleanup process is initiated automatically.
Entitlement problems are fixed with the help of suggested actions from the CIEM solution. CIEM also aids the DevOps teams in building remediation plans for resolving high-priority issues.
The CIEM dashboard presents information by implementing uniform guardrails across the different cloud environments. This makes it easy to understand the various security terminology other cloud service providers use.

Visualization is an essential requirement for entitlement management. Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management technology simplifies the process of managing identities and their entitlements by providing visibility across multiple cloud environments. CIEM solutions can be integrated into the organization’s existing security infrastructure with the help of a good vendor.

CIEM offers a whole plethora of benefits for an enterprise. Since the solution is relatively newer and emerging, the technology may be subjected to further enhancements in the upcoming years.

If you are an organization with complex cloud policies for information access and permissions, then you must consider moving beyond traditional tools like PAM. Your cloud presence demands greater visibility and deeper insights to handle its complexity and deliver efficient results.

While choosing a CIEM vendor, opt for one who can understand your unique approach to the cloud environment. The vendor should analyze your expectations and offer a holistic solution for your organization.