Book Image

Cloud Auditing Best Practices

By : Shinesa Cambric, Michael Ratemo
5 (1)
Book Image

Cloud Auditing Best Practices

5 (1)
By: Shinesa Cambric, Michael Ratemo

Overview of this book

As more and more companies are moving to cloud and multi-cloud environments, being able to assess the compliance of these environments properly is becoming more important. But in this fast-moving domain, getting the most up-to-date information is a challenge—so where do you turn? Cloud Auditing Best Practices has all the information you’ll need. With an explanation of the fundamental concepts and hands-on walk-throughs of the three big cloud players, this book will get you up to speed with cloud auditing before you know it. After a quick introduction to cloud architecture and an understanding of the importance of performing cloud control assessments, you’ll quickly get to grips with navigating AWS, Azure, and GCP cloud environments. As you explore the vital role an IT auditor plays in any company’s network, you'll learn how to successfully build cloud IT auditing programs, including using standard tools such as Terraform, Azure Automation, AWS Policy Sentry, and many more. You’ll also get plenty of tips and tricks for preparing an effective and advanced audit and understanding how to monitor and assess cloud environments using standard tools. By the end of this book, you will be able to confidently apply and assess security controls for AWS, Azure, and GCP, allowing you to independently and effectively confirm compliance in the cloud.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
1
Part 1: The Basics of Cloud Architecture and Navigating – Understanding Enterprise Cloud Auditing Essentials
4
Part 2: Cloud Security and IT Controls
8
Part 3: Executing an Effective Enterprise Cloud Audit Plan

Network, Infrastructure, and Security Controls

In cloud networks, access is controlled primarily through virtual networks and their associated networking resources. Cloud systems use virtual networks to enable communication between components inside a cloud. A virtual network is a networking system that emulates a physical network by combining the hardware and software network resources into a single entity. A virtual network contains network resources and capabilities including firewalls, virtual routers, load balancers, and network management.

In the cloud, virtual networks are managed via Software-Defined Networking (SDN). SDN is a category of technologies designed to allow virtualized networking functions that can be managed through software. SDN enables the creation of virtual networks by emulating physical firewalls, routers, and other networking devices used in traditional networks.

Deploying virtual networks on the cloud is fairly simple. New infrastructure can be quickly...