Managing Cloud Security - C838 Test|2023/24 Update|Graded A+

Eucalyptus Open source cloud computing and IaaS platform for enabling private clouds Apache Cloud Stack Open source cloud computing and IaaS platform developed to help make creating, deploying, and managing cloud services easier by providing a complete "stack" of features and components for cloud environments FIPS 140-2 NIST document that lists accredited and outmoded cryptosystems NIST 800-53 Guidance document with the primary goal of ensuring that appropriate security requirements and controls are applied to all U.S. federal government information in information management systems Four Steps of a Business Requirements Analysis 1. inventory of all assets (#) 2. valuation of each asset ($) 3. determination of critical paths, processes, and assets 4. clear understanding of risk appetite Cloud Provider Defense Roles - strong personnel controls (background checks, and continual monitoring) - technological controls (encryption, event logging, and access control enforcement) - physical controls - governance mechanisms and enforcement (policies and audits) Cloud Customer Defense Roles - training programs for staff and users - contractual enforcement of policy requirements - use of encryption and logical isolation mechanisms - strong access control methods Key Components of Strong Data Retention Policies 1. Retention periods 2. Applicable regulation 3. Retention formats 4. Data classification 5. Archiving and retrieval procedures 6. Monitoring, maintenance and enforcement ITAR International Traffic in Arms Regulations United States regulation; prohibitions on defense-related exports; can include cryptography systems. EAR Export Administration Regulations United States regulation; prohibitions on dual-use items (technologies that could be used for both commercial and military purposes). The 3 Types of Database Encryption 1. File-level - encrypting the volume or folder of the database, with the encryption engine and keys residing on the instances attached to the volume; protects from media theft, lost backups, and external attack but does not protect against attacks with access to the application layer, the instance's OS, or the database itself 2. Transparent - encrypting the entire database or specific portions, such as tables; encryption engine resides within the database, and it is transparent to the application; keys usually reside within the instance, although processing and management of them may also be offloaded to an external KMS; provides effective protection from media theft, backup system intrusions, and certain database and application-level attacks 3. Application-level - encryption engine resides at the application that is utilizing the database; can act as a robust mechanism to protect against a range of threats, such as compromised administrative accounts and other database and application-level attacks; it is challenging to perform indexing, searches, and metadata collection though; can also be challenging due to the expertise requirements for cryptographic development and integration Virtualization Risks 1. attacks on the hypervisor 2. guest escape a.k.a. VM escape 3. information bleed 4. data seizure (of host machine) Forklifting moving an existing legacy enterprise application to the cloud with little or no code changes IAM Components Identity and Access Management 1. Authentication 2. Authorization 3. User management 4. Central user repository Four Popular Federation Standards 1. SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language); most popular; XML based 2. WS-Federation; uses realms 3. OAuth; often used with mobile apps 4. OpenID Connect; based on Oauth 2; allows developers to authenticate users across websites and apps DAM Database Activity Monitoring similar to a WAF (web app firewall), but for databases 6 REST API Characteristics and Examples of Best Use Representational State Transfer 1. It's lightweight. 2. It uses simple URLs. 3. It is not reliant on XML. 4. It's scalable. 5. It outputs in many formats (CSV, JSON, and so on). 6. It's efficient, which means it uses smaller messages than XML. When bandwidth is limited When stateless operations are used When caching is needed 5 SOAP API Characteristics and Examples of Best Use Simple Object Access Protocol 1. Standards-based 2. Reliant on XML 3. Highly intolerant of errors 4. Slower 5. Built-in error handling Asynchronous processing Format contracts Stateful operations STRIDE Threat model 1. Spoofing 2. Tampering 3. Repudiation 4. Information disclosure 5. Denial of service 6. Elevation of privileges RASP Runtime Application Self-Protection; protects itself through the ability to reconfigure itself without human intervention; typically occurs in response to certain types of threats or faults; called runtime protection Top 9 OWASP Coding Flaws 1. Input validation 2. Source code design 3. Info leakage and improper error handling 4. Direct object reference 5. Resource usage 6. API usage 7. Best practice violations 8. Weak session management 9. Use of HTTP Get query strings UI Tier 1 Basic Site Infrastructure; simplistic data center; little or no redundancy; dedicated space for IT systems; UPS system for line conditioning and backup purposes; sufficient cooling systems to serve all critical equipment; power generator for extended electrical outages, with at least 12 hours of fuel to run the generator at sufficient load to power the IT systems; scheduled maintenance will require systems to be taken offline; both planned and unplanned maintenance and response activity may take systems offline; untoward personnel activity (both inadvertent and malicious) will result in downtime; annual maintenance is necessary to safely operate the datacenter and requires full shutdown UI Tier 2 Redundant Site Infrastructure Capacity Components Critical operations do not have to be interrupted for scheduled replacement and maintenance of any of the redundant components; however, there may be downtime for any disconnection of power distribution systems and lines; contrary to Tier 1, where untoward personnel activity WILL cause downtime, in Tier 2 it MAY cause downtime; unplanned failures of components or systems might result in downtime UI Tier 3 Concurrently Maintainable Site Infrastructure tier 2, but: There are dual power supplies for all IT systems; critical operations can continue even if any single component or power element is out of service for scheduled maintenance or replacement; unplanned loss of a component MAY cause downtime; the loss of a single system WILL cause downtime; planned maintenance will not necessarily result in downtime