The hybrid IT environment heavily used today brought with it a more seamless and practical way of operating and growing our businesses. But even with all the pros there are some cons to the system, mainly security-wise. The thing is, the servers that protect vital information, intellectual property, and card transactions are often the primary aim of cybersecurity attacks.
Even though we know this, lots of organizations still have subpar server security. That is partly because of CEOs and other top management personnel. They easily get overwhelmed with the lingo and the seemingly endless task list for establishing seamless server security in a hybrid IT environment.
But not only is it worth it (both in terms of time and money) to secure your sensitive data and replace outdated security tools – it’s also required. That is because there are a lot of legal requirements and regulations to be met, and users have also significantly leveled up their expectations.
And to accomplish all of that, you need a modern hybrid IT environment that highlights productivity, as well as security. Let’s do a quick rundown of server security for such IT environments and give a few useful tips along the way.
What is a Hybrid IT Environment?
Working in a hybrid IT environment means working in a space with both on-premise and cloud-based IT infrastructure. That infrastructure, of course, maintains and manages the organization’s IT needs.
This model allows organizations to combine traditional on-site data center IT infrastructure with private and public cloud environments.
It can be a challenge to handle such a hybrid data center. After all, that data center now sprawls from legacy on-premise solutions to the aforementioned private and public clouds. Whether the in-house IT team handles the management and security of that sprawling system or a managed service provider (MSP) does that – depends on the enterprise in question.
But what we do certainly know is that hybrid IT is perfect for today’s digital business climate. The world is moving at a fast pace, so being innovative and flexible when it comes to cybersecurity is a given.
Server Security Challenges in 2022
A lot of companies are experiencing the shift of moving to a hybrid IT environment. At the same time that their servers are located in an on-premise environment, they are moving a vast part of their data and operations on new sorts of servers:
- Cloud workloads
- Containers
- Microservices
- Virtual machines
- Storage devices, and so on,
That puts them in a situation of having multiple cloud platforms. And, normally that usually leads to more people having access to servers. And there lies part of the problems. Instead of a few server admins in-house, you may have outsourced developers working for you, too. So, along with your trusty outsourced developers, you must have secure remote access to servers in the cloud.
You have to keep in mind that cloud server security is a different beast from legacy data center security. Distributed IT server environments are harder to handle and protect from attacks. Numerous applications mean numerous risk profiles. And different cloud servers mean different policies instead of a unified framework.
So you need to help your server administrators do their job better, because they’re humans, and mistakes happen when they need to safeguard a distributed server environment.
Employing Privileged Access Management (PAM) for Server Security
The most important thing to do when transforming to a hybrid IT environment is to secure privileged access accounts since they are often the core of the servers’ function. Because cybercriminals go exactly for those sorts of accounts as access points to your sensitive data. It’s thus no wonder that well-established companies with hybrid environments are employing Zero Trust policies, meaning, they severely limit privileged access across their enterprise.
If you are a large enterprise, a hacker getting access to privileged access accounts means compromised IP assets, stolen identities, shareholder value, millions in regulatory fines, ransom payments that push you into bankruptcy, etc.
Not only do you need to safeguard against high-profile ransomware crimes, but also the regulatory institutions are increasingly demanding businesses to better handle privileged access management (PAM). And at the same time, you get cyber-insurance organizations breathing down your neck, asking for (useful) things like:
- Better access control
- Multi-factor authentication
- Preconditions for granting policies, etc
A good way of establishing a PAM system is to instill the principle of least privilege. Certain users will get access, but only to the lowest level. That way, if your employee gets compromised, the cyber-attacker can’t do much with said employee’s account. Rather, if the employee needs broader access, they need to ask for it, and they will be granted greater access through proper control for a limited timespan, and they will be monitored afterward.
You can even design the PAM system to operate automatically – once the employee’s job on the server is done, the PAM system takes away their access privileges. It’s no wonder IT pros are raving about PAM systems and their security, scalability, and flexibility.
Final Word
In today’s world of hybrid work, remote access, and increasing phishing and hacking attacks, there are robust solutions to keep your valuable data safe. There is no risk-free way of scaling your business and running daily operations. But instilling a culture of wide-spanning server security through controlled access management is the first step to feeling more at peace with where your business is heading.