Can security and compliance for managed database services be simple?

Actual Tech Media recently released a new entry in its Gorilla Guide series for IT professionals, focused on simplifying security and compliance for Database as a Service (DBaaS). The Gorilla Guide To® Securing Database as a Service (DBaaS) features Imperva Cloud Data Security as a solution to help organizations achieve these goals. You can get a free copy of the Gorilla Guide here.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

DBaaS is booming, but security remains a concern

Managed database services are prized for bringing speed, agility, and low cost to DevOps. They are a smart choice for the many enterprises born in or moving to the cloud – Gartner reports 75% of databases will be deployed or migrated to a cloud platform by 2022. Many enterprises trust the native capabilities featured in managed database services for a myriad of reasons; they help bring new applications and services to market faster, reduce the cost and complexity of their database operations, and provide greater overall flexibility than customer-managed databases.

Security for managed database services in the cloud, however, is a major concern. 84% of companies say their current security solutions won’t work in these new environments, and they’re not wrong. What can these organizations do to gain visibility and control over data assets in cloud-based database services?

Who is responsible for DBaaS security?

First, it’s important to understand what you and what your managed database service providers are responsible for in terms of security. Virtually all cloud service providers follow an industry-standard shared responsibility model in which the service provider is responsible for securing the system and the enterprise customer is responsible for securing the data. To secure the data for which your database service provider is not responsible will require a complete rethink on your part.

DBaaS security and compliance requires a new approach

Unlike in traditional on-premise database settings, architecture in cloud services environments is not monolithic. There are many more databases of different types and varieties that support cloud services. Cloud-native applications tend to be highly distributed; relying on tens, hundreds, or even thousands of microservices to deliver the discrete functions that enable the rapid development and deployment that make your business faster and more flexible.

In most instances, security teams often don’t even know when and where DevOps teams – a group often motivated more by agility than security or compliance concerns – are spinning up new databases to support development. This creates significant challenges in monitoring and protecting the databases that support cloud services. Security and compliance teams can’t manage what they don’t know about.

Break down the barriers to securing cloud managed databases

Organizations may know how to secure databases like MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL when they’re in their data center. But when they are DBaaS, it breaks the tried and true model and brings new dynamics that traditional methods and tools aren’t well suited for. Your solution should enable you to monitor user activity by identifying non-compliant behavior with no expert-level understanding of cloud-based managed database services.

Your solution should enable you to enforce security policy at scale to cover as many cloud databases as are supporting your organization – even databases created without the security teams’ knowledge. Fast, agile, and scalable detection of behavior that violates compliance policy across your managed database services will quickly enable your security team to catch up with your DevOps team.

Securing managed database services made simple

In the Gorilla Guide To® Securing Database as a Service (DBaaS), anyone with responsibility for securing data off-premises will get important insight that enables you to make the right decisions as your organization embraces cloud-based DBaaS. You’ll learn about topics such as:

• What is driving the trends toward DBaaS usage, and what they mean for security and compliance
• Details of what security and compliance controls your organization needs to provide on top of the security inherent in the cloud platform
• How traditional security tools designed for self-managed databases fall short
• Best practices for securing DBaaS and the major building blocks of a successful solution
• Pros and cons of various security approaches commonly implemented by organizations using DBaaS

The Gorilla Guide also discusses how Imperva Cloud Data Security is a cost-effective, cloud-native solution for the DBaaS security and compliance challenge. For a free trial, click here.

Whether you’re trying to reduce the risk of exposure to your organization or make compliance and audit a less costly and labor-intensive process, the Gorilla Guide To® Securing Database as a Service (DBaaS) can help put you in a better position to succeed. Get your free copy of the Gorilla Guide today.

Hear more about managed database services and Imperva Cloud Data Security from our experts in the webinar, How to Secure Sensitive Data in Database as a Service (DBaaS) Environments. Register now.