Securing a Materials Operation From the Cloud

So, You’re a Materials Business Looking to Secure Important Data?

With cloud-based control, materials businesses centralize more than just their operational data — cloud environments allow businesses to centralize their security policies, like password rules and encryption requirements too. Security events, threat alerts, and system logs from various devices and applications are all seen from a single pane with 24/7 availability. This overarching awareness helps in identifying vulnerabilities early without having to individually check each app and device, while also minimizing the time and resources needed to hold down a secure environment.

Cloud platforms use centralized identity services, like Identity and Access Management, to control who can access what. And instead of separate logins from everywhere, there is one place to manage user permissions and roles. By logging in through a trusted system, particularly with single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA), users can access a range of cloud services without having to re-authenticate. Meanwhile, cloud service providers support a wealth of enterprise-grade security features, like routine patching, firewalls and intrusion detection systems, data encryption, and multi-factor authentication.

Single Sign-On & Multi-Factor Authentication

With MFA, the chances of an unauthorized access breach are greatly reduced, even if a password is compromised. As passwords serve as a single factor to authorize access, MFA takes additional measures by requiring users to provide two or more independent credentials before access is granted to a system, app, or network. So, factors such as fingerprints, facial recognition, authentication apps, or hardware tokens, further ensure the right people access the right data at the right time. For materials businesses, managing critical security policies can be significantly easier from the cloud compared to working with on- premises systems. In the case of MFA, admins can manage all users and authentication policies through a single web-based dashboard without requiring on-site access or manual updates. While MFA may require custom configuration to work with any existing legacy systems, cloud-based MFA cuts the operational
overhead. In other words, businesses can expect security without complexity.

Another simplified security method is enacting SSO. Cutting out all that extra time spent repeatedly entering in credentials, SSO strengthens a business’s security posture by centralizing authentication through a trusted identity provider (like Azure AD, Okta, or Google Workspace). While it’s possible to implement SSO with on- premises systems, cloud SSO solutions offer pre-built integrations, automatic user directory connectors, and ease scaling and availability, much like MFA.

Your Data Backed Up

What happens to your data in the case of a security incident? The stark reality materials businesses face is that it may not be a matter of if they are subject to an attack, outage, or accidental deletion, but when. Fortunately, data versioning and recovery options serve as a live safety net.

In short, cloud backup enables important data to live safely off-site so that even if your physical device fails, your data — or your customers’ — isn’t lost. Cloud technology supports prompt data recovery by continuously replicating and versioning your information across multiple, geographically dispersed data centers. With cloud service providers expanding their coverage in every region, operations can continue in the case of a single data center failure. Additionally, automated snapshots capture point-in-time copies of files and databases, making it easy to roll back to a safe state — one prior to a failure.

This is a major advantage to materials suppliers, as automatic cloud backup reduces the chance of human error, enables quick resumable operations, and removes the burden of any manual configuration.

Protected Business Agility

As seen in other on-the-go industries, teams that can securely work from anywhere — even with a personal device — maximize their systems’ flexibility. Behind the scenes to this mobility are encrypted connections and secure access portals.

Encrypted connections such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) ensure that data sent between a user’s device and the cloud is scrambled into unreadable code as it transfers. For businesses, this means protection against eavesdropping (intercepting live data) and man-in-the-middle attacks (where attackers try to hijack communication). Meanwhile, cloud systems use secure access portals as controlled access points into an environment. Here you’ll find authentication requirements (including MFA), user-based permissions, activity monitoring, session timeouts, device checks, and even location-based restrictions.

Trusted Frameworks & Certifications

Cloud technology providers come in different shapes and sizes. As materials businesses consider a cloud technology partner, it’s important to ask questions about any frameworks they follow or certifications they may hold. By doing so, you can gain a clear understanding of what to expect when a business-halting outage knocks on the door.

In this space, two cybersecurity frameworks cover extensive measures that further validate a tech provider’s commitment to protecting customer data in the cloud while ensuring prompt business continuity — NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and SOC2 certification. NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, defines industry-agnostic cybersecurity guidelines that specify how organizations can reduce cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure. Throughout 108 subcategories, the framework covers a broad range of cybersecurity objectives while providing more specific guidance on creating robust cybersecurity strategies. NIST criteria are designed to be scalable (similar to the nature of cloud computing), making the framework itself quite malleable to an organization’s specific requirements. Additionally, criteria particularly provided in Special Publication 800-53 lay out recommended information security requirements for protecting the confidentiality of controlled unclassified information.

Meanwhile, SOC 2 (Systems and Organization Controls) reports are particularly important for technology providers that handle sensitive data or provide compliance-related services. Established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, SOC 2 lays out criteria for two types of assessments. While SOC2 Type 1 verifies that necessary security controls exist and are appropriately designed to meet standardized criteria, Type 2 assesses the operating effectiveness of those controls.

SOC 2 audits include rigorous examinations of the design and operating effectiveness of an organization’s controls by an accredited Certified Public Accountant (CPA). The CPA will run tests, review evidence, and interview members of a tech provider before producing a final report, which provides their opinion on how an organization complies with selected Trust Services Criteria.

NIST guidelines and SOC 2 are both vendor-managed, meaning cloud technology providers are responsible for maintaining routine audits to ensure criteria are properly met. For many materials organizations operating with on-premises systems, however, meeting compliance would fall on them. Materials businesses, who are focused on maximizing their day-to-day operational efficiency may not have the bandwidth to fully meet critical security needs on their own.