Organizations planning a cloud migration must consider many factors associated with the move. Many moving parts need to be coordinated for a successful migration. Teams may need to adjust business operations to account for the time necessary to transfer and verify data resources to the new platform. Companies must ensure they have the proper skill sets or third-party support to manage the cloud environment efficiently.
Decision-makers must protect their data and business by focusing on security throughout the migration. Teams should take specific steps as the migration progresses to safeguard their assets. Organizations that implement the elements in the following checklist will secure their data and the new environment.
Before the Migration Begins
All prospective cloud migrations should begin with a targeted assessment of the existing environment and a well-designed plan to protect data and ensure post-transition security.
- Assess the current environment: Companies should start by assessing the existing security posture, including identifying vulnerabilities and gaps that need to be addressed after the move. A migration offers a perfect opportunity to enhance legacy security solutions with a more modern, cloud-based alternative.
- Inventory and classify all data assets: Teams must accurately inventory and classify data assets according to sensitivity, value, and compliance requirements. While all data should be encrypted and securely transferred during the migration, different classifications can be treated differently when housed in the cloud. For instance, regulated data may need to be segregated through network segmentation to meet compliance obligations.
- Select an appropriate cloud architecture: Organizations must determine the correct cloud model to address their objectives. Decision-makers may choose to implement the new environment with a public, private, or hybrid cloud solution. Many businesses can benefit from a more complex, multi-cloud infrastructure that incorporates services from multiple vendors.
- Understand the vendor’s shared security responsibility model: Companies must fully understand their and the provider’s role in securing the environment and data resources. Organizations should evaluate potential vendors based on whether they hold security certifications such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HITRUST.
- Plan IAM procedures: The ubiquitous nature of cloud access requires teams to plan and implement strict Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies. Businesses must prevent external and internal threat actors from any unauthorized access.
- Plan backups for the new environment: Teams must plan backups that effectively protect cloud data. This protection may include implementing alternative backup methods for SaaS solutions, such as Microsoft 365, that go beyond native capabilities.
- Develop a DR plan for the cloud: Companies must have a practical disaster recovery (DR) plan to restore business-critical systems quickly. Now is the time to define recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) to ensure business continuity. Teams should leverage cloud recovery capabilities when developing their DR plans.
During the Transition Activities
Once the pre-migration planning is complete, companies can commence with transition activities. The focus during this phase of the migration is to securely transfer data to the cloud, verify its integrity, and validate backup and recovery procedures.
- Protect data in transit: All data should be encrypted and transferred over secure connections. Teams must continuously monitor data transfers to ensure they only reach authorized endpoints. Organizations should apply zero-trust principles for all data access and enforce strict authentication and authorization measures. Administrators should grant users temporary access to perform migration duties and revoke it upon completion of the activity.
- Verify backups and restores: Teams must ensure that all required backups and snapshots for the migration have completed successfully. They should also test restore procedures as soon as possible to verify that data and applications can be recovered.
- Enable monitoring tools: Teams should have access to real-time monitoring tools to track the migration’s progress. They should be alert to unexpected data transfers or access attempts that may indicate a security threat to the migration.
- Confirm security configurations: Companies must ensure that all security configurations align with their IAM and other access rules and policies. Security elements, such as firewall rules, should be scrutinized and monitored throughout the migration to prevent unauthorized access to the environment.
After the Migration is Complete
Companies must turn their attention to protecting the cloud environment when the migration is complete. Taking the proper steps is essential in achieving and maintaining a secure cloud infrastructure.
- Perform a security audit: The new environment should be audited to ensure its security and ability to protect systems and company resources. Security in the cloud should align with company standards and policies. Teams should conduct penetration tests and vulnerability scans to identify any gaps and take immediate action to close them.
- Adopt cloud-native IAM principles: Companies should implement cloud-native IAM rules to protect the infrastructure. Legacy methods may not be sufficient to address the risks of unauthorized cloud access. Administrators should enforce measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all cloud activities.
- Monitor the cloud environment: Organizations must enable monitoring and logging tools to detect anomalies that may indicate security threats. The cloud provider may offer advanced security services, such as threat detection, that enhance data protection.
- Validate backup and DR procedures: Companies should test recovery operations regularly to ensure they meet business-critical RTOs and RPOs. The tests should present opportunities to improve the processes and take advantage of cloud capabilities such as multi-region recovery.
- Documentation and continuous improvement: Businesses should document cloud security data and ensure staff are trained on new tools and best practices. Decision-makers should perform periodic security reviews to identify ways to improve security.
How VAST View Streamlines a Secure Cloud Migration
VAST View is our proprietary, comprehensive cloud migration tool designed to streamline your migration and ensure a successful transition that addresses your business requirements and objectives. We start with discovery and assessment, identifying what infrastructure elements to move and how they can best leverage cloud capabilities. This information enables us to develop a detailed migration plan that keeps your data secure while minimizing business disruptions.
VAST’s managed cloud approach will help you control costs and maximize the benefits of the cloud. We optimize the environment and efficiently orchestrate complex multi-cloud solutions. Talk to our cloud migration experts today and get started on a secure and successful transition that modernizes your business.
