The cloud era has exposed the flaws in the shared responsibility model, revealing that true collaboration is more intricate than previously thought. As a result, enterprises are left with inadequate security measures, making them more vulnerable to risks.
The shared responsibility model has been a cornerstone of cybersecurity since its inception. However, modern complexities, particularly in cloud computing, are challenging this model’s effectiveness. The premise of shared responsibility is straightforward: vendors build secure systems, and organizations implement them securely. Yet, as technology evolves, this model becomes increasingly strained.
In the past, addressing vulnerabilities meant choosing between using a flawed system or replacing it entirely. However, with computing technologies, we can now upgrade in place. Early computer systems relied on patches to modify existing software, with vendors responsible for ensuring the new software worked and buyers tasked with installation.
As software complexity grew, so did the challenges. Vendors had to navigate diverse application ecosystems, leading to configuration-driven updates. This approach allowed vendors to release new software with both old and new functionality, leaving it to users to enable new settings. If issues arose, users could simply disable the setting rather than reinstalling old software. This shift has subtly eroded the shared responsibility model, placing more burden on users to configure and manage security settings.
The Evolution of Software Security
The software landscape has undergone significant changes, making it challenging to ensure security. In the past, software was single-purpose, and vendors could predict how customers would use it. However, with the rise of general-purpose software, vendors can no longer anticipate how their products will be used. This shift has led to a loss of control and visibility for companies, making it harder to ensure software security.
As companies increasingly rely on software they don’t control, they lose the signal that a software vendor has updated its software choices. This has resulted in a situation where vendors must continue to support vulnerable versions, enabling more users to rely on vulnerable features. The rise of cloud computing has further complicated matters, with companies no longer owning their own computer systems but instead relying on cloud-native, SaaS-native, and AI-native environments.
The complexity of modern software systems has created new challenges for security. With multiple layers of dependencies and integrations, identifying and addressing vulnerabilities has become a daunting task.
Moreover, the rapid pace of innovation in software development has led to a situation where security is often an afterthought.
The Challenges of Cloud Security
Cloud service providers (CSPs) face significant challenges in supporting diverse customer configurations, particularly in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. CSPs have to deal with the complexity of any number of origin and end-user systems they talk to, making it difficult to ensure security. Moreover, CSPs release new capabilities at an astounding rate, and each of those needs safe configuration.
However, old capabilities are silently updated with new security features to fix known issues, leaving customers to stumble onto new documentation and notice the changes entirely on their own. This has created a situation where customers are responsible for ensuring the security of their applications, despite lacking the necessary expertise and resources.
The shared responsibility model of cloud security has created confusion and finger-pointing between CSPs and customers. CSPs often disavow responsibility for customer security configurations, leading to a lack of incentives for improving security. This has resulted in a situation where customers are left to navigate the complex landscape of cloud security on their own.
The Need for Cloud Providers to Take Responsibility
Cloud providers need to stop denying that they hold some fault in the current state of insecurity. Their security tooling needs to be easier to use at scale, and unsafe configurations must be easy to identify. When they do discover problems, they should bear the burden of helping their customers become more safe.
CSPs should take ownership of their role in software security and work towards making their security tooling more user-friendly. This includes providing clear documentation, easy-to-use interfaces, and proactive support for customers. By doing so, CSPs can help reduce the complexity of cloud security and make it easier for companies to ensure the security of their applications.
Moreover, CSPs should provide customers with the necessary tools and resources to ensure the security of their applications. This includes providing security monitoring and logging capabilities, as well as incident response and remediation support.
The Rise of New Industries and Tools
Entire industries have risen to try to help companies protect their applications inside these dangerous ecosystems. These industries include ecosystem hardeners like cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPP), SaaS security posture management (SSPM), and cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM).
Application defenders such as application security posture management (ASPM), application detection and response (ADR), and web application and API protection (WAAP) have also emerged. These tools and industries aim to help companies navigate the complex landscape of cloud security and ensure the security of their applications.
However, despite these efforts, the challenge continues to grow, and CSPs need to take more responsibility for customer security. The rise of new industries and tools has created a situation where companies have a plethora of options for securing their applications, but lack the necessary expertise and resources to effectively utilize them.
The Future of Software Security
As the software landscape continues to evolve, it’s essential to recognize the need for a collaborative approach to security. Cloud providers, vendors, and customers must work together to ensure the security of software applications. This includes sharing knowledge, best practices, and responsibilities.
The future of software security depends on our ability to adapt to the changing landscape. By acknowledging the challenges and working together, we can create a more secure environment for software applications. Cloud providers must take responsibility for their role in software security, and customers must be proactive in ensuring the security of their applications.
Moreover, the industry needs to move towards a more proactive approach to security, rather than relying on reactive measures. This includes implementing security measures earlier in the development cycle and providing customers with the necessary tools and resources to ensure the security of their applications.
