Microsoft, Google boost cloud security amid growing cyberthreat landscape

Dive Brief:

Leading cloud providers introduced new security applications last week, as first reported by GeekWire. Google and Spotify launched Foreseti Security, an open source community with new security tools for Google Cloud Platform users, on Friday according to a Google announcement. The collaboration offers users visibility into the platform's infrastructure and regulation and analysis of access to GCP resources.
Microsoft also unveiled a new security service last week, launching Azure confidential computing. The data security measures for the cloud platform encrypt data while in use — ensuring user control of data while it is processed — and protect against malicious outsiders, hackers, malware and third parties accessing without consent.
Confidential computing also allows developers to use different Trusted Execution Environments without having to modify their code. The project comes after four years of collaboration between various Microsoft teams and Intel.

Dive Insight:

Both companies' new security features come on the heels of the Equifax security debacle. Though Azure's confidential computing was years in the making, both releases come at a time when consumers are facing huge data security concerns.

The programs offer customers additional protections from third parties accessing the GCP and Azure clouds via software bugs like the one that caused the Equifax breach.

With the rise of cyberattacks and data breaches over the last few years, prevention, or at least rapid detection, is turning into a high priority. Security incident recovery costs for SMBs average out to $86,500. The average enterprise has a recovery cost approximately 10 times that.

Companies are investing significantly more in information security products and services, with a 7% increase to $86.4 billion in 2017 alone and 2018 projections hitting as high as $93 billion. But with a shortage of skilled IT security professionals and the scale of breaches recently, recovery strategies and plans need to be prioritized.

For most companies, a cybersecurity incident is not a matter of if but when. Equifax's bungling of the breach demonstrates the need for thorough preparation in case of an incident. Security measures like the ones Google and Microsoft are implementing are important, but enterprises should not be overconfident in their ability to ward off cyberattacks.