IBM Launches New and Enhanced Services to Help Simplify Security for Hybrid Cloud

Suite of services can help organizations protect data, user identities, workloads and applications across dispersed cloud and on-premises systems

Today, IBM Security announced new and enhanced services designed to help organizations manage their cloud security strategy, policies and controls across hybrid cloud environments. The services bring together cloud-native, IBM and third-party technologies along with IBM expertise to help organizations create a unified security approach across their cloud ecosystems.

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Organizations today are leveraging a mix of cloud and on-premises resources to achieve a balance of agility, security and cost savings for their business. While the flexibility of hybrid cloud can offer many benefits, many companies are challenged to maintain visibility and effectively manage the breadth of security controls across this dispersed IT environment. Cloud misconfigurations were a leading cause of data breaches according to the 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report,¹ accounting for nearly 1 in 5 data breaches studied.

Available today, the expanded suite of IBM Security Services for Cloud is designed to help companies adopt a consistent security strategy across their hybrid cloud environments – supported by IBM specialists with expertise to manage native security controls across Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, IBM Cloud and Microsoft Azure, amongst others. IBM’s services can help companies assess current cloud security posture, as well as build and manage access, policies and technical controls to safeguard new and existing cloud resources. The services leverage AI and automation to help identify and prioritize risks, respond to potential threats across an organization’s cloud environments, and connect that data with their broader security operations and on-premises systems.

“Cloud security can appear daunting, with defenders facing an expansive attack surface, shared responsibility models and rapidly evolving cloud platforms and tools,” said Vikram Chhabra, Global Director, Offering Management and Strategy, IBM Security Services. “We cannot assume that legacy approaches for security will work in this new operating model – instead, security should be modernized specifically for the hybrid cloud era, with a strategy based on zero trust principles that bring together context, collaboration and visibility across any cloud environment.”

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Combining Technology and Expertise to Simplify Cloud Security

IBM Security Services for Cloud offer an open, automated approach to help simplify hybrid cloud security – bringing together cloud-agnostic security expertise together with an integrated set of cloud, proprietary and third-party technology solutions. The services can support clients in any stage of their cloud security journey; from advising organizations on how to move data, users and workloads to the cloud, to providing continual risk monitoring and threat management of their existing hybrid cloud architecture.

The new and enhanced services include:

• Cloud Native Security Services: New advisory and managed security services that can provide centralized visibility, management and monitoring of native security controls across all cloud environments – helping reduce the risk of cloud misconfigurations, while providing insights into potential risks and threats. IBM specialists can help design and implement security practices for cloud-native controls based on specific business and regulatory requirements, and provide ongoing monitoring and reporting on how configurations are being optimized across the company.
• Cloud Security Posture Management: New advisory and managed security services can help clients design and implement a cloud security posture management solution (CSPM) to address governance and compliance across cloud service providers. These new services can offer a single solution for compliance and governance policy framework design, CSPM system integration and managed services – providing actionable recommendations and automation to help address compliance-related issues, as well ongoing monitoring and remediation activities.
• Container Security:  Security services for clients’ container environments, from consulting and systems integration to threat management, vulnerability management and managed security services for the full container lifecycle. This newly enhanced service includes:
  • IBM consultants can assess existing container environments, analyze DevSecOps processes, review application design and solution requirements, and help clients build a roadmap for future deployments.
  • IBM Managed Security Services can provide centralized visibility, management, and monitoring of containers through a single dashboard – across images, registries, orchestrators and cloud service providers.
  • Integration with IBM Security X-Force Red vulnerability management can help identify, analyze and rank thousands of container-related vulnerabilities within client environments in order to prioritize remediation.
• Cloud Security Strategy: Enhanced advisory services for hybrid, multi-cloud security assessment and strategy, based on industry frameworks such as CSA Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). The services can now help organizations assess the security posture of cloud workloads and services, including recommendations to address risks. Using proprietary techniques, the services can deliver a customized strategy and security maturity roadmap tailored to specific client business and regulatory needs.

These services build on IBM’s existing capabilities and expertise to support clients’ cloud security journeys. IBM X-Force Threat Management Services can help clients manage the lifecycle of security threats across detection, investigation and response. IBM also offers security services for Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB,) which helps organizations protect cloud environments through an integrated approach in planning and implementing a CASB solution.

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