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Minimizing your Data Attack Surface in the Cloud

November 8, 2022

Min Read

Ron Reiter

Co-Founder and CTO

The cloud is one of the most important developments in the history of information technology. It drives innovation and speed for companies, giving engineers instant access to virtually any type of workload with unlimited scale.

But with opportunity comes a price - moving at these speeds increases the risk that data ends up in places that are not monitored for governance, risk and compliance issues. Of course, this increases the risk of a data breach, but it’s not the only reason we’re seeing so many breaches in the cloud era. Other reasons include:

Systems are being built quickly for business units without adequate regard for security
More data is moving through the company as teams use and mine data more efficiently using tools such as cloud data warehouses, BI, and big data analytics
New roles are being created constantly for people who need to gain access to organizational data
New technologies are being adopted for business growth which require access to vast amounts of data - such as deep learning, novel language models, and new processors in the cloud
Anonymous cryptocurrencies have made data leaks lucrative.
Nation state powers are increasing cyber attacks due to new conflicts

Ultimately, there are only two methods which can mitigate the risk of cloud data leaks - better protecting your cloud infrastructure, and minimizing your data attack surface.

Protecting Cloud Infrastructure

Companies such as Wiz, Orca Security and Palo Alto provide great cloud security solutions, the most important of which is a Cloud Security Posture Management tool. CSPM tools help security teams to understand and remediate infrastructure related cloud security risks which are mostly related to misconfigurations, lateral movements of attackers, and vulnerable software that needs to be patched.

However, these tools cannot mitigate all attacks. Insider threats, careless handling of data, and malicious attackers will always find ways to get a hold of organizational data, whether it is in the cloud, in different SaaS services, or on employee workstations. Even the most protected infrastructure cannot withstand social engineering attacks or accidental mishandling of sensitive data. The best way to mitigate the risk for sensitive data leaks is by minimizing the “data attack surface” of the cloud.

What is the "Data Attack Surface"?

Data attack surface is a term that describes the potential exposure of an organization’s sensitive data in the event of a data breach. If a traditional attack surface is the sum of all an organization’s vulnerabilities, a data attack surface is the sum of all sensitive data that isn’t secured properly.

The larger the data attack surface - the more sensitive data you have - the higher the chances are that a data breach will occur.

There are several ways to reduce the chances of a data breach:

Reduce access to sensitive data
Reduce the number of systems that process sensitive data
Reduce the number of outputs that data processing systems write
Address misconfigurations of the infrastructure which holds sensitive data
Isolate infrastructure which holds sensitive data
Tokenize data
Encrypt data at rest
Encrypt data in transit
Use proxies which limit and govern access to sensitive data of engineers

Reduce Your Data Attack Surface by using a Least Privilege Approach

The less people and systems have access to sensitive data, the less chances a misconfiguration or an insider will cause a data breach.

The most optimal method of reducing access to data is by using the least privilege approach of only granting access to entities that need the data. The type of access is also important - if read-only access is enough, then it’s important to make sure that write access or administrative access is not accidentally granted.

To know which entities need what access, engineering teams need to be responsible for mapping all systems in the organization and ensuring that no data stores are accessible to entities which do not need access.

Engineers can get started by analyzing the actual use of the data using cloud tools such as Cloudtrail. Once there’s an understanding of which users and services access infrastructure with sensitive data, the actual permissions to the data stores should be reviewed and matched against usage data. If partial permissions are adequate to keep operations running, then it’s possible to reduce the existing permissions within existing roles.

Reducing Your Data Attack Surface by Tokenizing Your Sensitive Data

Tokenization is a great tool which can protect your data - however it’s hard to deploy and requires a lot of effort from engineers.

Tokenization is the act of replacing sensitive data such as email addresses and credit card information with tokens, which correspond to the actual data. These tokens can reside in databases and logs throughout your cloud environment without any concern, since exposing them does not reveal the actual data but only a reference to the data.

When the data actually needs to be used (e.g. when emailing the customer or making a transaction with their credit card) the token can be used to access a vault which holds the sensitive information. This vault is highly secured using throttling limits, strong encryption, very strict access limits, and even hardware-based methods to provide adequate protection.

This method also provides a simple way to purge sensitive customer data, since the tokens that represent the sensitive data are meaningless if the data was purged from the sensitive data vault.

Reducing Your Data Attack Surface by Encrypting Your Sensitive Data

Encryption is an important technique which should almost always be used to protect sensitive data. There are two methods of encryption: using the infrastructure or platform you are using to encrypt and decrypt the data, or encrypting it on your own. In most cases, it’s more convenient to encrypt your data using the platform because it is simply a configuration change. This will allow you to ensure that only the people who need access to data will have access via encryption keys. In Amazon Web Services for example, only principals with access to the KMS vault will be able to decrypt information in an S3 bucket with KMS encryption enabled.

It is also possible to encrypt the data by using a customer-managed key, which has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it’s harder for a misconfiguration to accidentally allow access to the encryption keys, and that you don’t have to rely on the platform you are using to store them. However, using customer-managed keys means you need to send the keys over more frequently to the systems which encrypt and decrypt it, which increases the chance of the key being exposed.

Reducing Your Data Attack Surface by using Privileged Access Management Solutions

There are many tools that centrally manage access to databases. In general, they are divided into two categories: Zero-Trust Privilege Access Management solutions, and Database Governance proxies. Both provide protection against data leaks in different ways.

Zero-Trust Privilege Access Management solutions replace traditional database connectivity with stronger authentication methods combined with network access. Tools such as StrongDM and Teleport (open-source) allow developers to connect to production databases by using authentication with the corporate identity provider.

Database Governance proxies such as Satori and Immuta control how developers interact with sensitive data in production databases. These proxies control not only who can access sensitive data, but how they access the data. By proxying the requests, sensitive data can be tracked and these proxies guarantee that no sensitive information is being queried by developers. When sensitive data is queried, these proxies can either mask the sensitive information, or simply omit or disallow the requests ensuring that sensitive data doesn’t leave the database.

Reducing the data attack surface reflects the reality of the attackers mindset. They’re not trying to get into your infrastructure to breach the network. They’re doing it to find the sensitive data. By ensuring that sensitive data always is secured, tokenized, encrypted, and with least privilege access, they’ll be nothing valuable for an attacker to find - even in the event of a breach.

Ron Reiter

Co-Founder and CTO

Discover Ron’s expertise, shaped by over 20 years of hands-on tech and leadership experience in cybersecurity, cloud, big data, and machine learning. As a serial entrepreneur and seed investor, Ron has contributed to the success of several startups, including Axonius, Firefly, Guardio, Talon Cyber Security, and Lightricks, after founding a company acquired by Oracle.

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Team Sentra

December 9, 2024

Min Read

Data Security

8 Holiday Data Security Tips for Businesses

As the end of the year approaches and the holiday season brings a slight respite to many businesses, it's the perfect time to review and strengthen your data security practices. With fewer employees in the office and a natural dip in activity, the holidays present an opportunity to take proactive steps that can safeguard your organization in the new year. From revisiting access permissions to guarding sensitive data access during downtime, these tips will help you ensure that your data remains protected, even when things are quieter.

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Here's how you can bolster your business’s security efforts before the year ends:

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Review Access and Permissions Before the New Year
‍Take advantage of the holiday downtime to review data access permissions in your systems. Ensure employees only have access to the data they need, and revoke permissions for users who no longer require them (or worse, are no longer employees). It's a proactive way to start the new year securely.
Limit Access to Sensitive Data During Holiday Downtime
With many staff members out of the office, review who has access to sensitive data. Temporarily restrict access to critical systems and data for those not on active duty to minimize the risk of accidental or malicious data exposure during the holidays.
Have a Data Usage Policy
‍With the holidays bringing a mix of time off and remote work, it’s a good idea to revisit your data usage policy. Creating and maintaining a data usage policy ensures clear guidelines for who can access what data, when, and how, especially during the busy holiday season when staff availability may be lower. By setting clear rules, you can help prevent unauthorized access or misuse, ensuring that your data remains secure throughout the holidays, and all the way to 2025.
Eliminate Unnecessary Data to Reduce Shadow Data Risks
Data security risks increase as long as data remains accessible. With the holiday season bringing potential distractions, it's a great time to review and delete any unnecessary sensitive data, such as PII or PHI, to prevent shadow data from posing a security risk as the year wraps up with the new year approaching.
Apply Proper Hygiene to Protect Sensitive Data
For sensitive data that must exist, be certain to apply proper hygiene such as masking/de-identification, encryption, logging, etc., to ensure the data isn’t improperly disclosed. With holiday sales, year-end reporting, and customer gift transactions in full swing, ensuring sensitive data is secure is more important than ever. Many stores have native tools that can assist (e.g., Snowflake DDM, Purview MIP, etc.).
Monitor Third-Party Data Access
Unchecked third-party access can lead to data breaches, financial loss, and reputational damage. The holidays often mean new partnerships or vendors handling seasonal activities like marketing campaigns or order fulfillment. Keep track of how vendors collect, use, and share your data. Create an inventory of vendors and map their data access to ensure proper oversight, especially during this busy time.
Monitor Data Movement and Transformations
Data is dynamic and constantly on the move. Monitor whenever data is copied, moved from one environment to another, crosses regulated perimeters (e.g., GDPR), or is ETL-processed, as these activities may introduce new sensitive data vulnerabilities. The holiday rush often involves increased data activity for promotions, logistics, and end-of-year tasks, making it crucial to ensure new data locations are secure and configurations are correct.
Continuously Monitor for New Data Threats
Despite our best protective measures, bad things happen. A user’s credentials are compromised. A partner accesses sensitive information. An intruder gains access to our network. A disgruntled employee steals secrets. The holiday season’s unique pressures and distractions increase the likelihood of these incidents. Watch for anomalies by continually monitoring data activity and alerting whenever suspicious things occur—so you can react swiftly to prevent damage or leakage, even amid the holiday bustle. A user’s credentials are compromised. A partner accesses sensitive information. An intruder gains access to our network. A disgruntled employee steals secrets. Watch for these anomalies by continually monitoring data activity and alerting whenever suspicious things occur - so you can react swiftly to prevent damage or leakage.

Wrapping Up the Year with Stronger Data Security

By taking the time to review and update your data security practices before the year wraps up, you can start the new year with confidence, knowing that your systems are secure and your data is protected. Implementing these simple but effective measures will help mitigate risks and set a strong foundation for 2025. Don't let the holiday season be an excuse for lax security - use this time wisely to ensure your organization is prepared for any data security challenges the new year may bring.

Romi Minin

December 5, 2024

Min Read

Data Security

Top Data Security Resolutions

As we reflect on 2024, a year marked by a surge in cyber attacks, we are reminded of the critical importance of prioritizing data security. Widespread breaches in various industries, such as the significant Ticketmaster data breach impacting 560 million users, have highlighted vulnerabilities and led to both financial losses and damage to reputations. In response, regulatory bodies have imposed strict penalties for non-compliance, emphasizing the importance of aligning security practices with industry-specific regulations.

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By September 2024, GDPR fines totaled approximately €2.41 billion, significantly surpassing the total penalties issued throughout 2023. This reflects stronger enforcement across sectors and a heightened focus on data protection compliance. Entering 2025, the dynamic threat landscape demands a proactive approach. Technology's rapid advancement and cybercriminals' adaptability require organizations to stay ahead. The importance of bolstering data security cannot be overstated, given potential legal consequences, reputational risks, and disruptions to business operations that a data breach can cause.

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The data security resolutions for 2025 outlined below serve as a guide to fortify defenses effectively. Compliance with regulations, reducing attack surfaces, governing data access, safeguarding AI models, and ensuring data catalog integrity are crucial steps. Adopting these resolutions enables organizations to navigate the complexities of data security, mitigating risks and proactively addressing the evolving threat landscape.

Adhere to Data Security and Compliance Regulations

The first data security resolution you should keep in mind is aligning your data security practices with industry-specific data regulations and standards. Data protection regulatory requirements are becoming more stringent (for example, note the recent SEC requirement of public US companies for notification within 4 days of a material breach). Penalties for non compliance are also increasing.

With explosive growth of cloud data it is incumbent upon regulated organizations to facilitate effective data security controls and to while keeping pace with the dynamic business climate. One way to achieve this is through adopting Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) which automates cloud-native discovery and classification, improving accuracy and reporting timeliness. Sentra supports more than a dozen leading frameworks, for policy enforcement and streamlined reporting.‍

Reduce Attack Surface by Protecting Shadow Data and Enforcing Data Lifecycle Policies

As cloud adoption accelerates, data proliferates. This data sprawl, also known as shadow data, brings with it new risks and exposures. When a developer moves a copy of the production database into a lower environment for testing purposes, do all the same security controls and usage policies travel with it? Likely not.

Organizations must institute security controls that stay with the data - no matter where it goes. Additionally, automating redundant, trivial, obsolete (ROT) data policies can offload the arduous task of ‘policing’ data security, ensuring data remains protected at all times and allowing the business to innovate safely. This has an added bonus of avoiding unnecessary data storage expenditure.‍

Implement Least Privilege Access for Sensitive Data

Organizations can reduce their attack surface by limiting access to sensitive information. This applies equally to users, applications, and machines (identities). Data Access Governance (DAG) offers a way to implement policies that alert on and can enforce least privilege data access automatically. This has become increasingly important as companies build cloud-native applications, with complex supply chain / ecosystem partners, to improve customer experience. DAG often works in concert with IAM systems, providing added context regarding data sensitivity to better inform access decisions. DAG is also useful if a breach occurs - allowing responders to rapidly determine the full impact and reach (blast radius) of an exposure event to more quickly contain damages.‍

Protect Large Language Models (LLMs) Training by Detecting Security Risks

AI holds immense potential to transform our world, but its development and deployment must be accompanied by a steadfast commitment to data integrity and privacy. Protecting the integrity and privacy of data in Large Language Models (LLMs) is essential for building responsible and ethical AI applications. By implementing data protection best practices, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with data leakage, unauthorized access, and bias/data corruption. Sentra's Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) solution provides a comprehensive approach to data security and privacy, enabling organizations to develop and deploy LLMs with speed and confidence.‍

Ensure the Integrity of Your Data Catalogs

Enrich data catalog accuracy for improved governance with Sentra's classification labels and automatic discovery. Companies with data catalogs (from leading providers such as Alation, Collibra, Atlan) and data catalog initiatives struggle to keep pace with the rapid movement of their data to the cloud and the dynamic nature of cloud data and data stores. DSPM automates the discovery and classification process - and can do so at immense scale - so that organizations can accurately know at any time what data they have, where it is located, and what its security posture is. DSPM also provides usage context (owner, top users, access frequency, etc.) that enables validation of information in data catalogs, ensuring they remain current, accurate, and trustworthy as the authoritative source for their organization. This empowers organizations to maintain security and ensure the proper utilization of their most valuable asset—data!

How Sentra’s DSPM Can Help Achieve Your 2025 Data Security Resolutions

By embracing these resolutions, organizations can gain a holistic framework to fortify their data security posture. This approach emphasizes understanding, implementing, and adapting these resolutions as practical steps toward resilience in the face of an ever-evolving threat landscape. Staying committed to these data security resolutions can be challenging, as nearly 80% of individuals tend to abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February. However, having Sentra’s Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) by your side in 2025 ensures that adhering to these data security resolutions and refining your organization's data security strategy becomes guaranteed.

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To learn more, schedule a demo with one of our experts.

Gilad Golani

November 28, 2024

Min Read

Data Security

New Healthcare Cyber Regulations: What Security Teams Need to Know

Why New Healthcare Cybersecurity Regulations Are Critical

In today’s healthcare landscape, cyberattacks on hospitals and health services have become increasingly common and devastating. For organizations that handle vast amounts of sensitive patient information, a single breach can mean exposing millions of records, causing not only financial repercussions but also risking patient privacy, trust, and care continuity.

Top Data Breaches in Hospitals in 2024: A Year of Costly Cyber Incidents

The year 2024 has seen a series of high-profile data breaches in the healthcare sector, exposing critical vulnerabilities and emphasizing the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity measures. Among the most significant incidents was the breach at Change Healthcare, Inc., which resulted in the exposure of 100 million records. As one of the largest healthcare data breaches in history, this event highlighted the challenges of securing patient data at scale and the immense risks posed by hacking incidents. Similarly, HealthEquity, Inc. suffered a breach impacting 4.3 million individuals, highlighting the vulnerabilities associated with healthcare business associates who manage data for multiple organizations. Finally, Concentra Health Services, Inc. experienced a breach that compromised nearly 4 million patient records, raising critical concerns about the adequacy of cybersecurity defenses in healthcare facilities. These incidents have significantly impacted patients and providers alike, highlighting the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures and stricter regulations to protect sensitive data.

New York’s New Cybersecurity Reporting Requirements for Hospitals

In response to the growing threat of cyberattacks, many healthcare organizations and communities are implementing stronger cybersecurity protections. In October, New York State took a significant step by introducing new cybersecurity regulations for general hospitals aimed at safeguarding patient data and reinforcing security measures across healthcare systems. Under these regulations, hospitals in New York must report any “material cybersecurity incident” to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) within 72 hours of discovery.

This 72-hour reporting window aligns with other global regulatory frameworks, such as the European Union’s GDPR and the SEC’s requirements for public companies. However, its application in healthcare represents a critical shift, ensuring incidents are addressed and reported promptly. The rapid reporting requirement aims to:

Enable the NYSDOH to assess and respond to cyber incidents across the state’s healthcare network.
Help mitigate potential fallout by ensuring hospitals promptly address vulnerabilities.
Protect patients by fostering transparency around data breaches and associated risks.

For hospitals, meeting this requirement means refining incident response protocols to act swiftly upon detecting a breach. Compliance with these regulations not only safeguards patient data but also strengthens trust in healthcare services.

With these regulations, New York is setting a precedent that could reshape healthcare cybersecurity standards nationwide. By emphasizing proactive cybersecurity and quick incident response, the state is establishing a higher bar for protecting sensitive data in healthcare organizations, inspiring other states to potentially follow as well.

HIPAA Updates and the Role of HHS

While New York leads with immediate, state-level action, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is also working to update the HIPAA Security Rule with new cybersecurity standards. These updates, expected to be proposed later this year, will follow a lengthy regulatory process, including a notice of proposed rulemaking, a public comment period, and the eventual issuance of a final rule. Once finalized, healthcare organizations will have time to comply.

In the interim, the HHS has outlined voluntary cybersecurity goals, announced in January 2024. While these recommendations are a step forward, they lack the urgency and enforceability of New York’s state-level regulations. The contrast between the swift action in New York and the slower federal process highlights the critical role state initiatives play in bridging gaps in patient data protection.

Together, these developments—New York’s rapid reporting requirements and the ongoing HIPAA updates—show a growing recognition of the need for stronger cybersecurity measures in healthcare. They emphasize the importance of immediate action at the state level while federal efforts progress toward long-term improvements in data security standards.

Penalties for Healthcare Cybersecurity Non-Compliance in NY

Non-compliance with any health law or regulation in New York State, including cybersecurity requirements, may result in penalties. However, the primary goal of these regulations is not to impose financial penalties but to ensure that healthcare facilities are equipped with the necessary resources and guidance to defend against cyberattacks. Under Section 12 of health law regulations in New York State, violations can result in civil penalties of up to $2,000 per offense, with increased fines for more severe or repeated infractions. If a violation is repeated within 12 months and poses a serious health threat, the fine can rise to $5,000. For violations directly causing serious physical harm to a patient, penalties may reach $10,000. A portion of fines exceeding $2,000 is allocated to the Patient Safety Center to support its initiatives. These penalties aim to ensure compliance, with enforcement actions carried out by the Commissioner or the Attorney General. Additionally, penalties may be negotiated or settled under certain circumstances, providing flexibility while maintaining accountability.

Importance of Prioritizing Breach Reporting

With the rapid digitization of healthcare services, regulations are expected to tighten significantly in the coming years. HIPAA, in particular, is anticipated to evolve with stronger privacy protections and expanded rules to address emerging challenges.

Healthcare providers must make cybersecurity a top priority to protect patients from cyber threats. This involves adopting proactive risk assessments, implementing strong data protection strategies, and optimizing breach detection, response, and reporting capabilities to meet regulatory requirements effectively.

Data Security Platforms (DSPs) are essential for safeguarding sensitive healthcare data. These platforms enable organizations to locate and classify patient information, such as lab results, prescriptions, personally identifiable information, or medical images - across multiple formats and environments, ensuring comprehensive protection and regulatory compliance.

Breach Reporting With Sentra

A proper classification solution is essential for understanding the nature and sensitivity of your data at all times. With Sentra, you gain a clear, real-time view of your data's classification, making it easier to determine if sensitive data was involved in a breach, identify the types of data affected, and track who had access to it. This ensures that your breach reports are accurate, comprehensive, and aligned with regulatory requirements.

Sentra can help you to adhere to many compliance frameworks, including PCI, GDPR, SOC2 and more, that may be applicable to your sensitive data as it travels around the organization. It automatically will alert you to violations, provide insight into the impact of any compromise, help you to prioritize associated risks, and integrate with common IR tools to streamline remediation. Sentra automates these processes so you can focus energies on eliminating risks.

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