Boost AWS Compliance Efficiency with DuploCloud

Few compliance solutions for cloud infrastructures are as effective, maintainable, and easy to implement as DuploCloud. In a high-capacity, high-performance AWS environment, where workloads shift and change, it can be easy to lose sight of the similarly dynamic nature of compliance requirements. However, maintaining compliance can become as effortless as adequately scaling your expanding DevOps workloads by following key strategies and methodologies.

Security and Compliance Stakes are High 

Compliance controls exist to protect businesses and their customers, but their criticality extends to many other instances. For example, compliance can be a make-or-break factor for startups' ability even to achieve funding if they fail to pass a basic standard like SOC 2. In Fintech, consumer or industry confidence loss can resonate throughout financial markets, imperiling global economic stability.

• Compliance is not achieved overnight; to implement it properly, you have to plan for it months in advance.
• As your business grows, compliance only gets harder to achieve if you haven’t put a framework in place to achieve it. 
• A high-profile data breach or hack can bring down even the most resilient business, driving it to dissolution or bankruptcy. 
• Maintaining compliance is as essential for business sustainability as a consistent, positive revenue stream. Compliance certifications are no longer “nice to have.” They are crucial and are one of the first signposts new consumers look for before entrusting their business to you. 

The Complexities of Compliance

There is a reason that the number of companies offering compliance solutions for cloud computing has substantially escalated over the past decade. Advancements in cloud technologies, such as hybrid cloud solutions and multi-cloud environments, have contributed to the complexity of compliance needs, further driving the demand for specialized compliance solutions. Additional factors that make compliance difficult to achieve include:

• Regulatory landscapes are becoming increasingly granular 
• Controls evolve and change frequently 
• The cost of compliance continues to increase 
• Compliance experts are expensive and in shorter supply 

SOC 2 and ISO 27001: The Bedrocks of Compliance

There are many compliance standards, but all are based on the foundations of SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

• SOC 2 tests an organization’s internal controls over a security program and is the most generally sought-after standard. It provides checks and balances to prove to your customers that you’re securing their data in the manner you represent. For any product to be available in the US market, SOC 2 is a mandatory standard.
• ISO 27001 requirement 10.2 focuses on managing nonconformities and corrective actions within an organization's Information Security Management System (ISMS). The purpose is to ensure that deviations from the established security controls are identified, documented, and addressed effectively. It requires organizations to investigate the causes of nonconformities, implement corrective actions to prevent their recurrence, and continually improve the ISMS by addressing identified weaknesses.

AWS Audit Manager provides prebuilt frameworks that structure and automate assessments for a given compliance standard or regulation. In the case of SOC2 and ISO 27001, publicly available documentation assists you in mapping best practices based on AWS configuration rules to its specific security controls, as in the snippet below. Each config rule can be mapped to a control or multiple controls.

Building Your AWS Compliance Roadmap

As you’d expect, AWS offers best practices and established frameworks for achieving compliance across all standards. Identify what standards you must meet and how to reach them for your AWS cloud infrastructures.

• Define how your customer data is stored and transmitted and what standards align with your security requirements (HIPAA, GDPR, HITRUST, etc.). 
• Align your AWS Services with those specific controls using AWS Identity and Access Control Management. These web services offer automatic mapping to all compliance frameworks, making them ideal starting points for benchmarking where you are and where you need to get to.
• Implement AWS Compliance programs and services such as AWS Artifact and AWS Security Hub, which offer automated checks to ensure compliance as workloads increase. These programs are invaluable when preparing for audits.
• Establish self-sustaining mechanisms that automatically scale and adjust your compliance framework as regulatory frameworks shift and grow.

Following these practices ensures enhanced security and trust with your customers, escalating operational efficiency in implementing controls over time, and ease of entering new global markets with confidence that you’ll meet regulatory requirements out of the gate. AWS can even assist you in marketing your security and compliance posture to give you greater visibility and substantial competitive advantage.

Planning for AWS Compliance Optimization 

Once you know how to achieve compliance in your core industries, the next challenge is to ensure that it is implemented correctly in the most automated and least stressful way possible. This is where products like DuploCloud play a crucial role, as they help streamline the process and enhance efficiency. One key aspect of this implementation is understanding the CIA triad, which consists of three foundational pillars of network security essential for compliance standards.

The CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) Triad

The security triad is defined by:

• Confidentiality - Ensuring no one sees confidential information except those accessing it, shielding against data hacks and breaches.
• Integrity - Ensuring the data is legitimate. An example might be guarding against data doctoring that can be construed as fraudulent.
• Availability - Guarding against malicious (ransomware) and non-malicious availability events. The recent Crowdstrike attack is an excellent example of a non-malicious event that was the most significant disaster recovery effort in recent years.

Portfolio Discovery and Analysis

Transitioning the concepts of the CIA triad into practical applications begins with the discovery and analysis phase. This phase comprehensively examines an organization's systems, data, and security requirements. The goal is to understand the existing setup, identify potential risks, and outline necessary enhancements. During the discovery phase, DuploCloud measures compliance against:

1. Identity Management 
2. Network Security
3. Access Controls
4. Logging Strategies
5. Data Hardening Vulnerability and Patch Management
6. Endpoint protection Monitoring and Alerting 
7. Disaster Recovery

Aligning Security Foundations

Following the discovery phase, reviewing any additional contractual security obligations is essential. These requirements often complement unique regulatory and statutory obligations. For instance, while you offer PCI Level 3 protection by default, a client may need PCI Level 1. To build a robust security strategy, the following frameworks are employed:

• AWS Cloud Adoption Framework: Designed to help users migrate to the cloud, emphasizing business alignment, risk mitigation, operational efficiency, and other strategic benefits.
• AWS Well-Architected Framework: Assisting cloud architects in building secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure for their applications.
• AWS Shared Responsibility Model: Clarify AWS's responsibilities as a cloud service provider and customers' responsibilities. 

DuploCloud provides insights to improve both the performance and efficiency of tasks in the customer’s realm of the shared responsibility model and, in the process, shift some of the workload to AWS based on those adjustments. The end goal should be to place the burden of responsibility where it makes the most sense from a business perspective.

DuploCloud’s built-in Compliance Controls

Compliance measures are included right from the beginning with DuploCloud. Although compliance controls differ vastly between standards, they are all exceedingly complex and depend on your size, workload, and many other variables. Addressing these requirements early on makes it easier to implement them later—only components that meet the necessary compliance criteria are used.

Comprehensive Architectural and Network Documentation 

DuploCloud provides a detailed diagram depicting the agreed-upon architecture and network configurations that align with your security and compliance needs. This ensures that all security and compliance requirements are clearly outlined. These mesh with controls that vendors such as AWS help you identify when building your Audit and Compliance Framework. Combining the expertise of AWS and DuploCloud ensures synchronicity between your audit-approved framework and its implementation.

In addition, DuploCloud outlines and tunes your DevOps Automation Lifecycle Model, ensuring seamless integration of CI/CD, Application Provisioning, and Application Monitoring in the most efficient way possible.

Mobilizing within the AWS Foundational Environment

Effective mobilization through the DuploCloud implementation phase also encompasses continuous improvement and utilization of the assets offered by the AWS Global Security and Compliance Acceleration Program.

Implementation Phase

The implementation phase is crucial for turning planned strategies into operational realities. This phase is about setting up and configuring the necessary infrastructure and processes to ensure smooth and secure operations. It's important because it lays the foundation for a reliable and compliant system, ensuring all elements work seamlessly and efficiently. Here’s a breakdown of the key steps involved:

1. Defining the Landing Zone - Starting with a baseline built on AWS Best Practices, we establish MFA for users, delete default VPCs, close default security groups, ensure encryption of volumes in EC2, and so on. These actions provide a robust security foundation and prepare the environment for further customization.
2. Defining the Network Architecture - We design and implement the network infrastructure. We create VPCs tailored to shared services while keeping them separate to meet compliance requirements. This segregation ensures that sensitive data is protected and the system's design aligns with regulatory standards.
3. Deploy, Test, and Tune - This step involves deploying the system components, followed by thorough testing to ensure everything functions correctly. We set up monitoring and logging systems to keep track of the system's performance and potential issues. Disaster recovery policies are also implemented and rigorously tested to ensure the system can recover quickly in case of failure. We leave nothing to chance and validate all disaster recovery procedures to ensure readiness.
4. Final Cut-over to production - The last step involves transitioning the system into a live production environment. We carefully schedule and execute the cut-over, ensuring minimal disruption. Our team monitors the process closely to address any issues that may arise, providing a smooth and successful transition to the entire operation.

Continuous Improvement

DuploCloud and AWS work in tandem to ensure that your framework functions and evolves, ensuring you stay caught up. ISO-27001 Requirement 10.2 serves as a blueprint for continuous improvement. Included here are preparations for future audits, reviews of policies and controls, and reviews of security incidents. We want your security implementation to be dynamic, flexible, and resilient. If you’re out of compliance, you are immediately notified to remediate.

AWS Global Security and Compliance Acceleration Program (GSCA)

The GSCA was formed to accelerate compliance in several federal government applications and has since been expanded to encompass Fintech, Healthcare, the Public Sector, and Privacy, among many others. The GSCA team comprises security experts with hands-on technical expertise from planning to implementation and auditing support. They perform third-party assessments and can recommend custom solutions, often involving vendors such as DuploCloud, to expedite and ensure compliance across numerous vertical sectors.

Using DuploCloud’s DevOps Automation Platform, you can automate almost all of the best practices listed above. The platform automates quick setup and “set it and forget it” management of flexible and scalable infrastructures and managed services across multiple clouds through automation and a team of seasoned DevOps professionals who customize according to your security and compliance needs.