Incidents in On-Premise vs Cloud and Hybrid Environments

Incident management takes on different connotations depending on whether it occurs in on-premise, cloud or hybrid environments, where the characteristics of the architectures and the related responsibilities differ significantly.

We explore some of the key distinctions between these different configurations, focusing on architectural and liability variations, differences in attack surface and security, the importance of regulatory compliance, with particular regard to GDPR, and peculiarities in security management, such as the presence of a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). 

In an on-premises environment, IT resources are hosted and managed within the company's physical infrastructure: this scenario requires greater direct control over resources and security, but also requires significant investments in infrastructure and specialized personnel. 

Cloud services offer flexibility and scalability, allowing organizations to deploy resources on demand and pay only for what they use, but migrating to the cloud brings new security and compliance challenges as responsibilities are shared between the cloud provider and the user. 

Hybrid environments combine on-premises and cloud elements, offering a trade-off between on-premises control and cloud flexibility: this setup presents unique challenges in incident management, as it requires synchronization and consistency between the two environments. 

The architectural diversity between these environments directly affects the attack surface and potential threat vectors, requiring a specific assessment of risks and appropriate countermeasures. 

The compliance aspect, particularly with regulations such as GDPR, is crucial in all of these environments, but it can be handled differently depending on the configuration adopted.

The presence of a DMZ in on-premises environments can offer additional protection between internal and external networks, while in cloud environments this separation can be implemented through additional access controls and security policies.

Architectures and Responsibilities

The differences between on-premise, cloud, and hybrid architectures are not limited to the simple location of computing resources, but profoundly affect the dynamics of accountability and incident management processes. Each architectural model has specific implications for security, skill distribution, and response capability, requiring tailored approaches to ensure effective incident resolution and operational integrity is maintained. 

In on-premises systems, organizations retain full control of the IT infrastructure, which is physically hosted within the company. This model assigns organizations sole responsibility for safety, monitoring, and incident management. Every component of the infrastructure, from networking to the operating system, is under the direct control of internal staff.

In this context, the ability to respond promptly to incidents depends heavily on the availability of qualified technical resources and advanced monitoring tools that allow for timely identification of threats and rapid resolution of critical events. This requires substantial investment not only in security hardware and software, but also in specialized personnel who are trained and up-to-date on the latest technologies and evolving threat landscape.

An additional benefit of on-premises environments is the ability to tailor security measures to the specific needs of the organization, which may not always be possible in cloud environments where control is limited. However, internal management presents significant challenges, including the burden of ensuring continuity of operations and data security, especially in the event of major incidents such as ransomware attacks or infrastructure outages.

In a cloud environment, responsibility for incident management is shared between the customer and the cloud service provider, according to the so-called shared responsibility model. In this model, the provider is generally responsible for the physical security of the infrastructure (including datacenters, physical networks, and virtual machines), while the user is responsible for the security of the applications, data, and configurations they use in the cloud.

This means that while the cloud provider offers robust security measures for the underlying infrastructure, such as firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, the user must implement and manage application-specific controls, such as data encryption, access management, and suspicious activity monitoring. The user must also be well informed about the service level agreement (SLA), which clearly defines the provider's responsibilities in the event of incidents, such as service availability, response times, and mitigation actions.

The ability to collaborate between user and provider becomes essential in the event of an incident. The user must know how to interface quickly with the provider to ensure that all necessary measures are taken in real time, especially when the incident involves infrastructures over which the user has less direct control.

Hybrid environments represent a combination of on-premises and cloud resources, creating a complex setup in which incident management responsibilities are distributed between the company and the cloud provider, often in a variable way depending on the resources involved. This type of architecture offers a trade-off between local control over critical assets and the flexibility of the cloud to handle fluctuating workloads or to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness offered by cloud services.

Incident management in hybrid environments requires a clear definition of responsibilities for each component of the system. Organizations must establish well-defined processes to ensure that incidents are handled in a coordinated manner between on-premises and cloud-hosted resources. This includes creating protocols that allow response actions to be synchronized between internal teams, which are responsible for on-premises resources, and the cloud provider, which is responsible for remote resources.

The interaction between the two environments increases the complexity of incident management, as a breach or malfunction could impact both architectures. For example, an incident on an on-premise server could compromise data synchronization with a cloud system, or a cloud service outage could affect critical operations managed locally. To mitigate these risks, you need to implement unified monitoring solutions that allow you to have visibility into the entire IT ecosystem, ensuring that any anomalies are detected and dealt with promptly, regardless of their source.

Attack Surface and Security

The attack surface is the set of vulnerabilities, entry points, and potential weaknesses that can be exploited by malicious actors, internal or external, to compromise the security of a system, network, or infrastructure. It varies significantly depending on the computing environment, which can be on-premise, cloud, or a combination of both. Effective attack surface management requires a structured approach that can be adapted to the specificities of each context. 

In on-premises environments, the attack surface is heavily influenced by whether hardware and software resources are entirely under the direct control of the organization. This gives companies a greater level of control over the physical and logical security of infrastructure. However, this autonomy also comes with a higher responsibility for security management, as the company must directly take care of updating and maintaining critical assets. Vulnerabilities can come from a variety of sources, including:

• Network hardware and devices: Firewalls, routers, servers, and endpoints are vulnerable to attack if they are not properly configured or have vulnerabilities that are not patched. Network devices can be exploited through targeted attacks, such as compromising routers or switches, to gain access to the internal network.
• Operating systems and local applications: Patch and update management becomes crucial to protect assets from exploits that can exploit known security flaws. Failure to apply critical patches in a timely manner poses a significant risk to system integrity.
• Physical access: In on-premises environments, the risk of unauthorized physical access to infrastructure is something to consider carefully. Internal attacks, for example by employees or contractors with privileged access, pose a threat to the security of critical data and assets.

Managing the attack surface in this context involves not only protecting against digital risks, but also a robust physical defense and a well-defined access control policy, with the integration of intrusion monitoring and detection systems.

In cloud environments, the attack surface is influenced by the security policies of the cloud service provider and the configurations adopted by the user. The shared responsibility model requires the vendor to be responsible for securing the cloud infrastructure (datacenters, hardware, and networks) and applying updates and patches at the infrastructure level. However, managing the security of applications, configurations, and data remains the responsibility of the user. Key areas of vulnerability include:

• Incorrect configurations: One of the biggest risks in cloud environments comes from misconfigurations or permissive resource configurations, which can expose sensitive data to the internet or unauthorized users. These configurations can be leveraged for unauthorized access to storage buckets, databases, or virtual machines.
• DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service): the cloud infrastructure, being accessible via the Internet, is exposed to attempts to overload the system through DDoS attacks. However, cloud providers typically offer advanced DDoS mitigation services that monitor and filter traffic to protect customers from these types of threats.
• Threats related to unauthorized access: Using compromised or insufficiently protected credentials (such as weak passwords) can allow attackers to gain access to cloud resources. It is therefore critical to implement strong authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to reduce the risk of compromise.

Cloud service providers often implement advanced security measures to protect the infrastructure and services they provide. These include continuous network monitoring, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), encryption of data both in transit and at rest, and tools for detecting anomalous behavior that could indicate attack attempts. However, it's critical that users properly configure these tools and constantly monitor the resources and data they manage in the cloud.

A critical vulnerability in the cloud environment involves exposed APIs. Cloud-based applications often use APIs to communicate with other services or to enable third-party integration. Unsecured or misconfigured APIs can provide direct access for attackers, allowing them to bypass security mechanisms and manipulate data or systems. 

Hybrid environments, which combine on-premises and cloud resources, introduce additional complexity into managing security and attack surface. In these scenarios, the attack surface extends to both on-premises infrastructure, which must be protected with traditional measures, and cloud infrastructure, which requires a more dynamic and scalable approach to security. The risk lies in maintaining consistency in security policies between the two environments and ensuring that any vulnerabilities in one of them do not result in an access point for attacks that could compromise the entire infrastructure.

For example, an attacker who exploits a vulnerability on an on-premises system could use it to gain access to resources in the cloud, if there are not sufficient security barriers between the two infrastructures. In addition, connectivity solutions that connect the two environments, such as virtual private networks (VPNs) or dedicated connections, represent potential points of vulnerability if not properly configured and secured. 

In any context – on-premises, cloud or hybrid – attack surface management requires a holistic and proactive approach to security. It is essential for organizations to carry out continuous assessments of their assets and potential vulnerabilities, taking into account factors such as evolving threats and changes in IT architecture. Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing tools can be used to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers.

Network segmentation is another key strategy to reduce the attack surface. By separating different network segments and restricting access permissions based on operational needs, you can reduce the risk of a breach in one part of the infrastructure spreading to other critical areas.

In addition, staff training plays a vital role. Even the best security technology can be ineffective if people aren't properly trained to recognize threats like phishing, manage security configurations, and follow best practices for using credentials and logins.