How Secure is "In the Cloud?" with Randall Magiera

Just because something is in the cloud, doesn't always mean that it is safe and secure and that you don't play a role in keeping it that way. Those who move into the cloud need to understand cloud security best practices and how to implement them.

Today's guest is Dr. Randall Magiera. Dr. Magiera is a cybersecurity professional with over 15 years of experience in security management, change management, risk analysis, intrusion prevention and detection systems, and vulnerability assessments. He has a doctorate of science in cybersecurity, multiple advanced degrees in cybersecurity and technology, and certifications too numerous to list.

Show Notes:

• [1:00] - Randall introduces himself and his background in the field.
• [3:05] - Things regarding cloud technology have advanced greatly in the last 15 years.
• [4:09] - These cloud companies do go to great lengths to keep things as secure as possible.
• [5:16] - The shared responsibility model is important to understand.
• [6:44] - Large cloud providers do offer some education on best practices to users.
• [8:01] - Breaches are causing the public to place blame on large companies like Amazon and Google, but it is more related to users not being familiar with how to use the product.
• [10:47] - A lot of the time, the goal is speed in developing a program, app, or product and security sometimes gets pushed aside.
• [12:33] - Chris shares a funny story about crypto-mining.
• [14:48] - Randall explains a recent crypto-mining code placed in a javascript library.
• [17:50] - Chris and Randall discuss the Colonial Pipeline Attack.
• [20:00] - A CDN is great for organizations with employees all over the world working in the same program.
• [23:31] - Ideally, the goal is to have everything stored in the cloud rather than on devices.
• [25:00] - Malicious actors are motivated by money and they will use the cloud in creative ways as a means to an end.
• [26:53] - Randall believes that we will be seeing the use of deep fakes more often in coming years.
• [28:50] - Cloud computing gives users virtually endless capabilities which means that people who are malicious can use them for advanced attacks as well.
• [31:51] - Per terms and conditions, if you delete data, it is on you.
• [34:04] - Once something is deleted from the cloud, it is gone forever.
• [36:21] - Randall describes how AWS works regarding backups.
• [38:18] - When it comes to disaster recovery, especially for businesses, there is an option for data backup that will create a quick turn around if something happens.
• [41:51] - Always test your backups and DR.

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• Tulane University - Randy Magiera