Common tools in the cloud analyst’s toolkit
1. Common tools in the cloud analyst’s toolkit
Cloud cybersecurity is a fast-paced, exciting field to work in. Cloud security professionals are always working to defend organizations from cyber attacks, and they get to use a variety of tools to help combat these threats. The amount of tools available to cloud security professionals continues to grow. In this video, we’ll examine a variety of tools including Linux, Terraform, reCAPTCHA, Wireshark, VirusTotal, and Lucidchart. First, let’s discuss Linux. Linux is a widely used, open-source operating system. Linux uses a shell environment as the command-line interpreter. The shell translates your commands so the computer can perform the instructed task. Lots of security tools run on Linux, so it’s helpful for you to gain practical experience using it, so you can install and run these tools when needed. With Linux, you can verify the status of each application in your infrastructure, review networking traffic, and filter access to non-production IPs and ports. Next, is Terraform. Terraform is commonly used in cloud security as an infrastructure-as-code tool. Terraform enables you to automate the provisioning of cloud resources. Security teams can use Terraform to consistently create health checks and security enforcement policies across their infrastructure. Using Terraform, you can create templates that are preapproved and checked by the security team, so the engineers building infrastructure can repeat the same patterns safely every time they create new assets. Next, is reCAPTCHA, a risk analysis engine that detects and helps prevent spam and malicious behavior from happening on websites. For example, imagine you manage an online store that lists customer reviews and comments for each product. reCAPTCHA scans the reviews to identify any reviews made by a bot, alerting you to questionable traffic. reCAPTCHA also helps prevent bots from spreading malicious information about your services or products. Additionally, this tool is capable of filtering spam, and even detecting fake friend requests on social media. Then, there’s Wireshark. Wireshark is a packet analyzing tool that provides insight into your network. This insight allows you to quickly identify the root cause of issues, and enables you to focus your investigation. With Wireshark, you can apply different kinds of filters to packet captures to identify suspicious activity, like data exfiltration. This capability makes Wireshark a valuable tool for cloud security analysts. You can also use Wireshark in a specific interface, and review all traffic passing through. This way, you recognize and separate normal packets from those that are a possible risk, then act to protect the infrastructure accordingly. Another important tool is VirusTotal. VirusTotal is a website that analyzes files and URLs for malicious content like viruses, worms, trojans, and more. Data retrieved from these websites is shared with the greater security community. Security professionals use VirusTotal as an investigative tool. For example, a security analyst might use VirusTotal to scan their organization’s email messages for suspicious attachments. Next, Lucidchart is a diagramming application that helps users communicate and collaborate across teams. Cloud security analysts use this tool to help document security processes using visuals. It can also be used to map out networks and data flow. Security teams also use Lucidchart to help meet business requirements. For example, it’s common to create diagrams that show how information flows through a system, so that you can identify and implement the appropriate protection measures. The security team can leverage Lucidchart’s diagramming features to set goals, meet requirements, and add milestones along the way. In this video, you explored various tools that cloud security professionals frequently use in the workplace. Using a combination of these tools can help strengthen your security posture, and defend against cyber threats.2. Let's practice!
Create Your Free Account
or
By continuing, you accept our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy and that your data is stored in the USA.