The principle of least privilege requires granting only the minimum permissions necessary. Defining separate, granular security groups for each tier that explicitly allow only required traffic (e.g., web tier to app tier on port 8080) is the most effective and cloud-native approach. This aligns with CSA Domain 11 (Application Security) and Domain 12 (Identity and Access Management) best practices for segmentation and micro-perimeters.

A technical control (secrets management service) directly solves the problem by providing a secure alternative, while automated scanning provides continuous compliance monitoring and detection. This practical combination addresses the technical flaw and embeds security into the development process (DevSecOps), which is more effective than policy alone (A) or flawed workarounds (C). Moving repositories on-premises (D) does not solve the core issue of secret storage.

In the SaaS model, the cloud provider manages the application, runtime, middleware, OS, virtualization, servers, storage, and networking. Patching the underlying OS is a core infrastructure responsibility that falls to the SaaS provider. The customer (your organization) is responsible for data security (including encryption key management in many cases), identity and access management (B), and configuring security settings within the application. Network security (D) for the service is also the provider’s duty.

The Security, Trust & Assurance Registry (STAR) is a publicly accessible registry where cloud providers can publish documentation of their security controls. This includes Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ) self-assessments and/or independent audit reports (e.g., SOC 2) mapped to the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). Its primary purpose is to provide transparency and aid customers in due diligence.

Managed services like object storage and databases often provide easy-to-enable encryption at rest. The significant challenge arises with ephemeral or transient data, such as log files, cached data, or memory (RAM). While B (memory) is technically challenging, it’s often addressed by policy exclusion (data in processing). Log files (C) are a common oversight; they frequently contain sensitive data but may be written by applications or services without encryption by default, requiring specific configuration or agent-based solutions to meet the ‘encryption at rest’ requirement for classified data.

In cloud environments, you lose physical access. Forensics becomes a cooperative, API-driven exercise. The critical adaptation is establishing legal and procedural mechanisms (e.g., via your contract and CSA guidance) to quickly request and obtain evidence like volume snapshots, memory dumps, and cloud service logs. This relies on the provider’s capabilities and your preparedness to use them, a key topic in CSA Domain 16 (Digital Forensics).

While a CASB can operate as a proxy (B) and include DLP features (D), its fundamental purpose is broader. It is a policy enforcement point placed between cloud service consumers and providers to apply security policies across multiple cloud services (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS). The core functions are visibility, compliance, data security, and threat protection, providing a centralized governance layer that most organizations lack.

‘HIPAA eligible’ or ‘HIPAA ready’ typically means the provider has the infrastructure and contractual framework (willingness to sign a BAA) in place to support a customer’s HIPAA compliance. It is a starting point. The critical understanding from the shared responsibility model is that the customer (your team) bears the ultimate responsibility for configuring applications, access controls, encryption, and audit logging to handle Protected Health Information (PHI) in a compliant manner.

CSA guidance makes a clear distinction. Cloud assurance is the broader, ongoing lifecycle of managing risk and validating that controls are effective. It encompasses various activities, including internal assessments, external audits, certifications, and continuous monitoring. A cloud audit is a specific, point-in-time examination (often by a third party) that contributes to the overall assurance process.

The principle of least privilege requires granting only the minimum permissions necessary. Defining separate, granular security groups for each tier that explicitly allow only required traffic (e.g., web tier to app tier on port 8080) is the most effective and cloud-native approach. This aligns with CSA Domain 11 (Application Security) and Domain 12 (Identity and Access Management) best practices for segmentation and micro-perimeters.0