A HitchHiker's Guide to Cloud Security

This blog article is designed to be ready by everyone.  By everyone, I mean people who are new to the cloud, and maybe uploading a picture of their great grand children to Facebook, for the first time. Or maybe you're a seasoned technologist, like myself, with over 300 cloud-based logins.  Chances are, you're probably somewhere in the middle, and this is perfect for you too.  

The 5 simple tips I have outlined above, will help everyone.  They're universal to everyone that uses the cloud.  They are simple to implement, and need you to put aside a little time.  They will protect you from cyber attacks. 

Oh...and I also follow these 5 tips myself.  Probably for about the past 5 years.  I will not only explain how to implement each tip, but I will give you a specific personal examples. That way, you know my advice is real and that I follow my own advice.  Only a fake person wouldn't follow their own security advice....right.....?

​Each image in this blog is clickable, offering additional information about that subject.

What is a Complex Password?

Let me show you what a complex password looks like:

If you click on the image, it will take you to Troy Hunt's blog on passwords and hacking, which explains a bit more around why complex passowrds are important.  

Let me break this down for you. 

• You pick a word, with at least 6 letters and capitalise the first letter.  This is your first password.  In this example, it is Pencil
• Think of 3 letters: 135.  Add them to the password.  In this example, it is 135Pencil
• Reverse the 3 letters: 531.  Add them to the end of the password.  In this example, it is 135Pencil531
• Then add a symbol at the beginning and end, and you have your final password: #135Pencil531#
• Next thing, tell no-one, not even your partner.  It's yours to keep secret.
• Each time you change your password, simply change the 6 letter word, and re-use the same numbers and symbols.
• I recommend changing the numbers and symbol combinations every year.

What is Multi-Factor Authentication?

It's a service, that most well-known cloud providers, now offer, as a means of additional security protection.  Let me break it down with a specific example.  I'm going to outline the overall approach using a cloud app called Xero.  It is used for accounting and I love it:

Using Xero as an example,  here is how it works, once it is configured:

• You login to Xero as normal.
• Enter your email address and password, and click Login.  These credentials are known as First Factor Authentication (1FA or 1SA).
• It prompts me to enter my 6 digit code

•  This example is setup to use the Google Authenticator App.  This is now asking for my Second Factor Authentication (2FA or 2SA).

​There are 3 common ways this second factor authentication can work:

• Most common is that a code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS.
• A code is sent to an app, or a token.  In this example it's the Google Authenticator App, but could also be the MIcrosoft Azure Authentication App.
• A code is sent to your email address.

So I check my Google Authenticator app on my phone, read off the number it displays, type in into the Xero prompt, and there you have it.  I have now used Two Factor Authentication (2FA or 2SA) to log into my cloud service.  When using two or more factors to authenticate, we call this Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).

If you're not sure, whether you cloud service offers MFA, either contact them directly, or perform a Google search to look up whether they offer the service.  You may need someone technical to help setup for you, or if you have paid support, you call up your cloud provider.

You can also reach out to me publicly on twitter:

@MusicComposer1

I'm always willing to help 'coach' you through to success.

What is a Password Manager?

t's an app that you download that stores all your passwords for you.  It's very, very important that you create a complex password to open the app, as this becomes your key to all your other passwords.  You also want to setup multi-factor authentication.

Typically the average technical person probably has around 200-500 cloud accounts they use or have used.  So for the average person, 50-100 cloud accounts is not unusual. 

If you're using an app on your mobile phone, then you most likely have a username and password for that app.  Therefore if you have 100 Apps on your phone, you will probably have close to 100 usernames and passwords.  Clearly it's very difficult to remember 100 different passwords, so the password manager really comes into play here for everyone.

There are also two extra benefits, among many, that password managers provide:

• The app rates whether your password is complex or not.
• The app can help you identify cloud services, where you have not changed your password in a long time.

When changing your password, I would recommend doing this every 12-24 months, for all your accounts.  And also delete cloud accounts that you no longer use. 

WHY? 

Because that cloud provider may suffer a data breach in the future.  A data breach is where a hacker gains data from a cloud provide.  This could mean a malicious actor, could use your account to attempt to steal your money, damage your reputation or worse still assume your identity.

My top pick is Last Pass and I would recommend the Premium (Paid) version:

What is Anti-Malware Software?

This is an app that helps detect any malicious activity on your device.  Sometimes known as anti-virus software, however devices can be attacked not just via virus, but also via many other attack vectors.  So I prefer the term anti-malware.

​I personally install anti-malware software on my Android phone and my Windows 10 machine.  I don't install it on my Mac or my iPad.  However, I would recommend that you install it on all your devices.  Generally when you buy anti-malware software they give you a number of licences to run on different types of device, so it probably won't cost you extra.  So I always recommend this extra level of protection.

The reason I don't do that, is because I have additional security controls to mitigate this risk.  These are a little complex to explain.  I also don't want to give away this information to potential hackers, who could also exploit me personally.  I hope that makes sense.  :-)

My top pick here is to use the Kaspersky.

I've personally used it for probably 10 years now.  I came across it, when I was running high-powered flight simulation sofwtare on my machine and I wanted anti-malware software that would detect incoming threats, as well as viruses, without sucking all the processing power from my computer.  I found that Kaspersky was the most cost effective and smallest footprint softoware on the market at the time, and have used it ever since. 

What is SpearPhising or Phising?

Never click on links in an email, that are sent from outside your company.  

WHY?

Because you are opening yourself up to a Spearphising attack.  Sometimes also known as a Phising attack for short.

So a Phising attack, is when a malicious actor, sends you an email with a link inside.  You click on the link and a number of bad things can happen:

• It redirects you to a website, which attempts to download some malware.  Generally your anti-malware may detect and stop this, but it's not 100% guaranteed.
• It redirects you to a website, which looks like a site you're used to using.  It might be fake version of your bank for example.  You then think, it's real, enter your username and password....and boom....the attacker has your passwords for you bank account.  You can see here that as long as your bank is setup for multi-factor authentication, then they will not be able to access your account.
• It redirects you to a website and ask for some personal information.

Also, there are some rules around emails.  Immediately delete any emails that ask for the following.

• Ask for money.
• Mention a prize.
• Ask for usernames and/or passwords.
• Ask for any personal information.

I call these the 'tells', as they are common tactics used by scammers.

Here is an example, of a reasonably sophicated phising attack:

Click on the link above to be redirected to another simple definition of Phising.

But what about if you do business with external companies?

That's fine, we can modify this advice.  Make a note of all the people you personally deal with outside your company.  Agree with them, using the phone, how you're going to communicate via email and how you're going to share information.  I personally use the OneDrive cloud links to share read-only files and I always set the link to expire after 30 days.

By creating a list, you're effectively creating a 'whitelist'.  A list of people whom you trust.  There is no guarantee, that someone else won't impersonate them, so by having an agreed format for the exchange, you can validate if it is genuinely from that person.  If in doubt, give them a telephone call.  You know that old-fashioned thing, that emails has replaced.......LOL.

If you're dealing with clients directly via email, then you'll hopefully be validating them as leads anyway, so there shouldn't be any reason to click on the links they are sending you.  

If you're business is truly an exception to this rule, and clients need to send you a link then you're need additional security:

• Think about the types of security controls you need in place, to ensure that you're not subject to a phising attack. 
• No matter how tech savvy you are, they could well get you one day.  The attacks are becoming incredibly sophistcated.

​
And remember...be aware but not alarmed.  Cybercrime is relatively rare.  Follow these tips and you'll put yourself in the Top 10% of the population, which means you're highly unlikely to be scammed.   

Below is a great website to check for the latest scams too: