How to Keep the Cloud Secure with CIS After Your Migration

Over the next few years, the number of organizations migrating to the cloud to advance their business goals is expected to grow exponentially. According to Gartner, more than 70% of enterprises will use cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives by 2027. (That's up from less than 15% in 2023.) Part of this growth will result from public cloud providers' increasing access to and adoption of innovative technologies, particularly generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).

However, organizations don't always plan their cloud migrations with enough emphasis on security and compliance. Many therefore struggle to keep their data safe after having migrated to the cloud. To illustrate, IBM revealed that 82% of data breaches in 2023 involved data stored in the cloud, signaling a lack of robust cloud security measures. 

To protect their cloud-based assets, organizations need to consider security and compliance when they first start planning their migration to the cloud. This can be challenging, especially if they're new to using cloud environments. Where do they start?

In this guide, we demystify the process of migrating to the cloud by first providing an overview of the types of options you have when you first consider moving to the cloud. We then identify and discuss three resources from the Center for Internet Security^® (CIS^®) — the CIS Critical Security Controls^® (CIS Controls^®), the CIS Benchmarks™, and the CIS Hardened Images^® — to orient your cloud migration around security and compliance. In the process, we identify specific measures in these resources you can implement as soon as you've completed your cloud migration so that you're able to lay a foundation for your cloud security going forward.