Cloud Security

CASB CSPM and cloud-native security tools

Cloud security refers to the set of policies, technologies and controls deployed to protect data, applications and infrastructure hosted in cloud environments. As organisations migrate workloads to public, private and hybrid cloud platforms, the shared responsibility model becomes central: cloud providers secure the underlying infrastructure, while customers remain accountable for securing what they build and store on top of it. UK enterprises are accelerating cloud adoption at pace. Research consistently shows the majority of UK organisations now operate in multi-cloud environments, driven by the flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency cloud platforms offer. However, this shift introduces new attack surfaces: misconfigured storage buckets, over-privileged identities, unpatched container images and unsecured APIs are among the most common causes of cloud-related breaches. Regulatory context adds further urgency for UK organisations. UK GDPR requires that personal data stored in the cloud is subject to appropriate safeguards, including when processed by third-party providers. Organisations in regulated sectors — financial services, healthcare, legal — face additional scrutiny from bodies such as the FCA, which has issued specific guidance on operational resilience and third-party cloud risk. Data residency is a recurring concern, with many UK organisations requiring that data remains within the UK or EEA. Cloud security solutions typically include cloud security posture management (CSPM), which continuously evaluates cloud configurations against security best practices and compliance benchmarks; cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) for securing virtual machines, containers and serverless functions; and cloud access security brokers (CASB) that provide visibility and control over SaaS application usage. Identity-centric security — ensuring only the right people and services can access cloud resources — underpins all of these capabilities. When selecting a cloud security provider, organisations should evaluate coverage across their specific cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), the depth of integration with existing security tooling, and the vendor's ability to surface actionable insight rather than overwhelming alert volumes. Automation capabilities are increasingly important: the speed and scale of cloud environments make manual security management impractical. Seek vendors with recognised cloud security certifications and experience supporting UK compliance requirements, and confirm that support is available within UK business hours.