To secure data in cloud services, first identify and classify what you store, then restrict who and what can access it, protect it in transit and at rest, and monitor, back up, and securely retire it. The right controls depend on the data’s sensitivity, the service model, your provider’s features, and the responsibilities set out in your cloud agreement.
Who is responsible for cloud data security?
Cloud security is shared between the customer and provider, but the division of work varies by service model and contract. Providers operate parts of the underlying service; customers remain responsible for choices such as what data they put there, who they authorize to use it, and how they configure the controls available to them. Do not assume that a provider’s security measures automatically meet your organization’s requirements.
Map responsibility to each service and data set. Check the provider’s current documentation and service-level terms for which controls it operates, which you must configure, what its defaults cover, and what happens to data when the service ends. CISA’s Cloud Security Technical Reference Architecture treats data protection as a lifecycle that includes creation, storage, access, movement, sharing, and retirement.
Start by identifying and classifying the data
You cannot choose proportionate protections until you know what data exists and what obligations apply to it. Inventory data stores and the services that handle them, including copies, exports, backups, and data shared with other services. Classify each set according to its sensitivity and your organization’s legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements.
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For each classification, document who may access the data, who can authorize sharing, where it may be stored or moved, and what protection is required at rest and in transit. Treat classification as an input to technical controls, not just a label: a sensitive data set may need narrower permissions, stronger monitoring, additional encryption controls, or stricter limits on movement than ordinary business data.
Match access controls to the service model
Apply least privilege: give each person, workload, and service only the access it needs, and remove access when the need ends. Review identities, roles, policies, sharing settings, and service components that can reach each data set. Access control is not one setting in a single cloud console; the points you can configure differ across infrastructure, platform, and software services. NIST’s SP 800-210, General Access Control Guidance for Cloud Systems, addresses IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS and explains that their access-control considerations differ.
| Service model | Typical customer control points | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| IaaS | Customer-configured identities, permissions, and controls on the infrastructure and workloads they operate. | Which infrastructure, workload, and data-layer controls you configure versus those operated by the provider. |
| PaaS | Customer-configured access to applications, data, and platform features exposed by the service. | Which platform components and security settings are customer-managed, and how workload identities can access data. |
| SaaS | Customer-configured users, roles, data sharing, and available application security settings. | How application roles and sharing work, what the provider operates, and which data-protection options are available. |
These are typical areas to check, not a universal responsibility chart: actual controls depend on the specific service. Review access at the level where data can be reached, including through a user account, an application, an automated workload, or a connection between services. NIST also notes that guidance for functional components in lower-level service models can apply to higher-level models.
Protect data in transit and at rest
Use encryption for sensitive data both while it travels and while it is stored. Then verify the details rather than treating an “encryption enabled” indicator as proof that every relevant path is covered. Check which stored data and backups are encrypted, which service-to-service and user connections are protected in transit, and whether the available protections satisfy your organization’s requirements.
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Provider defaults and features vary by service and can change. Confirm current behavior in the documentation for the particular service, and identify any data paths or copies that need additional protection. Google Cloud’s security-by-design guidance includes access control, segmentation, residency, auditing, and requirements-based encryption as parts of data protection.
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Choose encryption and key controls deliberately
Encryption is only part of the decision: consider who controls the keys, who can use them, and whether the arrangement fits operational and compliance needs. CISA distinguishes client-side encryption, in which the organization creates and retains the key so the provider cannot view the stored data, from server-side encryption, in which data is encrypted at its cloud destination. These approaches have different control and operating implications.
| Approach | Key and data access | Trade-off to assess |
|---|---|---|
| Client-side encryption | The organization creates and retains the key; the provider cannot view data protected this way. | Greater organizational control means the organization must manage key availability and related operations. |
| Server-side encryption | Data is encrypted at its cloud destination; key arrangements depend on the service and configuration. | Confirm what the service encrypts, who can access or manage keys, and whether the arrangement meets your requirements. |
Separately decide whether provider-managed or customer-managed keys are appropriate. Customer-managed keys can offer more control over key access and separation, but they also place key-management responsibilities on your organization and may not work identically across all services. Neither customer-managed keys nor encryption alone prevents exposure through an authorized but compromised account, incorrect sharing, or an application that can access the data. Microsoft’s cloud security benchmark guidance on data protection groups recommendations around discovery and classification, monitoring, encryption in transit and at rest, key and certificate management, and authorized access.
Monitor access, configuration changes, and recovery
Enable logging for data access and relevant configuration changes, review those records, and alert on activity that is unusual for your environment. Monitoring helps surface unintended exposure as well as suspicious access. Also separate resources where doing so reduces the chance that an error or overly broad permission exposes unrelated data. Review account access and keep track of regions and services that are unused or unsupported.
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Data can cross boundaries when users share it, applications call other services, or systems copy it between cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. Map those flows and check that access rules and encryption protect the data along the paths it actually takes, not only in its primary storage location.
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For systems with many short-lived or service-to-service connections, NIST’s IR 8505, A Data Protection Approach for Cloud-Native Applications, addresses data categorization and protection in transit in cloud-native, hybrid, and multi-cloud settings, including service-mesh architectures. Its focus is particularly relevant to complex environments; it is not a requirement that every small cloud deployment adopt a service mesh.
Plan how to retire data when it is no longer needed or a service ends. CISA calls attention to sanitizing data, accounts, and machine images as part of service termination. Include exported copies, backups, and associated access paths in that process, and check the provider’s terms and capabilities for deletion and sanitization.
Scale controls to risk and operational capacity
Apply a baseline appropriate to the sensitivity of the data, the threats to the workload, applicable obligations, and your ability to operate the controls reliably. Add stronger measures where the risk or requirements justify them; avoid adopting a complex control that cannot be maintained or verified. Google Cloud describes graduated basic, intermediate, and advanced baseline levels in its minimum viable secure platform guidance. That is one provider’s way of organizing security baselines, not a universal certification or a standard every organization must follow.
Reassess protections when you change services, data uses, provider features, or service-level agreements. A configuration that was suitable for one workload or earlier service version may not cover a new data path or requirement. Make the review part of cloud-service changes rather than waiting for an incident.
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