Tales Of An Eternal Summer (July 2024 Wallpapers Edition)

June 30th, 2024 No comments

For many of us, July is the epitome of summer. The time for spending every free minute outside to enjoy the sun and those seemingly endless summer days, be it in a nearby park, by a lake, or on a trip exploring new places. So why not bring a bit of that summer joy to your desktop, too?

For this month’s wallpapers post, artists and designers from across the globe once again tickled their creativity to capture the July feeling in a collection of desktop wallpapers. They all come in versions with and without a calendar for July 2024 and can be downloaded for free — as it has been a Smashing tradition for more than 13 years already. A huge thank-you to everyone who submitted their artworks this month — this post wouldn’t exist without you!

As a little bonus goodie, we also compiled a selection of July favorites from our wallpapers archives at the end of this post. So maybe you’ll discover one of your almost-forgotten favorites in here, too? Have a fantastic July, no matter what your plans are!

  • You can click on every image to see a larger preview,
  • We respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience through their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
  • Submit a wallpaper!
    Did you know that you could get featured in our next wallpapers post, too? We are always looking for creative talent.

Diving Among Corals

“The long-awaited vacation is coming closer. After working all year, we find ourselves with months that, although we don’t stop completely, are lived differently. We enjoy the days and nights more, and if we can, the beach will keep us company. Therefore, we’ll spend this month in Australia, enjoying the coral reefs and diving without limits.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

Level Up

“Join gamers worldwide on National Video Game Day to honor the rich history and vibrant culture of gaming. Enjoy exclusive discounts on top titles, participate in exciting online tournaments, and dive into special events featuring your favorite games. Whether you’re a casual player or a dedicated enthusiast, there’s something for everyone to celebrate on this epic day!” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Bigfoot And The Little Girl

“This heartwarming moment captures an unlikely friendship of a gentle Bigfoot and an adorable little girl set against the backdrop of a magical and serene evening in nature.” — Designed by Reethu M from London.

Good Night

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Full Buck Moon

“July is the month of the full buck moon, named after the fact that many deer regrow their antlers around this time. It is also when the United States celebrate their Independence Day with fireworks and fun. I decided to combine these aspects into a magical encounter during the fourth of July. It takes place in a field of larkspur which is a flower associated with July.” — Designed by Quincy van Geffen from the Netherlands.

No More Hugs

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Celebrating World Chocolate Day

“World Chocolate Day, celebrated on July 7th, invites chocolate lovers worldwide to indulge in their favorite treat. Commemorating chocolate’s introduction to Europe, this day celebrates its global popularity. Enjoy dark, milk, or white chocolate, bake delicious desserts, and share the sweetness with loved ones.” — Designed by Reethu M from London.

Birdie July

Designed by Lívi Lénárt from Hungary.

Summer Cannonball

“Summer is coming in the northern hemisphere and what better way to enjoy it than with watermelons and cannonballs.” — Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

In Space

Designed by Lieke Dol from the Netherlands.

A Flamboyance Of Flamingos

“July in South Africa is dreary and wintery so we give all the southern hemisphere dwellers a bit of color for those gray days. And for the northern hemisphere dwellers a bit of pop for their summer!” — Designed by Wonderland Collective from South Africa.

Eternal Summer

“And once you let your imagination go, you find yourself surrounded by eternal summer, unexplored worlds, and all-pervading warmth, where there are no rules of physics and colors tint the sky under your feet.” — Designed by Ana Masnikosa from Belgrade, Serbia.

Day Turns To Night

Designed by Xenia Latii from Germany.

Tropical Lilies

“I enjoy creating tropical designs. They fuel my wanderlust and passion for the exotic, instantaneously transporting me to a tropical destination.” — Designed by Tamsin Raslan from the United States.

Road Trip In July

“July is the middle of summer, when most of us go on road trips, so I designed a calendar inspired by my love of traveling and summer holidays.” — Designed by Patricia Coroi from Romania.

The Ancient Device

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Taste Like Summer

“In times of clean eating and the world of superfoods there is one vegetable missing. An old, forgotten one. A flower actually. Rare and special. Once it had a royal reputation (I cheated a bit with the blue). The artichocke — this is my superhero in the garden! I am a food lover — you too? Enjoy it — dip it!” — Designed by Alexandra Tamgnoué from Germany.

Island River

“Make sure you have a refreshing source of ideas, plans and hopes this July. Especially if you are to escape from urban life for a while.” — Designed by Igor Izhik from Canada.

Cactus Hug

Designed by Ilaria Bagnasco from Italy.

Under The Enchanting Moonlight

“Two friends sat under the enchanting moonlight, enjoying the serene ambiance as they savoured their cups of tea. It was a rare and precious connection that transcended the ordinary, kindled by the magic of the moonlight. Eventually, as the night began to wane, they reluctantly stood, their empty cups in hand. They carried with them the memories and the tranquility of the moonlit tea session, knowing that they would return to this special place to create new memories in the future.” — Designed by Bhabna Basak from India.

DJ Little Bird

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Heated Mountains

“Warm summer weather inspired the color palette.” — Designed by Marijana Pivac from Croatia.

July Flavor

Designed by Natalia Szendzielorz from Poland.

Summer Heat

Designed by Xenia Latii from Berlin, Germany.

Mason Jar

“Make the days count this summer!” — Designed by Meghan Pascarella from the United States.

Summer Essentials

“A few essential items for the summertime weather at the beach, park, and everywhere in-between.” — Designed by Zach Vandehey from the United States.

Captain Amphicar

“My son and I are obsessed with the Amphicar right now, so why not have a little fun with it?” — Designed by 3 Bicycles Creative from the United States.

Hotdog

Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Sweden.

Less Busy Work, More Fun!

Designed by ActiveCollab from the United States.

Sweet Summer

“In summer everything inspires me.” — Designed by Maria Karapaunova from Bulgaria.

Fire Camp

“What’s better than a starry summer night with an (unexpected) friend around a fire camp with some marshmallows? Happy July!” — Designed by Etienne Mansard from the UK.

Riding In The Drizzle

“Rain has come, showering the existence with new seeds of life. Everywhere life is blooming, as if they were asleep and the falling music of raindrops have awakened them. Feel the drops of rain. Feel this beautiful mystery of life. Listen to its music, melt into it.” — Designed by DMS Software from India.

An Intrusion Of Cockroaches

“Ever watched Joe’s Apartment when you were a kid? Well, that movie left a soft spot in my heart for the little critters. Don’t get me wrong: I won’t invite them over for dinner, but I won’t grab my flip flop and bring the wrath upon them when I see one running in the house. So there you have it… three roaches… bringing the smack down on that pesky human… ZZZZZZZAP!!” — Designed by Wonderland Collective from South Africa.

July Rocks!

Designed by Joana Moreira from Portugal.

Frogs In The Night

“July is coming and the nights are warmer. Frogs look at the moon while they talk about their day.” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

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Transitioning to Auto Height

June 28th, 2024 No comments
DevTools showing computed values for an element with display none. The height value shows as auto.

I know this is something Chris has wanted forever, so it’s no surprise he’s already got a fantastic write-up just a day after the news broke. In fact, I first learned about it from his post and was unable to dredge up any sort of announcement. So, I thought I’d jot some notes down because it feels like a significant development.

The news: transitioning to auto is now a thing! Well, it’s going to be a thing. Chrome Canary recently shipped support for it and that’s the only place you’ll find it for now. And even then, we just don’t know if the Chrome Canary implementation will find its way to the syntax when the feature becomes official.

The problem

Here’s the situation. You have an element. You’ve marked it up, plopped in contents, and applied a bunch of styles to it. Do you know how tall it is? Of course not! Sure, we can ask JavaScript to evaluate the element for us, but as far as CSS is concerned, the element’s computed dimensions are unknown.

That makes it difficult to, say, animate that element from height: 0 to height: whatever. We need to know what “whatever” is and we can only do that by setting a fixed height on the element. That way, we have numbers to transition from zero height to that specific height.

.panel {
  height: 0;
  transition: height 0.25s ease-in;

  &.expanded {
    height: 300px;
  }
}

But what happens if that element changes over time? Maybe the font changes, we add padding, more content is inserted… anything that changes the dimensions. We likely need to update that height: 300px to whatever new fixed height works best. This is why we often see JavaScript used to toggle things that expand and contract in size, among other workarounds.

I say this is about the height property, but we’re also talking about the logical equivalent, block-size, as well as width and inline-size. Or any direction for that matter!

Transitioning to auto

That’s the goal, right? We tend to reach for height: auto when the height dimension is unknown. From there, we let JavaScript calculate what that evaluates to and take things from there.

The current Chrome implementation uses CSS calc-size() to do the heavy lifting. It recognizes the auto keyword and, true to its name, calculates that number. In other words, we can do this instead of the fixed-height approach:

.panel {
  height: 0;
  transition: height 0.25s ease-in;

  &.expanded {
    height: calc-size(auto);
  }
}

That’s really it! Of course, calc-size() is capable of more complex expressions but the fact that we can supply it with just a vague keyword about an element’s height is darn impressive. It’s what allows us to go from a fixed value to the element’s intrinsic size and back.

I had to give it a try. I’m sure there are a ton of use cases here, but I went with a floating button in a calendar component that indicates a certain number of pending calendar invites. Click the button, and a panel expands above the calendar and reveals the invites. Click it again and the panel goes back to where it came from. JavaScript is handling the click interaction, triggering a class change that transitions the height in CSS.

CodePen Embed Fallback

A video in case you don’t feel like opening Canary:

This is the relevant CSS:

.invite-panel {
  height: 0;
  overflow-y: clip;
  transition: height 0.25s ease-in;
}

On click, JavaScript sets auto height on the element as an inline style to override the CSS:

<div class="invite-panel" style="height: calc(auto)">

The transition property in CSS lets the browser know that we plan on changing the height property at some point, and to make it smooth. And, as with any transition or animation, it’s a good idea to account for motion sensitivities by slowing down or removing the motion with prefers-reduced-motion.

What about display: none?

This is one of the first questions that popped into my head when I read Chris’s post and he gets into that as well. Transitioning from an element from display: none to its intrinsic size is sort of like going from height: 0. It might seem like a non-displayed element has zero height, but it actually does have a computed height of auto unless a specific height is declared on it.

So, there’s extra work to do if we want to transition from display: none in CSS. I’ll simply plop in the code Chris shared because it nicely demonstrates the key parts:

.element {
  /* hard mode!! */
  display: none;

  transition: height 0.2s ease-in-out;
  transition-behavior: allow-discrete;

  height: 0; 
  @starting-style {
    height: 0;
  }

  &.open {
    height: calc(auto);
  }
}
  • The element starts with both display: none and height: 0.
  • There’s an .open class that sets the element’s height to calc-size(auto).

Those are the two dots we need to connect and we do it by first setting transition-behavior: allow-discrete on the element. This is new to me, but the spec says that transition-behavior “specifies whether transitions will be started or not for discrete properties.” And when we declare allow-discrete, “transitions will be started for discrete properties as well as interpolable properties.”

Well, DevTools showed us right there that height: auto is a discrete property! Notice the @starting-style declaration, though. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you’re not alone. The idea is that it lets us set a style for a transition to “start” with. And since our element’s discrete height is auto, we need to tell the transition to start at height: 0 instead:

.element {
  /* etc. */

  @starting-style {
    height: 0;
  }
}

Now, we can move from zero to auto since we’re sorta overriding the discrete height with @starting-style. Pretty cool we can do that!

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Top Security Risks of Cloud Computing

June 28th, 2024 No comments

The advantages of cloud computing are numerous such as; scalability, cost, and flexibility. Nevertheless, these advantages are accompanied by numerous security threats that organizations have to mitigate in order to safeguard their information and networks. 

This blog post will focus on identifying the most significant security threats of cloud computing and ways to address them.

1. Data Breaches

Security breaches are still one of the main issues with organizations that rely on cloud solutions. Any data that is stored in the cloud is vulnerable to threats and includes PII, financial records, and intellectual property, which are valuable assets. This information is sensitive and requires protection through encryption, access control and through auditing the system frequently.

The controls can be breached because of misconfigurations, insufficient security policies, or even insiders. For instance, a single misconfigured cloud storage bucket can lead to the exposure of large volumes of confidential information to the public domain, thus increasing the risk of their exposure to the internet.

2. Misconfiguration and Inadequate Change Management

Cloud environments are not simple; there are many services and settings that require ongoing attention. Screw-ups are one of the major sources of cloud security breaches because such mistakes lead to the exposure of data and systems to intruders.

Common Misconfiguration Issues:

  • Publicly accessible storage buckets
  • Insecure default settings
  • Proper network segmentation was not carried out

Mitigation Strategies:

  • Automated Tools: Employ automated solutions to ensure compliance with the security settings on a constant basis.
  • Security Training: IT staff should be trained on cloud security best practices and the security settings of the cloud provider on a frequent basis.
  • Regular Reviews: Security should be reviewed periodically to check whether the settings and configurations are in line with the organizational security standards.

Most of the misconfigurations are as a result of human activities or the lack of adequate knowledge in cloud computing. These problems can be avoided through training and the incorporation of automated tools. It is crucial to guarantee that all settings are examined periodically and changed if necessary for the cloud infrastructure protection.

3. Insecure Interfaces and APIs

APIs are widely used in cloud services for both as a means of communication and as a method of executing tasks. The insecurity of some APIs makes it possible for the attacker to access the cloud resources, alter data or even perform command operations. Some of the key requirements include strong authentication, input validation, and rate limiting in APIs.

There should be methods of user identification and access control to ensure only the right people can access the system. Also, to enhance security, it is recommended to validate all the inputs to APIs because they are vulnerable to injection attacks.

4. Account Hijacking

Account hijacking is a form of cybercrime whereby the attacker gets unauthorized access to a user account. Once the attackers have a hold of an account, they can alter data, eavesdrop on the communication, and conduct malicious actions.

The use of MFA is one of the most effective preventive measures that can be applied to minimize the possibility of account compromise. The other measures include the use of strong passwords and auditing for suspicious activities or changes in the login pattern.

5. Insider Threats

Insider threats, which may involve current or former employees, contractors, or business partners may be hard to identify and prevent. This is because insiders have legal access to the systems and data, and thus their activities are difficult to distinguish from criminal ones.

Mitigation Measures:

  • Access Controls: Follow the principle of least privilege where an employee is only given the access that is essential for his/her duties.
  • Monitoring: User activities should be monitored for any suspicious activity to be conducted.
  • Training: Offer refresher courses on security consciousness and the threats of insider threats.

Insider threats are a major risk because insiders are trusted personnel. Access controls should be put in place and users activities should be closely monitored to detect any suspicious activity. It also can help in avoiding insider threats by increasing the employees’ awareness through security training.

6. Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks

DoS attacks are designed to deny access to cloud services by flooding them with traffic and/or resource-consuming requests. These attacks can result in large amounts of downtime and monetary damages. The threat of DoS attacks can be minimized if rate limiting, redundancy, and load balancing are put in place.

Traffic patterns can be monitored and suspicious traffic can be set up for an alert to be raised when such a traffic is detected. It is important to make sure that the systems are backed up and capable of distributing the traffic loads in order to keep services running during an attack.

7. Insecure Cloud Services and APIs

Most cloud services have pre-set default security that may not be adequate for any organization security policies. If these settings are not fine-tuned, then the systems are open to attack. Another level of protection can be achieved through the periodic review of the security settings and the use of virtual private networks for the connections.

It is important to configure the default parameters to the organization security requirements. Schedules audits can assist in maintaining compliance with the security policies and identify possible weaknesses. Using tools such as VPN can enhance the connection between the on-premises systems and the cloud services to ensure that they are safe and secure. However, it’s essential to understand VPN pros and cons to make informed decisions about its implementation.

8. Compliance and Legal Risks

It is crucial to note that organizations have to adhere to different regulatory standards when it comes to cloud services. Failure to adhere to the laws attracts legal consequences, tarnishing of organizations’ image, and loss of money. Some of the compliance measures include; comprehending the rules and regulations, undertaking compliance audits frequently, and keeping records comprehensively.

It is important to know about the regulations that are related to the business such as GDPR and HIPAA. Compliance audits on a regular basis can help in the detection of any shortcomings in regard to security measures. Compliance documentation can be a valuable tool in the organization as it demonstrates the company’s commitment to following the rules set out by the regulators.

9. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)

APTs are long-term and specific cyber attacks designed to acquire information or sabotage systems for an extended period. These attacks are normally complex and have a tendency of being executed in a very organized manner. The best strategies against APTs are constant surveillance, threat intelligence, and an effective incident response plan.

In essence, the monitoring process can identify activities that are considered as indicators of an APT. Threat intelligence assists organizations in being aware of new threats and techniques that are being used by the attackers. An incident response plan that is well thought out and updated periodically will help in quick and efficient handling of any possible breaches.

Featured image by Alin Gavriliuc on Unsplash

The post Top Security Risks of Cloud Computing appeared first on noupe.

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Speak Your Mind, See Your Words: A Dive into Speech-to-Text Software

June 28th, 2024 No comments

In our fast-paced world, efficiency is key. Wouldn’t it be amazing to simply speak your thoughts and have them instantly transformed into digital text? This is precisely what speech-to-text software offers. This article delves into the world of speech-to-text, empowering you to use the power of your voice and smooth out your workflow. Get ready to explore.

Speech-To-Text Software: A Quick Overview

Speech-to-text software is a technology that effortlessly converts spoken words into written text. It’s like talking to your phone or a microphone and seeing your words instantly appear on the screen. And for that to happen smart algorithms and machine learning are used that understand and transcribe what you say, whether it’s live or from a recording.  This technology can be used for various purposes, including dictation, transcription of audio or video recordings, and real-time translation.

How does it work?

Speech-to-text software uses a process called automatic speech recognition (ASR) to transcribe spoken words into text. This technology involves three main steps:

  1. Acoustic processing: The microphone captures your voice, which is then broken down into smaller units called phonemes.
  2. Language processing: The phonemes are analyzed based on language-specific rules and converted into words and sentences.
  3. Natural language processing: This step focuses on analyzing the context and determining the meaning of the words to generate accurate and coherent text.

After these steps, the transcribed text is displayed on your screen or saved as a document. Some software also offers features like punctuation and formatting for a seamless transcription process.

Benefits of Speech-to-Text Software – Talk the Talk, Type the Walk

We get to know how it works, but what are some benefits of using this technology? Let’s see them down below.

  • Improves efficiency:  It’s human nature that we tend to speak faster than we type, and speech-to-text software, offers this possibility. This saves time and allows for a more effortless workflow.
  • Increased Accessibility: Speech-to-text software enhances accessibility for people with disabilities by allowing them to interact with technology through voice commands and transcriptions.
  • Enhanced Productivity: It boosts productivity by enabling users to quickly dictate documents, emails, and messages, reducing the time spent on typing.

Exploring Different Speech-to-Text Solution

Now we got to know the benefits. However, there are many speech-to-text software options available, ranging from basic to advanced features. Let’s take a look at some popular ones:

  • Dragon NaturallySpeaking: Considered one of the best speech recognition software, Dragon NaturallySpeaking offers high accuracy and efficiency with its powerful voice commands and customization options.
  • Google Docs Voice Typing: If you’re looking for a free option, Google Docs Voice Typing is a great choice. It offers decent accuracy and allows for real-time transcription in Google Docs.
  • Otter.ai: This software is ideal for transcribing audio or video recordings. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate accurate transcripts and also offers features like highlighting speaker separation, and keyword search.
  • IBM Watson Speech to Text: For businesses looking for a powerful speech-to-text solution, IBM Watson Speech to Text offers enterprise-level features such as custom language models and multiple audio format support.

Things to Consider Before Choosing

Before investing in speech-to-text software, here are some factors worth considering:

  • Accuracy: Look for software with high accuracy rates. You don’t want to spend more time correcting errors than actually speaking.
  • Integration: If you plan on using the software alongside other applications or devices, make sure it’s compatible and offers integration options.
  • Customization: Some software allows for customization, such as creating custom vocabulary or commands. This can greatly improve accuracy and efficiency.
  • Security: For sensitive information, ensure the software has strong security measures in place to protect your data.

Tips for Using Speech-To-Text Software

Now you have a better understanding of Speech-to-text software and might get hands-on in one of the software. Here are some tips to consider when using software/

  • Speak clearly: To ensure accurate transcription, speak clearly and enunciate your words. Speaking at a moderate pace also helps the software keep up with your speech.
  • Use proper microphone placement: Consider using a microphone headset or positioning your device’s built-in microphone closer to your face for better sound quality.
  • Edit as needed: While speech-to-text software is generally accurate, it may make mistakes or misunderstand certain words. It’s always a good idea to proofread and edit the transcribed text before finalizing it.
  • Try different software: If you’re not satisfied with the accuracy or features of one software, try out different options to find the best fit for your needs.

What Lies Ahead for Speech-to-Text Technology?

The world of speech-to-text technology is continuously evolving and improving. With advancements in machine learning and AI, we can expect even higher accuracy rates and more features in the future. Some potential developments to look out for include:

  • Real-time translation: Imagine speaking in one language and having your words instantly translated into another language without skipping a beat.
  • Better contextual understanding: Speech-to-text software may become better at recognizing nuances in speech and accurately transcribing dialects or accents.
  • Improved accessibility: As technology becomes more advanced, speech-to-text software may provide even greater accessibility for individuals with disabilities or injuries.

Wrap Up

Speech-to-text software is remarkable for individuals and businesses alike, offering a convenient and efficient way to convert spoken words into written text. With its advanced technology and evolving features, it’s only going to become more accurate and accessible in the future. So whether you’re looking to save time, reduce physical strain, or improve accessibility, give speech-to-text software a try and see how it can elevate your productivity.  So don’t hesitate to speak your mind – with speech-to-text software, your words will be heard loud and clear.

Featured image by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

The post Speak Your Mind, See Your Words: A Dive into Speech-to-Text Software appeared first on noupe.

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Meaningful Ways to Measure Website Success

June 27th, 2024 No comments

Your website is often the first thing people see, where they go to learn more about you, get information, or even make a purchase. But just having a website isn’t enough; you’ve got to make sure it’s doing its job and helping you reach your business goals. This is where figuring out how to measure your website’s success is handy.

Categories: Designing, Others Tags:

Navigating Cloud Security Assessment: Ensuring Robust Protection for Business Data and Operation

June 26th, 2024 No comments

As cloud computing becomes more prevalent in the digital world, new applications emerge. 

However, early adopters usually face threats that haven’t been observed before. This is why it’s important to conduct security audits and perform thorough research before adopting them.

When talking about the cloud, a security assessment is an essential part of ensuring good protection for the applications or platforms that one is hosting. 

Cloud security assessment explained

As the name of this cybersecurity method suggests, cloud security assessment is the process of assessing various parts, virtual and physical, of the cloud.

The intention is to increase cloud security in the long run.

Assessing cloud security requires setting a theoretical foundation and a plan before you start the assessment process. That way, you can guarantee you’ll waste no time or resources.

The assessment is part of a wider mission of ensuring robust protection for the cloud. A couple of essential methods ensure effective assessment. These include:

  • Identifying assets
  • Scanning for vulnerabilities
  • Reviewing policies and configuration

Of course, the benefit of cloud security assessments is that vulnerabilities and flaws are fixed before a cyber attack happens. The costs of data breaches and other cyber threats can lead to fines, impact your reputation, and even cause bankruptcy. 

So, proactively investing in cybersecurity and implementing security assessments can significantly protect your business from monetary and reputational harm. 

Even though ?taking care of cloud security isn’t free, it’s definitely not as costly as the potential fines and profit losses you can experience if your company gets hacked.

Process of Cloud Assessment

Assessing the security of the cloud requires time and a carefully thought-out process. 

While there are a couple of different explanations and breakdowns of this process, we’ll review some common, general steps to follow to help you build your own tailored ?process. 

1. Define the scope and your objectives

Before you go and start making specific adjustments or analyses on the cloud system, you should define your objectives. 

With a firm understanding of what you’re going to assess and why, the process will be much easier. Furthermore, you won’t lose time on unnecessary aspects or departments.

This part can also include gathering information on what type of tools and resources you’re going to need. 

For instance, you might need more personnel. Starting the assessment and realizing that you don’t have anyone trained well enough can lead to setbacks, losses, and smaller progress. 

On the other hand, if you hire a company or an agency before you start the process, it’ll likely be much smoother. 

2. Review your infrastructure

In the context of cloud security, infrastructure includes components such as servers, networks, storage, and other components that are part of the cloud. 

We can also include security control points such as firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDPS), and secure protocols. Another option is to set up a company wide network, only accessible via secure VPN connection. Make sure you’re choosing a reliable VPN provider to secure your company network.

Why? This part is important for understanding your attack surface and where potential weak points can be located.

The complexity of the cloud infrastructure will directly impact your ability to conduct the review effectively. 

However, it’s important to know not only what devices are part of the network but also how they’re configured. Cloud misconfigurations can create many vulnerabilities that could be exploited by bad actors.

3. Check existing policies

Assessing cloud security also involves reviewing all the paperwork involved in providing cloud services. One of the most important documents is Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which outline the level of service that the cloud provider is expected to deliver and the remedies or penalties if they fail to meet these commitments.

In addition to reviewing SLAs, security policies, and terms of service, it’s also important to verify the cloud provider’s compliance with relevant security standards and certifications that could apply to one company.

The most important standards include ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002 SOC 2, and PCI DSS. These certifications indicate that the cloud provider follows recognized best practices for security and compliance, and they serve as impeccable guidelines. 

4. Assess your access controls

Access management is an important part of security protocols. All companies should adhere to the “least privilege” rule. This means that no employee should have access levels higher than needed.

Access control is a great way to prevent unauthorized access, but implementing other measures, such as cybersecurity training, can also be beneficial.

For example, it’s clear that the addition of travel nurses brings great benefits to medical centers that are facing staff shortages and urgently require additional support. However, introducing new temporary staff who don’t know the protocols can also bring cybersecurity risks. 

Since these security protocols are so specific, designing onboarding programs that pay special attention to cybersecurity is extremely important. These programs should be specifically aimed at all personnel who won’t be permanent staff members. 

Topics such as two-factor authentication, strong password practices, and how to identify and avoid phishing attempts are essential within these programs. 

5. Evaluate current data security measures 

Data security measures need to be implemented to ensure compliance with data regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA and CCPA. 

Assessment of the cryptographic protocols used in encrypting data and risk management measures in cases of data loss are essential to ensure robust cloud security.

6. Assess the physical security of the cloud

When talking about physical intrusions into a certain company, people imagine this as a stereotypical hacker movie. Of course, no one is going to slide through your ventilation, hack the system, and steal the data.

However, poor physical security can indeed lead to similar problems. For example, individuals who are in charge of cleaning can access rooms where they aren’t allowed to, damaging the servers.

In a case such as a break-in without an alarm system, malicious individuals can either damage your infrastructure or steal valuable items such as computer components. 

Cloud security assessment is crucial for protecting your business operations

Prevention is better than putting out a cybersecurity fire in your cloud environment, and assessing cloud security is essential to stopping these critical risks.

Closing gaps (read: security vulnerabilities) in your network security is impossible unless you know where those security risks are. 

One of the best ways to locate them is to have periodic cloud security risk assessments conducted by your cloud service provider. Think of them as the industry standards for keeping your cloud assets safe.Take the necessary precautions today to prevent data breaches and keep your operations running like a well-oiled machine. You won’t regret investing in your security posture. And neither will your bottom line.

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June 24th, 2024 No comments

CSS Meditation #8: .work + .life { border: 10px solid #000; }

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June 24th, 2024 No comments

CSS Meditation #7: Nobody is perf-ect.

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CSS Meditation #6: The color space is always calc(rgb(0 255 0)+er) on the other side of the fence.

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June 24th, 2024 No comments

CSS Meditation #5: :where(:is(.my-mind))

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