Compliance and Standards

Introduction

• Compliance and standards are essential for ensuring that cloud environments meet regulatory, security, and industry requirements.
• Major standards and frameworks include:
  • Cloud Security Alliance (CSA): Focuses on cloud-specific security practices.
  • ISO/IEC 27017: Provides guidelines for information security controls for cloud services.
  • NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology): Provides comprehensive guidelines for securing information systems, including cloud environments.

Azure

1. Compliance Offerings:
   • Azure Compliance Manager: Provides a dashboard to manage compliance with various standards, including CSA, ISO/IEC 27017, and NIST.
   • Azure Policy: Allows you to define and enforce policies to ensure compliance with industry standards.
   • Azure Blueprints: Provides a way to define and deploy governance artifacts, including policies, roles, and resource templates, to meet compliance requirements.
2. Specific Compliance:
   • CSA: Azure provides a Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) STAR Certification, demonstrating compliance with CSA standards.
   • ISO/IEC 27017: Azure adheres to ISO/IEC 27017 standards and provides certification reports on its compliance.
   • NIST: Azure aligns with NIST SP 800-53 and NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). Compliance reports and certifications (e.g., FedRAMP) are available.
3. Tools and Resources:
   • Azure Security Center: Offers tools for continuous security assessments and compliance monitoring.
   • Azure Trust Center: Provides detailed information on compliance certifications and standards.
   • Azure Compliance Documentation: Contains extensive resources on how Azure meets various compliance standards.

AWS

1. Compliance Offerings:
   • AWS Artifact: Provides access to AWS’s compliance reports and certifications, including CSA, ISO/IEC 27017, and NIST.
   • AWS Config: Monitors and records your AWS resources’ configurations to help assess compliance with standards.
   • AWS Security Hub: Aggregates, organizes, and prioritizes security findings to support compliance efforts.
2. Specific Compliance:
   • CSA: AWS is CSA STAR certified and provides CSA-related documentation and reports.
   • ISO/IEC 27017: AWS complies with ISO/IEC 27017 and offers certification documentation.
   • NIST: AWS aligns with NIST guidelines, including NIST SP 800-53. AWS also has certifications like FedRAMP and offers compliance documentation.
3. Tools and Resources:
   • AWS Compliance Center: Provides information on compliance certifications and reports.
   • AWS Well-Architected Framework: Includes security best practices aligned with compliance standards.
   • AWS Compliance Whitepapers: Detailed documents outlining how AWS meets specific industry standards.

GCP

1. Compliance Offerings:
   • Google Cloud Compliance Reports: Provides access to compliance certifications and reports, including CSA, ISO/IEC 27017, and NIST.
   • Google Cloud Security Command Center: Helps identify and manage security and compliance risks.
   • Google Cloud Policy Intelligence: Assists in managing and enforcing policies to ensure compliance.
2. Specific Compliance:
   • CSA: GCP is CSA STAR certified and provides CSA-specific documentation and reports.
   • ISO/IEC 27017: GCP adheres to ISO/IEC 27017 standards and provides certification documentation.
   • NIST: GCP aligns with NIST guidelines, including NIST SP 800-53, and offers certifications such as FedRAMP.
3. Tools and Resources:
   • Google Cloud Compliance Center: Offers detailed information on compliance with various standards.
   • Google Cloud Security Documentation: Provides extensive resources on compliance and security practices.
   • Google Cloud Security Whitepapers: Detailed documents on how GCP meets industry standards.