by Mark | Feb 3, 2022 | Azure, Azure Blobs, Comparison, Storage Accounts
Are you confused about which Azure Storage Service to use, for mapping a drive, or just dumping large amounts of data in to? This post goes indepth in to the differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Services.
Azure Blob Storage vs Azure File Storage:
Choosing the Right Storage Solution for Your Business
In today’s digital age, data storage is an essential part of any business strategy. As more and more businesses move their operations to the cloud, choosing the right storage solution can make a significant impact on your organization’s efficiency and productivity. Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, offers two primary storage solutions: Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at both Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage and help you decide which one is the best fit for your business.
What is Azure Blob Storage?
Azure Blob Storage is a massively scalable object storage service that allows you to store and manage large amounts of unstructured data. It is ideal for storing files such as videos, images, audio, and text documents. Blob storage is designed to handle large amounts of data and can scale to meet your business needs, making it an excellent choice for businesses that require large-scale data storage.
Benefits of Azure Blob Storage
- Massive Scalability: Azure Blob Storage can handle massive amounts of data and can scale to meet your business needs.
- Cost-Effective: Blob storage offers a cost-effective solution for storing large amounts of unstructured data.
- Durability: Data stored in Blob storage is highly durable and can be replicated across different regions to ensure high availability.
- Security: Blob storage provides granular access control, allowing you to control who can access your data.
- Integration: Blob storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, making it easy to build scalable and reliable applications.
What is Azure File Storage?
Azure File Storage is a fully managed file sharing service that allows you to share files with both Windows and Linux clients. It is ideal for storing structured data such as application data and virtual machine files. With Azure File Storage, you can access your files from anywhere and at any time, making it an excellent choice for businesses with remote workers or multiple office locations.
Benefits of Azure File Storage
- Fully Managed: Azure File Storage is a fully managed service, which means that Microsoft takes care of the infrastructure and maintenance, allowing you to focus on your business.
- Easy to Use: Azure File Storage is easy to set up and use, with a simple interface that allows you to manage your files from anywhere.
- Secure: Azure File Storage provides granular access control, ensuring that your data is secure.
- Integration: Azure File Storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, making it easy to build scalable and reliable applications.
- Multi-Platform: Azure File Storage supports both Windows and Linux clients, making it a versatile option for businesses with a variety of operating systems.
Choosing the Right Storage Solution
Now let’s explore the key differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage.
Structure
Azure Blob Storage stores data as blobs within containers, allowing for a flat storage structure. In contrast, Azure File Storage uses a hierarchical structure, with directories and subdirectories, similar to a traditional file system.
Access
Blob Storage supports REST APIs, Azure Storage SDKs, and Azure Storage Explorer for data access. File Storage allows access via the SMB protocol, enabling you to mount file shares directly to your virtual machines or on-premises systems.
Scalability
Blob Storage can scale to store petabytes of data, with individual blobs up to 4.75 TB in size. File Storage, while still scalable, has a maximum share size of 100 TiB.
Performance
Blob Storage provides higher throughput and lower latency than File Storage. However, File Storage offers better performance for small file read and write operations, which can be crucial for specific applications.
Security
Both services provide data encryption at rest and in transit. However, Blob Storage also supports object-level access control through shared access signatures, while File Storage relies on share-level access control.
When choosing between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage, it’s important to consider your business’s needs. If you need to store large amounts of unstructured data such as videos, images, and audio, Azure Blob Storage is the best choice. If you need to store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files and share files with Windows and Linux clients, Azure File Storage is the better option.
Azure Blob Storage FAQs:
What types of data can I store in Azure Blob Storage?
You can store various types of unstructured data, including text, images, audio, and video files.
How scalable is Azure Blob Storage?
Azure Blob Storage is massively scalable and can handle large amounts of data. It can scale to meet your business needs.
Is my data safe in Azure Blob Storage?
Yes, your data is safe in Azure Blob Storage. Data stored in Blob storage is highly durable and can be replicated across different regions to ensure high availability. Blob storage also provides granular access control, allowing you to control who can access your data.
Can I integrate Azure Blob Storage with other Azure services?
Yes, you can easily integrate Azure Blob Storage with other Azure services, such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, and Azure Stream Analytics.
How much does Azure Blob Storage cost?
Azure Blob Storage pricing is based on the amount of data stored, data access, and data transfer. You can find more information about Azure Blob Storage pricing on the Azure website.
Azure File Storage FAQs:
What types of data can I store in Azure File Storage?
You can store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files in Azure File Storage. It is designed for file sharing with Windows and Linux clients.
Is Azure File Storage easy to use?
Yes, Azure File Storage is easy to use, with a simple interface that allows you to manage your files from anywhere.
How secure is Azure File Storage?
Azure File Storage provides granular access control, ensuring that your data is secure. You can control who can access your data and what they can do with it.
Can I integrate Azure File Storage with other Azure services?
Yes, Azure File Storage can easily integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Backup, and Azure Site Recovery.
How much does Azure File Storage cost?
Azure File Storage pricing is based on the amount of data stored and data access. You can find more information about Azure File Storage pricing on the Azure website.
Azure Blob and File Storage Use Cases
| Use Case |
Azure Blob Storage |
Azure File Storage |
| Unstructured Data Storage |
Best suited for storing unstructured data, such as text, images, audio, and video files. |
Designed for structured data storage, such as application data and virtual machine files. |
| Data Access |
Provides block-level access to data, making it ideal for streaming and storing large media files. |
Provides SMB-based file access, making it ideal for sharing files across Windows and Linux clients. |
| Scalability |
Highly scalable and can handle large amounts of data. |
Can also scale to meet business needs, but not as well-suited for extremely large data sets. |
| Security |
Provides granular access control, ensuring that data is secure. |
Provides granular access control, ensuring that data is secure. |
| Integration |
Can integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Data Factory, Azure Functions, and Azure Stream Analytics. |
Can easily integrate with other Azure services, such as Azure Virtual Machines and Azure Backup. |
How can I connect to Azure Blob Storage?
With Azure Blob Storage access is provided over HTTPS, so you cant traditionally mount Blob Storage as a mapped network drive to a Virtual Machine or Users desktop.
You can however browse all the Azure Blobs contained within this Storage Account through your web browser, using Microsoft’s Azure Storage Explorer, the Azure Storage Rest API, Powershell or even the Azure CLI. Alternatively, you can use our software, Cloud Storage Manager to do the same thing and more.
How can I connect to Azure File Storage?
As stated before, Azure File Services is more like your standard file server, in that you can create multiple network shares with folders and files within. These shares can of course be mapped directly to your machines as a network drive using the SMB protocol. To map a network drive to an Azure File Share, Microsoft lets you create a login script direct from the Azure Portal using powershell to connect the share.
Here is an example powershell script to connect an Azure File share to a users computer as a Y drive mapping.
$connectTestResult = Test-NetConnection -ComputerName storageaccountname.file.core.windows.net -Port 445
if ($connectTestResult.TcpTestSucceeded) {
# Save the password so the drive will persist on reboot
cmd.exe /C “cmdkey /add:`”storageaccountname.file.core.windows.net`” /user:`”localhoststorageaccoun`” /pass:`”longpasswordabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz`””
# Mount the drive
New-PSDrive -Name Y -PSProvider FileSystem -Root “\storageaccountname.file.core.windows.netfileservicestest” -Persist
} else {
Write-Error -Message “Unable to reach the Azure storage account via port 445. Check to make sure your organization or ISP is not blocking port 445, or use Azure P2S VPN, Azure S2S VPN, or Express Route to tunnel SMB traffic over a different port.”
}
With Azure Files you can also set NTFS permissions on the shares, folders and files. Additionally you can integrate this service with your Azure AD so that permissions can be set using normal AD groups and users.
One thing that differentiates Azure File Services from an on-premise File Server is that you can access the folders and files from anywhere with an internet connection.
Allow access to Azure Storage Account using a Shared Access Signature
The Shared Access Signature can be created to allow access over HTTP or HTTPS for a limited time to any of the Azure Storage Services. This includes Blob, File, Queue and Table Services.
You can be granular with the access you want to provide. Perhaps you have a third party that you only want to give access to your data and certain services for a fixed amount of time.
Options you can choose are;
- Allowed Services;
- Allowed Resource Types
- Allowed Permissions
- Read
- Write
- Delete
- List
- Add
- Create
- Update
- Process
- Immutable Storage
Choose this options carefully, as you can see you can be as granular as you want to allow access to your Azure Storage Accounts.
Whats a Use Case Example for Azure Blob Storage?
Azure Blob Storage has several use cases. Its great for the following types of data storage;
- Serving documents, images or videos direct to a browsers.
- Storing of files for quick and easy access
- Streaming video and audio
- Great for dumping of logs files for analysis
- A good target for backup files, archiving and disaster recovery.
Whats a Use Case Example for Azure File Storage?
Azure File Services is great for the following use cases;
- Replacing or supplementing your on-premise File Servers
- Allowing network share access to anywhere in the world with an internet connection
- Lift and Shift your applications to the Cloud that require a network share
- Improving the resilience and uptime of your network shares
- Removing the need to patch and maitain Windows File Servers
So what are the main differences between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Services?
Item
|
Azure Blob Storage
|
Azure File Services
|
Tiering
|
Hot
Cool
Archive |
Premium
Transaction Optimized
Hot
Cool
Note – No Archive Tier available for Azure File Services |
Authentication
|
SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration
Anonymous public read access |
SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD
On-Premise Active Directory – Synced with Azure AD |
Redundancy
|
LRS – Locally Redundant Storage
ZRS – Zone Redundant Storage
GRS – Geo Redundant Storage
GZRS – Geo Zone Redundant Storage |
LRS – Locally Redundant Storage
ZRS – Zone Redundant Storage
GRS – Geo Redundant Storage
GZRS – Geo Zone Redundant Storage |
Maximum Size
|
500TB |
100TiB per File Share |
Maximum File Size
|
Azure BLOBs are 2 types; Page and Block.
Max Page is 8TiB, max block is 200TiB |
1 TB per File |
Authentication
|
SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration
Anonymous public read access |
SAS Token
Storage Access Keys
Azure AD Integration
On-Premise Active Directory – Synced with Azure AD
|
Choosing the Right Storage Solution
When choosing between Azure Blob Storage and Azure File Storage, it’s important to consider your business’s needs. If you need to store large amounts of unstructured data such as videos, images, and audio, Azure Blob Storage is the best choice. If you need to store structured data such as application data and virtual machine files and share files with Windows and Linux clients, Azure File Storage is the better option.
In conclusion, Cloud Storage Manager is an effective tool that helps organizations to manage their Azure storage usage and costs. With its powerful features such as Map View, Tree View, Azure Storage Reporting, Azure Blob Search, and Azure Files Complete Overview, the software enables users to gain insights into their Azure Blob and Azure File storage consumption, identify the areas where costs can be reduced, and take appropriate actions. By visualizing Azure storage locations, browsing through Azure storage trees, generating reports, searching and scanning Azure storage accounts, users can quickly see where their storage is going and take back control of their Azure Blob storage costs. Cloud Storage Manager is a valuable tool that saves money, enhances productivity, and helps organizations to manage their storage accounts efficiently.
by Mark | Jan 18, 2022 | Azure, Azure Blobs, How To
In today’s digital world, data storage has become an essential aspect of businesses of all sizes. As data continues to grow exponentially, the need for reliable, scalable, and cost-effective storage solutions has become more critical than ever. Microsoft Azure is a popular cloud computing platform that provides a wide range of storage solutions. In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating an Azure Storage account step-by-step.
What is Azure Storage?
Azure Storage is a cloud-based storage solution that provides scalable, durable, and highly available storage for your applications and data. It offers a range of storage types, including Blob, File, Queue, and Table storage, which are designed to meet different storage needs. Azure Storage provides a high degree of flexibility and enables you to easily scale up or down as your storage needs change.
Azure Storage Account Use Cases
| Use Case |
Description |
| Data Backup and Recovery |
Azure Storage Account is an ideal solution for data backup and recovery purposes. It allows users to store backup data in a secure and scalable manner, and retrieve it as needed. This use case is particularly useful for businesses that need to store and retrieve large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. |
| Media Storage and Streaming |
Azure Storage Account is also an excellent option for storing and streaming media files, such as videos and music. It provides a high level of performance and scalability, making it easy to store and retrieve media files as needed. This use case is particularly useful for businesses that need to stream videos or other media content to their customers. |
| Application Data Storage |
Azure Storage Account is a reliable and cost-effective solution for storing application data. It provides flexible options for storing and retrieving data, making it easy to manage application data as needed. This use case is particularly useful for businesses that need to store and manage large amounts of application data. |
| Archival Storage |
Azure Storage Account also provides an excellent option for archival storage. This use case involves storing data that is infrequently accessed, but still needs to be retained for compliance or other reasons. Azure Storage Account offers cost-effective options for storing archival data over long periods of time, while still providing easy access to the data when needed. |
| Disaster Recovery |
Azure Storage Account can also be used for disaster recovery purposes. It allows businesses to store backup data in a separate location, providing an added layer of protection in case of a disaster. This use case is particularly useful for businesses that need to ensure that their data is protected and accessible at all times, even in the event of a disaster. |
STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO CREATE AN AZURE STORAGE ACCOUNT.
Open the Azure Portal
First thing to do is to open the browser of your choice and into your Azure Subscription at https://portal.azure.com
New Azure Storage Account
Now navigate to the top left of the browser, click the three dashes and scroll down to Storage Accounts, then choose create.
Create an Azure Storage Account
The Browser will now open into the Create a Storage Account Wizard.
Here you will need to know and set a few things so your storage account can be created.
SUBSCRIPTION – First thing is which of your Azure Subscriptions the Storage Account should reside in.
RESOURCE GROUP – Next is the Resource Group, you can either choose an existing Resource Group or create a new one.
STORAGE ACCOUNT NAME – This is the name that you want the Storage Account to be called. It must be unique.
REGION – The Azure datacentre you want the Storage Account to reside.
PERFORMANCE – You can choose Standard or Premium for the performance of the Storage Account.
REDUNDANCY – Choose what sort of redundancy you want for the Storage Account. (More info on this and more about Azure Blob Storage at this link)
Choose from;
-
- Locally Redundant Storage – (LRS)
- Geo Redundant Storage – (GRS)
- Zone Redundant Storage – (ZRS)
- Geo Zone Redundant Storage – (GZRS)
When you are ready to progress, you can skip the next few steps by clicking Review + Create or click Next : Advanced to proceed to the next steps.
Azure Storage Account Advanced Page
If you clicked on Review + Create on the previous page, you can skip these steps. However, if you click on Next : Advanced you will be on the further settings page in the Storage Account Creation wizard.
On this page you configure some further settings;
SECURITY
SECURE TRANSFER FOR REST API – This setting will only allow communication to the Storage Account using HTTPS. HTTP will be rejected when this setting is enabled.
ENABLE BLOB PUBLIC ACCESS – Choose if you want this storage account to be accessed externally, or only via your internal network.
ENABLE STORAGE ACCOUNT KEY ACCESS – Choose whether you want to enable access using an Azure Shared Storage Key.
AZURE ACTIVE DIRECTORY– If you have Azure Active Directory you can set this to allow access to the Storage Account using Azure AD.
MINIMUM TLS VERSION – This sets the minimum TLS version that any applications accessing the Storage Account can use.
-
- TLS version 1.2
- TLS version 1.1
- TLS version 1.0
DATA LAKE STORAGE GEN2
ENABLE HIERARCHICAL NAMESPACE – The Data Lake Storage Gen2 hierarchical namespace accelerates big data analytics workloads and enables file-level access control lists
SSH FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL (SFTP)
ENABLE SFTP – Enables the SSH File Transfer Protocol for your storage account that allows users to access blobs via an SFTP endpoint.
BLOB STORAGE
ENABLE NETWORK FILE SYSTEM v3 – This will allow the Network File System Protocol so that users can access their files across the network.
ALLOW CROSS-TENANT REPLICATION – This allows object replication from this storage account to another storage account within a Different Azure tenant. Not enabling this setting will limit this replication only within the same Azure tenant.
ACCESS TIER – Sets the default access tier for the storage account.
-
- HOT – For frequently accessed data
- COOL – For less frequently accessed data
AZURE FILES
ENABLE LARGE FILE SHARES – Provides support for file shares up to 100 TiB.
When you are ready to progress, click Next : Networking to proceed to the next steps.5
Azure Storage Account Network Connectivity
If you clicked on Review + Create on the previous page, you can skip these steps. However if you click on Next : Advanced you will be on the further settings page in the Storage Account Creation wizard.
On this page you configure some further settings;
NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
CONNECTIVITY METHOD – This setting will only allow communication to the Storage Account using HTTPS. HTTP will be rejected when this setting is enabled.
-
- PUBLIC ENDPOINTS (ALL NETWORKS) – All networks will be able to access this storage account.
- PUBLIC ENDPOINTS (SELECTED NETWORKS) – Selected networks will be able to access this storage account.
- PRIVATE ENDPOINT – Only allow access from your internal network.
NOTE: The remaining options on this page will change depending on which of the connectivity methods you chose above.
PUBLIC ENDPOINTS (ALL NETWORKS) OPTION
ROUTING PREFERENCE– Chose how to route the traffic to your storage account endpoint.
-
- MICROSOFT NETWORK ROUTING
- INTERNET ROUTING
PUBLIC ENDPOINTS (SELECTED NETWORKS) OPTION
VIRTUAL NETWORKS – Only the selected networks will be able to access this Storage Account.
VIRTUAL NETWORK SUBSCRIPTION – Which Azure Subscription the network will be provisioned.
VIRTUAL NETWORK – You can create or use an existing virtual network to allow access to this storage account.
NETWORK ROUTING – Determine how to route your traffic as it travels from the source to its Azure endpoint. Microsoft network routing is recommended for most customers.
ROUTING PREFERENCE – Two options here, Microsoft Routing or Internet Routing. Microsoft Network Routing will direct your traffic to enter the Microsoft cloud as quickly as possible from the source. Internet Routing will direct your traffic to enter the Microsoft Cloud closer to the Azure Endpoint.
-
- MICROSOFT NETWORK ROUTING
- INTERNET ROUTING
PRIVATE ENDPOINT
CREATE A PRIVATE ENDPOINT – Here you can create a Private Endpoint for connectivity to the Storage Account.
NETWORK ROUTING – Determine how to route your traffic as it travels from the source to its Azure endpoint. Microsoft network routing is recommended for most customers.
ROUTING PREFERENCE – Two options here, Microsoft Routing or Internet Routing. Microsoft Network Routing will direct your traffic to enter the Microsoft cloud as quickly as possible from the source. Internet Routing will direct your traffic to enter the Microsoft Cloud closer to the Azure Endpoint.
-
- MICROSOFT NETWORK ROUTING
- INTERNET ROUTING
When you are ready to progress, click Next : Data Protection to proceed to the next steps
Azure Storage Account Recovery
Now you should be presented with the Data Protection Page.
On this page you configure these settings;
RECOVERY – Protects your data from accidental deletion and erroneous deletion or modification.
Choose which of these options you want to protect the data within your Storage Account, and how many days you wish to retain the deleted Blobs.
-
- POINT IN TIME RESTORES FOR CONTAINERS
- ENABLE SOFT DELETE FOR BLOBS
- ENABLE SOFT DELETE FOR CONTAINERS
- ENABLE SOFT DELETE FOR FILE SHARES
TRACKING
Provides versioning and monitors and logs changes made to your Blob data.
- ENABLE VERSIONING FOR BLOBS
- ENABLE BLOB CHANGE FEED
ACCESS CONTROL
ENABLE VERSION LEVEL IMMUTABILITY SUPPORT– Allows you to set time-based retention policy on the account-level that will apply to all blob versions. Enable this feature to set a default policy at the account level. Without enabling this, you can still set a default policy at the container level or set policies for specific blob versions. Versioning is required for this property to be enabled.
When you are ready to progress, click Next : Encryption to proceed to the next steps
Azure Storage Account Tagging
Almost there, now on the TAGS Page.
On this page, you configure any TAGS you want to be applied to the Storage Account.
When you are ready to progress, the last step is to click on Next : Review + Create to proceed to the final step
Azure Storage Account Created
Finally, we are there (Well if you did skip all options in Step 3, you were here a lot sooner)
Confirm all the settings here match the options you want and when you are finally ready to create your Azure Storage Account, click on Create.
And that’s all there is to it, you have created a Storage Account within Azure that you can now start to access and use all the benefits that Azure’s Storage has to offer.
Now once you start using it and want to gain some insights into your Azure Storage Consumption and Usage, you can trial our software for free, Cloud Storage Manager.
Azure Storage Account FAQs
What is a storage account?
A storage account is a secure and scalable cloud storage solution provided by cloud service providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform.
What are the benefits of using a storage account?
Storage accounts offer several benefits such as high availability, scalability, durability, security, and cost-effectiveness.
What types of data can be stored in a storage account?
Storage accounts can store various types of data such as files, blobs, tables, and queues.
Can multiple applications access the same storage account simultaneously?
Yes, multiple applications can access the same storage account simultaneously.
What is the pricing model for a storage account?
The pricing model for a storage account depends on the cloud service provider and the type of storage account. Generally, users are charged based on the amount of data stored, the number of transactions performed, and the amount of data transferred.
In today’s world, where data is one of the most valuable assets of any organization, having a reliable and scalable storage solution is crucial. Storage accounts offered by cloud service providers are an excellent option for storing, managing, and accessing data in a secure and cost-effective way. With the flexibility to store various types of data and the ability to scale up or down based on the requirements, storage accounts have become a popular choice among organizations of all sizes. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, a storage account can help you manage your data more efficiently and effectively.
by Mark | Sep 28, 2021 | Cloud Computing, Guest Post
Achieving PCI DSS Compliance for Your Cloud Operations
If you store, process, or transmit cardholder data or sensitive information, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) set by major credit card companies. These security controls, released in 2018, are designed to help prevent, detect, and respond to security issues affecting payment card data. Failure to comply can lead to heavy fines, financial losses, damaged reputation, and lawsuits. But how do you ensure compliance for your cloud operations?
In this article, we’ll discuss the 12 PCI DSS requirements and six goals encapsulated in these standards. However, only seven requirements and four goals are relevant to cloud PCI DSS compliance.
What is PCI DSS Compliance?
PCI DSS is a set of security standards developed by the payment card industry to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. The standards are designed to protect cardholder data from theft and fraud and apply to all organizations that accept payment cards, regardless of size or volume.
Why is PCI DSS Compliance Important?
PCI DSS compliance is critical for any organization that handles credit card information because it helps to prevent data breaches and protects against financial losses, legal liabilities, and damage to the company’s reputation. Additionally, failure to comply with PCI DSS standards can result in costly fines and penalties.
The Challenges of Achieving PCI DSS Compliance in the Cloud
Achieving PCI DSS compliance in the cloud can be challenging due to several factors, including the shared responsibility model between the cloud service provider and the customer, the complexity of the cloud environment, and the lack of visibility and control over the infrastructure.
Understanding Cloud Service Provider Responsibility
In a cloud computing environment, the cloud service provider is responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, including the physical data centers, servers, and networking components. The customer is responsible for securing their applications, data, and operating systems running on top of the cloud infrastructure. To achieve PCI DSS compliance in the cloud, it is important to understand the respective responsibilities of the cloud service provider and the customer and ensure that each party fulfills their obligations.
Best Practices for Achieving PCI DSS Compliance in the Cloud
To achieve PCI DSS compliance in the cloud, organizations should follow best practices that include:
Implementing a Risk Assessment Process
A risk assessment process should be implemented to identify, assess, and mitigate the risks associated with storing and processing cardholder data in the cloud.
Developing a Cloud Security Policy
A comprehensive cloud security policy should be developed that outlines the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in the cloud environment and defines the security controls required to achieve PCI DSS compliance.
Securing Cloud Infrastructure
The cloud infrastructure should be secured by implementing security controls such as firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and access controls.
Protecting Data in the Cloud
Sensitive cardholder data should be protected by implementing encryption, tokenization, and other security measures.
Conducting Regular Audits and Assessments
Regular audits and assessments should be conducted to ensure that the cloud environment remains compliant with PCI DSS standards.
Ensuring Continuous Compliance in the Cloud
Achieving PCI DSS compliance is not a one-time event. It requires continuous monitoring and testing to ensure that the cloud environment remains secure and compliant. Organizations should implement a continuous compliance program that includes regular vulnerability scans, penetration testing, and security audits.
Educating Employees on Cloud Security Best Practices
One of the most significant vulnerabilities in any security system is the human factor. Employees must be trained on cloud security best practices to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining a secure cloud environment. Training should cover topics such as password management, data protection, and incident response.
Goal: Build and Maintain a Secure Network
Malicious individuals can easily access and steal customer data from payment systems that don’t have secure networks. To achieve this goal, businesses must install and maintain firewall configurations that protect cardholder data. Firewalls are essential to protecting cardholder data, and businesses must ensure that their firewalls can protect all network systems from access by malicious players.
Another requirement under this goal is that businesses should not use vendor-supplied passwords, usernames, and other security parameters as default. Instead, you should change vendor-supplied security parameters immediately after deployment.
Goal: Adopt Strong Access Restriction Measures
Limiting access to cardholder data is critical to protecting sensitive payment details. Such information should only be granted to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis. All your employees with computer access should use separate, unique IDs, and employees should also be encouraged to observe a secure password policy.
Goal: Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
Malicious hackers constantly test network systems for holes and vulnerabilities. As such, organizations should monitor and test their cloud networks regularly to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before malicious actors exploit them. The PCI DSS requirement for this goal is to track and monitor access to network and cardholder data. Cyber experts agree that identifying the cause of a data breach is almost impossible without activity logs of a network system. Network logging mechanisms are vital to effective management of vulnerabilities because they allow your IT teams to track and analyze any occurring incidences.
It’s worth noting that while PCI DSS provides guidelines that should be adhered to, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your cloud service provider complies with these regulations. Therefore, before employing their services, ensure that you ascertain your CSP’s proof of compliance and certification. Ask them what their cloud services entail and how the services are delivered, the status of the cloud service provider in terms of data security, PCI DSS compliance, and other important data security regulations, what your business will be responsible for, and if they will provide ongoing evidence of compliance to all security controls. You should also ask if there are other parties involved in service delivery, support, or data security, and if the service provider can commit to everything in writing.
In conclusion, achieving PCI DSS compliance for your cloud operations is critical to protecting your business from heavy fines, financial losses, damaged reputation, and lawsuits. By following the above guidelines, you can ensure that your cloud operations comply with these regulations and prevent malicious actors from accessing and stealing your customer data.
Conclusion
Achieving PCI DSS compliance in the cloud requires a comprehensive approach that includes risk assessment, policy development, infrastructure security, data protection, regular audits and assessments, and employee education. By following best practices and working closely with their cloud service provider, organizations can maintain a secure and compliant cloud environment that protects against data breaches, financial losses, and legal liabilities.
PCI Compliance FAQs
What is PCI DSS Compliance?
PCI DSS compliance is a set of security standards developed by the payment card industry to ensure that all companies that accept, process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.
Who is responsible for PCI DSS Compliance in the cloud?
In a cloud computing environment, the cloud service provider is responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, including the physical data centers, servers, and networking components. The customer is responsible for securing their applications, data, and operating systems running on top of the cloud infrastructure.
What are the challenges of achieving PCI DSS Compliance in the cloud?
The challenges of achieving PCI DSS compliance in the cloud include the shared responsibility model between the cloud service provider and the customer, the complexity of the cloud environment, and the lack of visibility and control over the infrastructure.
What are some best practices for achieving PCI DSS Compliance in the cloud?
Best practices for achieving PCI DSS compliance in the cloud include implementing a risk assessment process, developing a cloud security policy, securing cloud infrastructure, protecting data in the cloud, conducting regular audits and assessments, and educating employees on cloud security best practices.
Why is PCI DSS Compliance important?
PCI DSS compliance is important because it helps to prevent data breaches and protects against financial losses, legal liabilities, and damage to the company’s reputation. Failure to comply with PCI DSS standards can result in costly fines and penalties.
by Mark | Jul 5, 2021 | Azure, How To
How Cloud Technology Can Help Your Business
Between 2019 and 2020, more Australian businesses have turned to cloud computing technologies. A recent survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that businesses using paid cloud computing — IT services used over the internet to access software, computing power, and storage capacity — jumped to 55% from 42% in 2017 to 2018.
Indeed, cloud hosting technology is more popular now than ever before. It’s incredibly useful for storing and organising hundreds of TB and PB in unstructured data, as mentioned in a blog post on Microsoft Azure BLOBs. Beyond storage capabilities, cloud technology can help you run your business through:
Remote file sharing and collaboration
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, collaborative tools on the cloud have helped businesses move forward, even as most employees have been working remotely. Instead of storing information, files, and apps on a work computer or an office server, cloud technology enables you to store data over the internet. With the proper access credentials, a compatible device, and an internet connection, all the information you need to work on is available from anywhere in the world.
Cloud-based services also enable you to share and work on files together with your colleagues; Microsoft Azure Boards is especially useful, as it connects your Microsoft Teams account so you can smoothly plan, track, and discuss work across your teams on customisable Kanban boards and team dashboards.
Improved website ranking
These days, it’s impossible to gain a wider audience online if your business doesn’t rank well on search engines. In a competitive environment, a high ranking on search engines gives you increased visibility and a better reputation. Cloud hosting can improve search engine optimization (SEO) efforts to boost the rankings of business websites online. Leading global SEO agency Ayima highlights that rankings and digital performance are determined by factors such as performance SEO, analytics, and user experience.
These factors can aid in driving organic traffic to your website and increase your presence on Google. For one, cloud technology vastly boosts the user experience by allowing pages to load faster and more smoothly; faster loading times keep users satisfied as they interact with your site, leading to lower bounce rates. Robust cloud hosting programs also offer strong security against bots and malware, which protects your content and provides visitors an optimal experience.
Enhanced security
Cloud technology offers better levels of security, especially if you compare it to physical data storage. You can automate settings to constantly back up your data so you won’t have to worry about losing it to data theft, viruses, natural disasters, or malicious actors. By default, Azure Storage services are equipped with Storage-side Encryption, where data is encrypted by Microsoft-managed keys before getting stored.
Whether it’s an on-site system failure, fire, or flood, cloud technology also allows users to retrieve the latest version of data from a safe, online location. Some providers even have geo-redundant back-ups, where data is saved across multiple locations, and in case something happens, everything will continue running on your end.
Cost-efficient scaling
Buying or building a bespoke server involves a great deal of time, expertise, money, and maintenance, so it may not be the most ideal choice if you’re trying to scale up and expand your business. On the other hand, cloud computing allows you to expand at will for a predictable, monthly expense.
Cloud technologies are elastic and flexible, so they can handle busy periods or react accordingly when things slow down — preventing you from overspending. Recently, hybrid cloud infrastructure solution Microsoft Azure Stack HCI was integrated into Hewlett Packard’s HPE GreenLake platform for additional control over both on-premise workloads and cloud environments, enabling businesses to determine what setup works best for their needs.
For the latest on Microsoft Azure and cloud computing, be sure to follow the SmiKar Software blog.
This article was specially written for www.smikar.com as a guest post by Aileen Conner
by Mark | Jun 21, 2021 | Azure, Azure Blobs, How To
How do you search for an Azure Blob, Storage Account or even a Container?
While Azure provides massive storage capabilities, often users and IT Departments alike use Azure Storage for dumping large amounts of files to remove reliance on on-premise storage devices. This has massive benefits to the business by providing agile deployments in line with business data storage needs, by not having to wait for disk expansions or procurement of additional local storage.
What happens though is that the amount of storage you have within Azure never really is managed properly, and should you need to search for a particular file (Azure Blob) or folder (Azure Blob Storage Container) you may not even know which storage account it resides in.
In this blog post I will show you how to search through all your Azure Subscriptions, Storage Accounts to find a particular Azure Blob.
Why Use Cloud Storage Manager for Azure Blob Search?
Using Cloud Storage Manager makes searching for an Azure Blob easy and efficient. You can search through all your Azure Subscriptions and Storage Accounts to find a particular Azure Blob. Additionally, Cloud Storage Manager offers a variety of search criteria to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Find an Azure Blob
Search all your Azure Subscriptions.
To search all your Azure Storage Accounts and find an Azure Blob, simply open up Cloud Storage Manager, then go to the FILE and then SEARCH.
Choose your Azure Storage Search criteria.
Now the Search window will open up in Cloud Storage Manager.
Choose the category of the item you want searched for, either an Azure Storage Account, Container, or a Blob can be searched.
Type in the name of what you want to search for in the SEARCH box and then finally choose if you want an Exact Match, Starts with, Ends with or Contains, then press Search.
Cloud Storage Manager will then query all your Azure Storage Accounts looking for the item you want found.
Search for an Azure Blob / Container or Storage Account
In this example I am going to search for a Blob that contains the following characters, 23748029402. (Alphanumeric, Numeric or a combination of these can be searched)
Azure Blob Search Results
Cloud Storage Manager has queried through its own internal database to find the Blobs that contain the text I typed in the search box.
We can see here that there are two Azure Blobs that we searched for that contain that text.
You also have the option to export the search results directly to CSV.
Azure Blob Search Options
Now that Cloud Storage Manager has returned the search results, you can see the locations where that Blob resides.
Simply highlight the Blob you searched for and you have the option to either Jump to the Storage Account, the Container or directly to the Blob itself.
Azure Blob Search Details
As I had chosen the option to Jump directly to the Azure Blob, you can see that the Blob highlighted does in fact contain the text I searched for.
If you right click the blob you searched for, these are some of the options you can perform;
- Change Tier of the Azure Blob
- Delete selected Blobs
- Jump back to the Storage Account or Container
- View the Blob Properties
- Download the Azure Blob to your computer
Thats all there is to it, quickly and easily Search for an Azure Blob through your complete Tenancy, Subscription, Storage Account or just a lone Azure Storage Container with Cloud Storage Manager.
Azure Blob search can be a daunting task if you don’t know where to look. By using Cloud Storage Manager, you can quickly and easily search for an Azure Blob through your complete Tenancy, Subscription, Storage Account, or just a lone Azure Storage Container. With its variety of search criteria and easy-to-use interface, Cloud Storage Manager is a must-have tool for anyone who wants to efficiently manage their Azure Blob storage. Download a FREE TRIAL of Cloud Storage Manager today and start organizing your Azure Blob storage more effectively.
Cloud Storage Manager
Gain insights into your Azure Storage with our FREE to use Tool.
FREE DOWNLOAD
