Benefits of Serverless Security

Jon Jones ● Sep 24 ● 6 min read

Nowadays more and more devices are becoming serverless. Serverless security cameras are the newest trend in security, and for good reason. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of serverless security as well as how to choose the right serverless security options for your organization.

Serverless Security: What Does It Mean?

First of all, serverless architecture means that there are no physical servers to maintain. Thus, a serverless architecture is one in which the backend services are provided by a third-party provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Microsoft Azure. These providers manage all of the underlying infrastructure and provide a platform on which developers can build and run their applications.

Take serverless security cameras for example – this new type of surveillance cameras does not require a dedicated server. Instead, these cameras connect directly to the internet and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. The cameras themselves do all the processing and storage required. You can purchase serverless security cameras here.

So, what are the specific benefits of serverless security?

Benefits of Serverless Security

Serverless security offers a number of advantages over traditional security, including lower costs, higher flexibility, and easier scalability. Consider switching over to serverless security for the following reasons:

Cost-effectiveness

The biggest advantage is its cost-effectiveness. Because you don’t need to maintain a separate server, you can save money on upfront hardware costs, software costs, and unused capacity. With serverless security, you’ll only need to pay for what you use.

Reduced Operational Overhead

With serverless security, there is no need to worry about configuring, patching, updating, or managing the underlying infrastructure. The cloud provider takes on the responsibilities previously held by the customer. Essentially, serverless security reduces the complexity of managing data and applications, making it easier for organizations to keep their systems secure. Additionally, this can lead to significant cost savings for organizations that adopt a serverless architecture.

Improved Scalability and Availability

Serverless security can also provide better scalability and availability. Since there is no need to provision and manage servers, serverless applications can more easily scale up or down based on demand. Put simply, a serverless architecture allows for nearly infinite scaling. Moreover, since there are no servers to manage, there is also little to no risk of downtime due to server maintenance or updates.

Increased Agility

Another advantage of serverless security is that it enables organizations to focus on their core business logic, rather than having to worry about managing and maintaining servers. This is because serverless applications depend on managed services for stuff like authentication and databases.

Stateless

Serverless security inherently has a stateless nature. Serverless functions run for a few seconds before dying. Then, containers get recycled. Hence, serverless functions have no memory. This makes it harder for attackers to access data and reduces risk of long-term attacks.

Granular Security

Serverless applications have the unique opportunity to apply privileges to individual functions. This granular control over security can be a major advantage in protecting your application from attack. In a traditional server-based application, all functions run with the same privileges. This means that if one function is compromised, the entire application is at risk. With serverless applications, you can isolate each function and only grant it the privileges it needs to function. This makes it much harder for an attacker to gain access to sensitive data or take control of the application.

Explore Serverless Security Options

If you’d like to go serverless to protect your organization, consider Verkada cameras and devices. There are plenty of options to choose from – both indoors and outdoors.

Challenges of Serverless Security

While serverless architectures offer many benefits, they also present some unique challenges when it comes to security. Yet, with some steps, you can ensure your data remains secure. Consider the following challenges.

• Difficulty Gaining Security Visibility: One of the biggest risks of serverless security is the fact that it can be difficult to monitor and manage security risks. This is because serverless architecture relies on a number of different services that are all managed independently. This can make it hard to get a holistic view of your system’s security posture.
• More Attack Surfaces: Another challenge is the potential for increased attack surfaces. This is because serverless systems typically have more exposed surface area than traditional monolithic architecture. This means that there are more opportunities for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities.
• Event Data Injection: Event data injection is when malicious code is injected into an event stream in order to exploit a vulnerability. This can allow an attacker to gain access to sensitive data or even take control of the system entirely.
• Management of Function Permissions & Roles: the downside of this granular security is that it can be difficult to manage. Each function must be carefully configured and monitored to ensure that it does not have more privileges than necessary.

While there are certainly some challenges to serverless security, you can take steps to ensure your organization’s information remains secure and safe.

Getting the Most Out of Serverless Security

As the adoption of serverless architectures continues to grow, so does the importance of securing these applications. Consider employing the following methods:

• Ensure Code Integrity: Code integrity ensures that the code running in your serverless environment has not been tampered with or modified in any way. This is important because malicious code could be injected into your application which could lead to data breaches or other security issues. To ensure code integrity, consider scanning for any vulnerabilities such as third-party dependencies; over-permissive roles; and any errors in configurations.
• Tight Permissions: Tight permissions are another important aspect of serverless security. This means that only authorized users should have access to the resources and data within your serverless application. By tightly controlling permissions, you can help prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Thus, to secure serverless applications, you should maintain least-privileged access for your functions and services. This principle dictates that each entity should have only the barest minimum permissions necessary to perform its task
• Behavioral Analysis: Runtime protection can help mitigate the risk of serverless attacks by providing an extra layer of security at the application level. By identifying and monitoring function invocations in real time, runtime protection can help prevent malicious or unauthorized activity. Runtime protection can also provide visibility into function invocation patterns, helping to identify potential issues before they cause damage.

Explore Serverless Security Options Updated: Jan 6