Hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that orchestrates between two types of platforms: local private clouds and third-party public cloud services. Hybrid clouds provide enterprises with flexible deployment options, by allowing workloads to move between private and public clouds as computing needs and costs change.
Hybrid cloud security involves protecting data, applications and infrastructure, both on-premises and in the public cloud. This includes business processes, workloads, and management across multiple IT environments.
Enterprises sometimes assume that their cloud provider handles all aspects of cloud security, but in reality, cloud security is a shared responsibility. Cloud providers provide security for their infrastructure, but enterprises are responsible for protecting the application layer, and their sensitive data.
Protecting the application layer involves:
Implementing policies defining which users can access data
Using appropriate encryption
Managing overall configuration of cloud services to meet organizational requirements
Updating and patching virtual machines and containers
Monitoring software components and services deployed on cloud infrastructure