SUSAN Cloud Security Validation helps organizations review cloud security posture, cloud risks, control evidence, remediation actions and compliance readiness across AWS, Azure, GCP and Microsoft 365 environments. Cloud environments change quickly. New users, workloads, storage locations, APIs, integrations and permissions can be added faster than security and compliance teams can manually review them. SUSAN Cloud Security Validation helps connect cloud findings, IAM risks, logging evidence, data protection controls, security signals and compliance visibility into a more structured assurance workflow.
What Is SUSAN Cloud Security Validation?
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation is a SUSAN module capability that helps teams validate cloud security controls and evidence across cloud and collaboration environments.
It can support visibility across:
AWS
Azure
GCP
Microsoft 365
MFA
IAM risks
Cloud logging
Identity governance
Cloud exposure
Cloud misconfiguration
Compute access posture
Compute access posture
Audit-ready cloud evidence
Conditional Access
DLP
Collaboration risks
API and workload security
The goal is to help cloud, security, SOC, GRC and audit teams understand whether cloud controls are visible, evidenced and ready for review.
Why Cloud Security Validation Matters
Cloud environments are dynamic. A configuration that was secure last month may become risky after new users, workloads, services or integrations are added.
Common cloud security risks include:
Excessive IAM permissions
Weak MFA coverage
Unreviewed cloud identities
Public storage exposure
Weak logging coverage
Missing audit visibility
Exposed workloads
Uncontrolled external sharing
Weak DLP coverage
Over-permissioned service accounts
Missing Conditional Access policies
Cloud findings not linked to compliance obligations
Missing encryption evidence
Cloud security validation helps organizations identify and track these risks before they become incidents or audit findings.
AWS Security Validation
AWS environments can include many identities, storage services, workloads and access paths.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can support AWS-related visibility such as:
IAM users, roles and permissions
Compute access posture
Cloud security findings
Logging visibility
Storage security
Encryption evidence
MFA coverage
S3 exposure
Compliance evidence
This helps teams connect AWS cloud risks to remediation, evidence and audit readiness.
Azure Security Validation
Azure environments often depend heavily on identity, access control and cloud configuration.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can support Azure-related visibility such as:
Azure Entra identity governance
MFA coverage
Conditional Access visibility
Privileged access review
Audit visibility
Cloud workload exposure
Logging and monitoring evidence
Encryption and data protection evidence
Compliance alignment
This helps teams connect and monitoring evidence
Encryption and data protection evidence
Compliance alignment
This helps teams connect Azure findings to risk and governance workflows.
GCP Security Validation
GCP environments require visibility into IAM policies, public assets, service accounts, APIs and workloads.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can support GCP-related visibility such as:
IAM policy review
Public asset exposure
API security
Workload security
Logging evidence
Storage permissions
Service account review
Encryption evidence
Compliance evidence
This helps cloud teams track exposure and security posture across GCP environments.
Microsoft 365 Security Validation
Microsoft 365 environments contain sensitive communication, collaboration and business data.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can support Microsoft 365-related visibility such as:
Identity controls
MFA and Conditional Access
Email security posture
Microsoft 365 integrations
External sharing
Collaboration risks
Audit logs
DLP visibility
Data protection evidence
Compliance evidence
This helps organizations manage M365 security as part of cloud, SOC, privacy and GRC workflows.
IAM and Access Validation
Identity and access management is one of the most important areas of cloud security.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can help teams review:
User permissions
Privileged roles
Service accounts
Admin access
MFA coverage
Conditional Access
Dormant accounts
External identities
Role-based access
Access review evidence
Weak IAM controls can create cloud compromise, data exposure and compliance risk.
Logging and Monitoring Validation
Cloud security depends on reliable logging and monitoring.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can help teams review evidence for:
Cloud audit logs
Identity logs
Workload logs
Storage access logs
Microsoft 365 Unified Audit Logs
SIEM visibility
Alert rules
Retention settings
Incident investigation evidence
This supports SOC workflows, incident response and audit readiness.
Misconfiguration and Exposure Validation
Cloud misconfiguration is a common source of risk.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can help teams identify and track:
Public storage exposure
Open access paths
Excessive permissions
Weak network segmentation
Missing encryption
Exposed workloads
Excessive external sharing
Unreviewed APIs
Unused or stale cloud assets
Missing remediation ownership
This helps teams prioritize cloud remediation based on risk and evidence.
DLP and Collaboration Risk Validation
Microsoft 365 and cloud collaboration tools can create data protection risk if sharing and access controls are weak.
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation can support review of:
DLP visibility
External sharing settings
Collaboration risks
Sensitive data exposure
Oversharing risks
Guest access
Audit logs
Retention evidence
Access governance
This helps connect cloud collaboration risks to privacy, GRC and audit readiness.
Cloud Security Validation Control Map
| Cloud Security Area | Common Problem | SUSAN Support |
|---|---|---|
| AWS security | IAM, S3 exposure, logging and compute posture are reviewed separately | Track AWS cloud risks, evidence and remediation visibility |
| Azure security | Identity and Conditional Access gaps are hard to prioritize | Connect Azure identity and access findings to risk workflows |
| GCP security | Public assets, IAM policies and service accounts are difficult to govern | Track GCP asset, access and logging evidence |
| M365 security | Email, DLP, external sharing and collaboration risks remain fragmented | Connect M365 findings to cloud, privacy and GRC visibility |
| IAM | Excessive access and privileged roles increase attack paths | Review permissions, MFA, roles and access evidence |
| Logging | Cloud events cannot be investigated or evidenced | Track logging visibility, SIEM connection and retention evidence |
| Misconfiguration | Cloud services are deployed with risky settings | Identify exposure, missing controls and remediation ownership |
| Compliance evidence | Cloud controls are not linked to audit obligations | Map cloud evidence to frameworks and audit readiness |
How Cloud Security Validation Connects with Other SUSAN Modules
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation connects with other SUSAN capabilities including AI Risk Scoring, Continuous Monitoring & Evidence, Unified GRC Dashboard, Asset Inventory, Data Inventory and Classification and Global Compliance & Trust.
Together, these capabilities help organizations connect:
Cloud findings
IAM risks
Asset ownership
Evidence status
Control mapping
Compliance obligations
SOC signals
Remediation ownership
Audit-ready reporting
Continuous Assurance
This helps move cloud security from isolated technical review to structured business risk and compliance visibility.
Who Uses SUSAN Cloud Security Validation?
This module is useful for teams responsible for cloud security, SOC monitoring, GRC and audit readiness.
Primary users include:
Cloud security teams
CISOs
SOC teams
GRC teams
Compliance managers
Risk managers
IT leaders
Microsoft 365 administrators
Audit teams
Executive leadership
These teams use cloud security validation to improve cloud risk visibility, evidence and remediation ownership.
Cloud Security Validation Readiness Checklist
Use this checklist to assess cloud validation maturity:
- Are AWS, Azure, GCP and Microsoft 365 environments inventoried?
- Are IAM permissions reviewed?
- Is MFA coverage visible?
- Are Conditional Access policies reviewed?
- Are privileged roles monitored?
- Are cloud audit logs enabled?
- Are cloud logs connected to SIEM or SOC workflows?
- Are public storage risks reviewed?
- Are cloud workloads checked for exposure?
- Are DLP and collaboration risks reviewed?
- Are encryption settings evidenced?
- Are cloud findings linked to owners?
- Are remediation actions tracked?
- Are cloud controls mapped to compliance obligations?
- Can leadership see cloud risk status?
If several answers are no, the organization may need stronger cloud security validation and assurance visibility.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
SUSAN Cloud Security Validation is a SUSAN module capability that helps organizations review cloud security posture, cloud risks, control evidence, remediation actions and compliance readiness.
SUSAN source material references cloud coverage across AWS, Azure, GCP and Microsoft 365.
Cloud risks may include IAM gaps, public storage exposure, weak logging, missing encryption evidence, misconfiguration, external sharing, DLP gaps and workload exposure.
It can support Microsoft 365 security visibility across identity controls, MFA, Conditional Access, email security, DLP, external sharing, collaboration risks and audit logs.
Cloud validation supports compliance by linking cloud findings, controls, evidence and remediation actions to audit readiness and framework alignment.
Cloud Security Validation can provide cloud findings and evidence that support AI Risk Scoring, risk prioritization and remediation tracking.
Cloud Security Validation connects cloud findings, logging, IAM evidence, DLP evidence and remediation activity into Continuous Monitoring & Evidence workflows.
Cloud security needs more than one-time configuration reviews. Organizations need continuous visibility into cloud risks, IAM, logging, DLP, exposure, evidence and remediation.
Explore SUSAN Cloud Security Validation to improve cloud risk visibility, compliance evidence and Continuous Assurance across AWS, Azure, GCP and Microsoft 365.
