Which process aims to assess the security posture of a cloud system?

The process that aims to assess the security posture of a cloud system is compliance auditing. This assessment involves evaluating the cloud system against established security standards, policies, and regulatory requirements. Compliance auditing ensures that the system meets various compliance frameworks (such as ISO 27001, GDPR, or HIPAA) that dictate specific security measures.

The importance of compliance auditing lies in its ability to provide an objective assessment of how well security controls are implemented and whether they are effective in mitigating risks to the system. It helps organizations identify gaps in their security strategy and ensures ongoing adherence to appropriate security practices. This is crucial in a cloud environment, where systems can be distributed and complex, making continuous monitoring and assessment necessary for maintaining security.

In contrast, while the other processes listed—configuration management, penetration testing, and security monitoring—are all important for managing and ensuring cloud security, they serve different purposes. Configuration management focuses on maintaining the integrity and security of the system configurations over time. Penetration testing simulates attacks on the system to discover vulnerabilities that could be exploited by threat actors. Security monitoring continuously observes the system for anomalies and potential security incidents. However, none of these processes comprehensively assess compliance with security standards like compliance auditing does.