
Tips to Secure Atlassian Cloud Applications
The announcement of Atlassian’s server instances shutdown had a profound impact on its customers; leading to confusion as they weighed the options of Atlassian Data Center versus Atlassian Cloud. Each solution comes with its own advantages and limitations. However, with Atlassian’s own experience of a cyber attack; a prevailing question emerged: “Is Atlassian Cloud adequately secure against cyber threats?” In this blog, we will address this common concern and delve into the security measures offered by Atlassian Cloud to ensure protection against potential cyber threats.
Here we will focus on enhancing the security of Atlassian Cloud applications, addressing the continuous improvement aspect despite Atlassian’s already high-quality, secure and reliable products. One effective way to enhance application security for a large user base is by implementing an additional layer of authentication alongside the basic authentication process. This added layer, such as Single Sign-On (SSO), Two Factor Authentication (2FA), or Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), significantly increases the difficulty for hackers to breach the system. Atlassian provides an extra level of security through its support for Single Sign-On (SSO), which seamlessly integrates with Two Factor Authentication (2FA). For customers utilizing the built-in SSO solution in Atlassian Cloud, this combination offers a robust security solution. This article aims to explore the concepts of SSO, 2FA, and MFA and demonstrate their role in securing Atlassian cloud applications.
Single Sign-On: Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication process that verifies user credentials against a connected Identity Provider within Atlassian Applications. This authentication is facilitated through XML assertions in SSO, providing enhanced security and safeguarding user data. Atlassian offers a built-in connector for SSO, particularly effective for SAML Identity Providers, and highly recommended for addressing intricate scenarios like login with multiple IDPs and user permission management. To streamline the login process across Atlassian applications, there are many plug-ins that offer seamless integration and authentication capabilities.
Two-factor Authentication: Two-factor authentication (2FA), also known as two-step verification; is a robust security measure that adds an extra layer of protection to user authentication. By requiring users to provide two different authentication factors in addition to their username and password; the security of both user credentials and the resources they intend to access, like Atlassian Cloud, is significantly enhanced. This additional security step helps safeguard against unauthorized access and strengthens overall security posture, providing users with greater peace of mind when accessing their Atlassian Cloud accounts and data.
Multi-factor Authentication: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security to Atlassian cloud by requiring users to provide multiple authentication factors, like OTP, push notifications or biometrics. This ensures stronger protection for your Atlassian applications like JIRA, Confluence, and Bitbucket, safeguarding confidential information associated with your account and organization. We offer a comprehensive solution that supports both Single Sign-On (SSO) and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), with various authentication methods available, including OTP over SMS and email, hardware tokens, and more. Our plugins seamlessly integrate with external AD/LDAP directories and Identity Providers (IDPs), enabling easy management of a large number of users and providing a consistent login experience across multiple applications. With Lesedi La Sechaba, you can enhance security without compromising usability, empowering your organization to protect sensitive data in the evolving cloud landscape.