What is the Shared Responsibility Model in Cloud Computing?

The cloud transformed how we run our businesses and applications. While it’s opened powerful possibilities for innovation and growth, it’s also created new cloud security risks that keep even the best IT teams up at night. After all, your applications, customer data, and business reputation are on the line.

Modern cloud systems have dozens of components that need to be secured and monitored. Many teams can get caught managing access permissions perfectly while overlooking container security, or focusing heavily on network protection while missing critical software updates. While cloud providers secure their infrastructure and services, customers must protect their applications, data, and access controls. This shared responsibility model means your provider handles critical security work, but you need to clearly understand and fulfill your own obligations. Read on to understand how knowing your security responsibilities helps you protect your business effectively in the cloud and build stronger safeguards for your systems.

What is the shared responsibility model?

The shared responsibility model (SRM) defines how security duties are divided between cloud providers and their customers. The cloud service provider typically handles infrastructure security (like protecting data centers and networks) while customers manage their data, applications, and access controls.

Typical components to consider

Here are the components that shape these cloud security responsibilities:

• Infrastructure and physical security. Protection of data centers, hardware, and networking equipment.

• Network and system security. Safeguarding network infrastructure and system components from threats.

• Identity and access management. Controlling who can access cloud resources and what they can do.

• Data protection and encryption. Securing data both in transit and at rest through encryption and backups.

• Application security. Protecting applications from vulnerabilities and attacks.

• Cloud compliance requirements: Meeting regulatory standards and maintaining necessary certifications.

The division of duties changes based on your service type. With infrastructure as a service (IaaS), you handle more security tasks yourself. Platform as a service (PaaS) shifts more of the responsibility to the provider. Software as a service (SaaS) places most security responsibilities with the provider—though, you typically still manage user access and data.

How the shared responsibility model works

The shared responsibility model divides security duties between cloud providers and customers based on who’s best equipped to handle each task. While this split creates clear ownership, these responsibilities can shift depending on your service type and provider.

However, here’s how it typically works.

Provider responsibilities

Most cloud service providers take ownership of infrastructure-level security (though specific coverage varies by provider and service). These responsibilities focus on protecting the foundation that your applications and data run on.

1. Physical infrastructure

Providers secure their data centers against unauthorized access, maintain environmental controls, and protect against physical threats. This includes everything from security guards to biometric scanning.

2. Network security

Beyond basic firewall management, providers implement advanced DDoS protection, network monitoring, and intrusion detection. They maintain the networks that connect their data centers and deliver your services.

3. Virtualization platform

The provider keeps virtualization software updated and secured to help prevent issues that could impact multiple customers. This includes regular security patches and isolation between virtual machines.

4. Service availability

Providers handle infrastructure redundancy, automated failover, and backup systems to keep services running. They maintain service level agreements (SLAs) for uptime and performance.

Customer responsibilities

While providers secure the foundation, customers must protect everything that runs on top of it. These responsibilities typically increase with more control over the infrastructure.

1. Data security

You’re responsible for protecting your data through encryption, proper storage, and secure deletion practices. This includes classifying sensitive information and implementing appropriate network controls.

2. Access management

Managing who can access your cloud resources falls to you. This means implementing strong authentication, following the principle of least privilege, and regularly reviewing access permissions.

3. Application security

Your applications need protection against common vulnerabilities, regular security testing, and timely updates. This includes securing APIs, managing dependencies, and monitoring for suspicious activity.

4. Operating system

For infrastructure services, you’ll need to maintain operating system security through regular patches, secure configurations, and monitoring for threats.

Advantages and challenges to the shared responsibility model

While the shared responsibility model provides a clear framework for cloud security, implementing it requires careful planning and ongoing management. Here’s what you’ll need to consider:

Advantages

The shared responsibility model offers several key benefits for organizations adopting cloud services:

• Clear ownership: Each party knows exactly which security tasks they own. This reduces confusion and helps prevent critical tasks from falling through the cracks.

• Focus on strengths: Providers handle complex infrastructure security while customers concentrate on protecting their applications and data.

• Cost efficiency: Organizations avoid duplicate security efforts and invest in tools that address their specific responsibilities.

• Simplified compliance: Clear responsibility boundaries make it easier to demonstrate security controls during audits and maintain regulatory compliance.

Challenges

Despite its benefits, organizations tend to face a few hurdles when implementing the shared model:

• Complex boundaries: Security responsibilities can blur, especially when using multiple service types or providers.

• Provider differences: Each cloud provider interprets the model differently, making multi-cloud security more complicated.

• Team knowledge: Staff may struggle to understand their security duties and likely require ongoing training and clear documentation

• Tool management: Integrating security tools across cloud environments while avoiding gaps or overlaps takes careful planning.

Best practices for managing your responsibilities

A shared responsibility model isn’t necessarily a set-it-and-forget-it framework. You’ll need to do the work upfront with your provider to guarantee everything’s covered. And after that, you’ll still need to do your part to keep everything secured.

Here are a few best practices for better managing your shared responsibilities:

Conduct regular security reviews

Quarterly security audits help catch issues early. Document your findings, track remediation progress, and adjust controls as needed. Use these reviews to validate that security responsibilities align with your cloud provider’s requirements and your business needs.

Keep clear documentation

Keep detailed records of security procedures, responsibilities, and protocols. This includes maintaining up-to-date playbooks for incident response, regular security tasks, and compliance requirements. Good documentation will help your teams respond quickly to issues and maintain consistent security practices.

Prioritize team training and education

Security knowledge needs constant updating. Provide role-specific training that covers current threats, security tools, and response procedures. Include hands-on practice sessions and regular updates about new security challenges in your cloud environment.

Automate security

Manual security processes invite human error. For that reason, you should automate everything you can. Implement automation for routine security tasks like vulnerability scanning, patch management, and compliance checks. Set up continuous cloud monitoring and alerts to catch issues quickly.

Keep up to date with vendor management

Stay in sync with your cloud provider’s security updates and changes. Regularly review service level agreements, track provider compliance, and maintain open communication channels. Understanding provider capabilities will help you adjust your security strategy more effectively.

Build secure applications on DigitalOcean

Cloud security only works best when both parties understand their roles. DigitalOcean’s approach to shared responsibility focuses on transparency and clear security boundaries to help you better protect your applications and data.

We help secure the foundation of your cloud environment. This includes physical data center security, network infrastructure, and virtualization services. We maintain multiple independent regions globally to support high availability and disaster recovery options.

However, when using DigitalOcean services, you’re responsible for:

• Operating system security on your Droplets

• Access management for your infrastructure

• Application security and updates

• Data encryption and protection

• Security monitoring of your resources

This division of security duties will shift based on which DigitalOcean service you use. For example:

• Droplets: You manage everything from the operating system up.

• App Platform: DigitalOcean handles platform security while you secure your application code.

• Managed Databases: DigitalOcean maintains database security while you manage access controls.

And here’s how we support your security efforts:

• Regular security updates and patches for infrastructure

• Clear documentation of security boundaries

• Multiple geographic regions for redundancy

• Compliance certifications like SOC 2

• Security training resources and best practices guides

Some workloads might need extra protection. If you’re handling sensitive data or need to meet specific compliance requirements like HIPAA, we provide guidance to help you implement the appropriate controls.

Our quick guide explains security responsibilities, available tools, and best practices for safeguarding your applications and data in the cloud.

→ Start building secure applications today on DigitalOcean’s trusted cloud platform, where security best practices meet scalable infrastructure to help you deliver protected, production-ready applications.