Are You in Control of Your Cloud Security?
Public cloud computing service is headed to become $246.8 billion industry by the end of 2017, according to market research firm Gartner. The firm also forecasted that the highest growth would be noted in cloud system infrastructure services. On the other hand, cloud application services will reach $46.3 billion in 2017.
These figures are enough to indicate the growth and popularity of the cloud. Enterprises are taking their operations to the cloud because it makes them more productive and efficient, besides cutting their costs to a substantial level. With workers spread across the globe, large companies are relying on the cloud to let their employees work in collaboration, while the data anytime and from anywhere.
While cloud computing offers countless benefits for businesses, cloud security is turning into a major challenge for organizations. This is happening despite the fact that the best cloud service providers have robust security in place. Just because cloud computing is effective does not mean it is risk-free. According to the 2016 spotlight report published by Cloud Passage, 91 percent organization that rely on cloud security are concerned about the security of their data.
Things to Keep In Perspective When Considering Cloud Security
If you are considering securing your data stored in the cloud, you need to know the difference between cloud data storage and the traditional data storage. First off, you and your employees access the cloud via public networks. As such, it is critical to have encryption like SSL in place to ensure your data is safe.
Also, the cloud is accessible from any location. While this might be good for your business, it also entails a big security challenge. Any unauthorized person from anywhere can attempt to access and misuse your data. This is another reason why cloud security is important for your enterprise.
You Are Not Directly in Control of Your Data’s Security
When you take your data or operations to the cloud, it means the cloud service provider is overseeing the security of your data. This is a huge shift from the traditional, on-premise data center managed by your IT department. Even though the service provider may do everything to secure your data, security can still not be guaranteed.
A breach can happen anytime, disrupting your business, damaging your reputation, and triggering financial and legal issues. To secure your data in the cloud, you should have additional protections in place. A cyber security firm can locate your data and help you manage its security. Also, they can put you in control of your data and provide it additional layers of security.
Cyber Attacks Are On The Rise
Cloud storages are constantly under cyber attacks. Hackers are honing their methods and techniques to intrude into your cloud storage and steal your data. The cloud is specifically risky in that all types of user store their data on the same infrastructure and systems. Your data is huge and it is particularly susceptible to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Even a tiny breach can shut down your business.
These vulnerabilities do not mean that you should not reap the benefits of cloud computing. Abandoning the cloud will make you less competitive by affecting your efficiency. Your data is not safe anywhere, not even within your organization. The point is that you should boost your cloud security, instead of abandoning cloud services. If you lack the capacity to enhance your cloud security, you should hire a cloud security consulting company to do it for you.
Internal Security Risks
It’s not only the outside hackers that are constantly trying to steal your data. In fact, the insider threat is more dangerous and on the rise worldwide. Your employees have easy access to your cloud storages. This means that any disgruntled employee can inflict heavy damages on your organization. Remember what Edward Snowden did to the NSA?
There are dozens of recent cases of insider security breaches and they should be a wake-up call for businesses. Your employees have the privilege to access and use your data, which can make the possible breach severe. They can even grant other people access to your cloud storages, leaving your business in shamble.
You must have a reliable cloud security solution in place to manage and monitor your cloud storage users. A trusted cloud security service will take a number of security measures to protect your data, such as data encryption, managing data access privileges on the basis of roles and rights, security compliance and validations, recovery plans, and user authentication mechanism.
Takeaway
There are dozens of other reasons why cloud security is critical to your business and why it should be your priority. Remember, a good cloud security service can make your data surefire, no matter where it is stored. You only need to have the motivation to have a robust cloud security in place. Your cloud security consulting company will do the rest for you.