Cloud computing security is the practice of protecting cloud computing applications, data, and information. It helps to secure your cloud against unauthorized access, hackers, malwares, WannaCry etc. Cloud security is not only the responsible of the cloud providers but also the customers themselves. It is a shared responsibility for both parties.
Securing your applications, data and information mean making sure that the cloud provider you choose are reliable and secure, in terms of physical storage location, physical access and to disaster recovery.
Most businesses are now operating on the cloud because clouds have a lower fixed cost compared to physical servers, its highly flexible, helps automate software updates and people get the freedom to work anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection.
With increasing usage of cloud in businesses, cloud security has become a huge concern. The main concerns are attackers hijacking accounts, injecting viruses, and breaching data. Although cloud service providers have added on advance security to help protect businesses in transmitting and storing data, many businesses are still reluctant to take the risk.
Below are some of the cloud security challenges and concerns faced by the businesses and suggestions on how they can overcome it.
1) Access Management
One of the main concerns of businesses on cloud storage systems is how the people in the company use them. With the increased demand of cloud, cloud providers are competing to providing more free service plans to reduce the costs and to encourage SMEs to move all their data to the cloud. Many SMEs are turning into cloud adopters without careful thought on the access policies.
Suggestions
The solution to overcome this cloud security concern is to limit access. Access management includes two important parts. First, is to set access policies on who, and what a person in the company can access. The second is to use identity verification tools or multi factor identifications methods.
For instance, if an employee does not need access to a particular files or systems, then they should not have access to it. Make sure that only the necessary access is authorized to the right person.
Besides that, you should make sure that you have a secure identity verification tool, such as one that uses multi factor authentication. In order to log in, authorized users must have access to a second device, such as their smartphones. This will assure the cloud storage to be more secure.
2) Data Breaches and Data Leaks
Data breaches and leaks are a huge risk for businesses that store their data and information in the cloud compared to those that have their own physical servers in their office. This is because the larger amount of data transferring between the employees and the cloud can be hacked if there is a weakness in the system, which could lead to data breach or even data leaks by own employees.
Suggestions
The solution to overcome this cloud security concern is to secure communications and connections
One of the ways to make sure breaches and leaks do not happen to your business is to secure data using encryption for both email server and messages.
When you allow employees to be able to access data from the cloud remotely, make sure that it is secure. Use a reputable virtual private network to encrypt data transferring between employees’ internet access point and your business network connection.
3) Data Loss
Data loss is another concern among businesses. When a business moves to the cloud, the amount of data they store can quickly increase, which makes backups both difficult and costly. Because of this reason, businesses do not perform backup regularly, hence making their data vulnerable. Data can be lost through ransomware attacks or natural disasters. Losing important data can be devastating to businesses, especially if they do not have a backup plan.
Suggestions
Always, always backup your data. Do not wait until something goes wrong. Preventing this kind of concern means to implement a backup system. Cloud services provider includes backup of your data in multiple systems and locations to avoid data loss from your business.
To conclude, none of the cloud security concerns for businesses above are new, but they are hindering businesses from saving cost and to be competitive in the industry to scale. It is important to know that customers are also sharing responsibilities in making sure they have high security over their data. There are many things a customer can do to improve their cloud security, as well as choosing a trusted cloud service provider. This will set you and your businesses up for a successful future!
Contact us now to begin your secured journey to cloud transition!
Written by Joshanna Tan (Cloud Commercial Designer)