Most of Cloud Security Boils Down to the Provider (But Not All)

We often publish articles about the cloud and how it’s impacting the world of business, but one thing you can never get away from is how important security is to this mission. Regardless of the use, the cloud is only helpful if it’s secure, and it can actively hold your business back if you neglect this important aspect of its operations.

Much of cloud security depends on the provider, so we’ll begin by looking at how you know you have a good, secure cloud provider.

How Does Your Provider Secure Your Cloud?

Most decisions related to your cloud security are made by the provider, which is both a relief and a curse. The important takeaway here is that the cloud is more of a method of accessing your company’s data, as the data is hosted on the provider’s infrastructure, not your own.

A reliable cloud provider should have multiple safety measures in place to ensure your data is secure. Ask your provider about access controls, encryption, data redundancy processes, and cloud monitoring so you can be confident in your cloud provider’s security measures. Theoretically, they should think of their own cloud security as their top priority, as that directly impacts the security of their clients—including you.

How Does Your Provider Make Data Accessible?

As far as accessibility goes, your business needs to consider how hosting in the cloud will impact data availability. You want to make sure your data is accessible, but you don’t want to put it at risk of downtime. Look for your cloud provider’s guarantee of uptime. It should be somewhere in the ballpark of 99.99%, complete with contingencies in place to make sure these high numbers aren’t just an empty promise.

How You Can Address Security On Your End

Even if the provider is responsible for most of the security of their own cloud systems, most of the problems you can expect to emerge will likely stem from your own practices and policies surrounding the cloud. Here are the ways your company could potentially put your organization’s cloud security at risk:

• Cloud resources being accessed by unsecured devices.
• Cloud resources being accessible with insecure passwords.
• Files being shared inappropriately or with people who shouldn’t access them.
• Your users storing data on unapproved services or platforms, and the associated data sprawl.
• Users accidentally deleting important data.

These aren’t just one-time issues, either; they could happen multiple times if you haven’t addressed these challenges with your team. Make sure you bake secure cloud access into your security training to ensure your team understands its importance.

To learn more about the cloud and what we can do to help you successfully navigate cloud-based resources, call us today at (205) 208-0340.