Whenever a new technology presents itself, there is always a sense of trepidation before becomes adopted. Do people really want to carry a phone with them everywhere they go? Do they really need access to the internet at their fingertips? All of these speculative questions have been met with a resounding “Yes!” Most of us remember a time when if you needed to reach someone, you had to find a payphone, or if someone needed to reach you, they could “page” you. Now we all carry powerful computers next to our car keys and in our purses.
The same attitude was popular when it came to developing cloud computing. Is it safe? Is it secure? Can it be as good (or better) than what we already have? These answers are all “yes, but…”. In fact, a recent survey done in 2015 shows that 82% of all businesses surveyed use a hybrid cloud model. This survey also showed that 68% of cloud users store at least 20% of their total workload online. This same study also revealed that over half of the respondents claimed that an additional 20% of their portfolio is “cloud ready” but this data remains stored in on-premises platforms. This can attributed to some common cloud security concerns. Here a few of the most common issues that enterprises have with the cloud and their solutions:
- Access Control: Strict access and authorization controls for users is essential to prevent security issues. Mitigating risks and minimizing breaches begins with sound access management.
- Secure Data Transfer: Data transfer is essential to business. It is imperative to ensure that the traffic that moves between your network and whatever you are accessing (and vice versa) is coming through a secure channel. Industry standard protocols for encryption and authentication should be in place.
- Secure Stored Data: Any data that is stored in your cloud should be encrypted. It should also be secure while it is stored in the server or any other platform, not only while it moves between models.
- Vulnerability Testing: This should be a priority for cloud security. This rigorous testing will help you to strategize and put proactive security controls in place.
- Secure Software Interfaces: The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) recommends that business owners be aware of the APIs that are used to exchange information with cloud servers. Relying on interfaces that are weak can expose the business to a variety of potential security issues. Factors to be aware of are: integrity, availability, accountability and confidentiality.
These are only a few of the concerns that arise when it comes to transitioning from an on-premises platform to the cloud. However, there are solutions and remedies to these security concerns. The benefit, flexibility and scalability of the cloud creates numerous advantages for small and medium sized businesses. It is important for this new technological element, just like the rest of your business’ IT to be properly managed. AtlasOne Technologies has the experience and expertise to implement cloud solutions for your business.
