The modern business operation craves two things: secure data and accessibility, anywhere, from any device. Enter cloud technology, which has taken the industry by storm in recent years.
What is cloud technology you ask? Simply put, it’s a term for remote computing resources such as platform-as-a-service (PaaS), software-as-a-service (SaaS), or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). These cloud services help businesses grow their capabilities at a lower cost for adding new technology solutions. However, as with every other technological solution, the cloud comes with its challenges. Challenges many organisations fail to address but must be accounted for before a cloud solution is implemented (via a cloud specialist vendor such as Centerprise) to maximise security and reap the full benefits.
Cloud security management is an issue that should be discussed at all levels of the business, with every employee well versed as to their role in maintaining data security. Read on as we look at some of the many challenges faced with cloud security and showcase why cloud security is important.
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DDoS ATTACKS
The popularity of the cloud inevitably attracts cyberattacks, as criminals look to access the wealth of sensitive data stored. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are a particularly malicious and popular method.
A DDoS attack blitzes a website server rendering them incapable of responding to legitimate user requests. This leaves the server unusable for long periods (hours, or even days). As the old saying goes, time is money, and successful DDoS attacks lead to loss of revenue, customer trust, and brand authority.
In short, you have to arm your cloud security services with DDoS protection, failing to do so is almost a guaranteed way to sink your business as websites and web-based applications are vital to the modern-day business operation.
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DATA VIDEOS
Known data breaches are rising exponentially, and hacking is becoming commonplace.
Usually, IT professionals control the network infrastructure and physical hardware (firewalls, etc.) to protect sensitive company data. However, in the cloud, some of these tasks are handed to a trusted partner. As such, selecting the right vendor, with a strong record of security provision and reputation, has never been more important.
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DATA LOSS
Losing data from the cloud is incredibly alarming as it could do irreparable harm to your business. Often, this is the main aim of hackers, as they utilise DDoS attacks as a diversion to mask their effort to access sensitive data.
So how do you combat this challenge? You ensure a disaster recovery plan is always on standby, in addition to an integrated system to lessen such malicious attacks. As dramatic as it sounds, protection to every single network layer must be included in your cloud security solution.
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INSECURE ACCESS POINTS
Remote accessibility is known as the cloud’s most attractive benefit due to its convenience. Although, it owns an air of vulnerability as if the interfaces and devices users interact with aren’t secure, hackers easily exploit them.
A behavioural web application is an always-on firewall that inspects website HTTP requests. This protects against security breaches by ensuring only legitimate traffic is allowed.
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RUNNING A CLOUD RISK ASSESMENT
Creating a cloud security risk assessment document helps you and your vendor adequately select cloud solutions tailored to your specific requirements and challenges you face.
These assessments allow you to spot the most prominent cloud security challenges, their potential impact, and their likelihood.
Centerprise has a history of providing successful, highly-regarded cloud solutions. Drop us a message, and let’s find out how we can help you tackle your biggest cloud security challenges!
