How do cloud providers keep your data safe?

How do cloud providers keep your data safe?

The average organization now uses 1,935 cloud services (McAfee) to accelerate business. This means that a lot of confidential and sensitive business data such as email, password-protected data, personally identifiable information (PII), payment data, and personal health information (PHI) now live in the cloud.

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Without adequate security, this data is vulnerable. Adequate security for cloud environments is the same as for any data environment. It requires a combination of technologies and policies like the following:

Audits and certifications

Policies and technologies for securing a cloud environment and the data it stores are certified by independent specialized third-party auditors. Not only do these audits provide some assurance to customers, but they also serve as stringent standards for security processes in the cloud.

The cloud isn’t exempt from the robust data security requirements of compliance standards set by various governing bodies. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, for instance, established the Standards for Attestation Engagements 18 (SSAE 18), which evaluates IT systems for security, availability, and confidentiality or privacy.

Similarly, the United States Department of Health and Human Services enforces the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) to impose strict rules and regulations for the privacy and security of healthcare and patient information.

Meanwhile, organizations that handle payment data like credit card numbers have to be tested for Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance to earn a security certification.

Managed firewall and network activity monitoring

A firewall is a data security essential for any IT network, including one in the cloud. Incoming and outgoing data is inspected and filtered so that suspicious traffic is kept out while sensitive data is kept secure within the network.

Apart from the firewall’s defenses, cloud providers have the added advantage of having experts who manage the firewall’s rules so it can adapt to new threats. Firewalls also allow experts to actively monitor logs and network activity, and verify the identity of those requesting network access. This makes it even more difficult for illegal access and data breaches to occur unnoticed.

Multifactor authentication (MFA)

Social engineering is a prevalent means of stealing user credentials, allowing hackers to cause all sorts of mayhem. That’s why cloud providers use MFA as an added layer of defense to make access to data and services more difficult for unauthorized users. MFA asks for a piece of information after user and password login credentials have already been given, usually via a mobile device. Access is granted only when said information is authenticated.

Third-party security tools

Firewalls form part of the standard security suite of a cloud provider. A cloud-based data environment is further protected with anti-malware, intrusion prevention, integrity monitoring, and logging. Third-party security specialists typically partner with them and provide these tools.

Multiple points-of-presence

The robust IT infrastructure of a cloud provider is in part based on a network of geographically distributed data centers. Having multiple data centers creates a redundancy; when one data center fails, another can take up the slack for quick data recovery or to preserve business continuity and services uptime. It also acts as a valuable security measure against distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks disable networks by overloading them with traffic, making them a serious threat to a client’s data. Having multiple data centers redistributes traffic away from bottlenecks by dividing it between data centers.

Data encryption

Whether in storage or in transit, data can be encrypted so that sensitive information can be protected from unauthorized data reading. Only authorized users have access to the decryption key that makes encrypted data readable. In the event of a data breach, encrypted data remains useless to hackers.

Today’s businesses can’t afford to take chances. They have to carefully scrutinize the security of any IT environment where their business data lives. Consider that:

  • One out of 10 targeted attack groups uses malware to destroy or disrupt business operations (Symantec).
  • 1,244 data breaches and 446.5 million exposed records occurred in 2018 in the United States alone (Statista).
  • The average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million (IBM).
  • Attackers don’t discriminate: 58% of data breach victims are small businesses (Verizon).

Make sure your data isn’t compromised. You need an expert managed services provider by your side, ensuring that the critical policies and defenses are in place. Contact NetQuest today.

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