Cloud security challenges every business needs to know about

Cloud security challenges every business needs to know about

Cloud technology has made it possible for businesses to be more productive, mobile, and cost-effective. However, some perceive certain disadvantages to using the cloud, particularly in terms of security. For businesses to optimize cloud technology, cloud service providers must create a secure cloud environment for their clients’ data.

As a business owner, you should know what your cloud services provider is doing to secure your data. To give you an idea, here are some of the key cloud security challenges they address.

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks

DDoS attacks are among the top security threats to organizations, according to the 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. The report also stated that cloud providers have become the most frequent targets of such attacks.

A DDoS attack is designed to render a website useless by flooding its network, server, or application with traffic. A successful attack can disable a business’s website for hours or even days, resulting in losses in revenue, customer trust, and brand authority. As websites and web-based applications are core components of business today, it is imperative that cloud service providers install state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools that can fend off DDoS attacks.

Data breaches

Data breaches continue to threaten the security of enterprises and their proprietary data. In recently reported breaches, 52% were due to hacking, 33% were due to social engineering, and 28% involved malware. Each method of attack has a corresponding security measure. Note that there is a myriad of attack methods that result in data breaches aside from these three.

When your data is hosted in the cloud, a cloud services provider implements security measures for you. So choose a provider with a comprehensive security policy and integrated system against data breaches, as well as a strong track record in protecting their clients’ data.

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Data loss

Countless businesses rely on the cloud as a data backup and recovery solution. The best cloud service providers also protect their own servers from data loss. Data loss is a cloud security challenge because the cloud’s servers can be vulnerable to malicious actors, human error, and natural disasters.

An excellent cloud service provider will protect their own servers with a solid disaster recovery plan with excellent backup strategies. This should be an integral part of any cloud service. Not having one is a clear sign for you to take your data elsewhere. An IT consultant like NetQuest can make sure your cloud service provider has this covered.

Insecure access points

One of the great advantages of the cloud is that it allows business users and their customers to access applications from anywhere and from any device. However, this advantage can turn into a disadvantage if interfaces and APIs that users interact with aren’t secure. That's because hackers are capable of exploiting vulnerabilities in applications and gaining access to the cloud service and wreaking havoc.

To mitigate this danger, a cloud service provider must at least have a behavioral web application firewall to examine HTTP requests to a website. This always-on device will ensure traffic at these access points is legitimate and secure these points from threats.

Alerts

As with any network security system, awareness of security threats and communication is essential to a proper cloud security plan. Prompt communication should be built into your plan so you can take immediate steps to minimize a threat’s impact. As soon as a threat is identified, a crucial step to its quick mitigation is alerting the correct personnel or the appropriate website or application managers.

At NetQuest, we can help you get more out of the cloud, helping you make cost-effective choices in migration, storage, and other customized solutions. We offer businesses in Baltimore, Annapolis, and Towson IT Outsourcing and Virtual Chief Information Officer (CIO) services that streamline technology with strategic planning and expert execution. Talk to us today.

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