Cloud Security: Is it Worth it?
Storing and managing corporate data by applying the cloud is becoming more and more popular. Companies grow, and it gets too expensive, and resources consuming to store their data on traditional servers. To prove it, look at the research conducted by Google in 2019 that includes insights for the cloud computing market for the next 10 years.
Around 80% of US respondents (about 1,100 businesses participated) revealed that they are thinking about cloud adoption by 2029. In 2019, only about 40% made a switch. 72% of businesses state that they’d like to automate security solutions by 2029, while now only 33% actually do it.
What do these numbers tell us? That companies seem to be suspicious about cloud security and prefer traditional on-premises data storage to the cloud environment. Why are they afraid to entrust cloud providers with their data? What to do to get rid of this fear? How to prove that the future of security is after the cloud?
In our article, we aim to answer these questions and more, but first, you need to be able to identify the reasons why companies have cloud-related trust issues. The first step in eliminating a problem is identifying it, let’s do it together!
All company data is sensitive and fragile if not secured properly. Thus,in March 2020, the data of about 5 million guests of Marriott was breached by an unknown hacker. It was possible to do since this person had stolen the credentials of a couple of Marriott employees.
Another scandal related to cloud security risks happened in LifeLabs in 2019, a major medical testing company in Canada. 40% of the country’s population suffered from stealing their medical data by cybercriminals. This was due to poor data encryption practices and unreliable servers.
The examples of Marriott and LifeLabs show us that anyone can be exposed to cyber threats and this puts company data at risk even if they opt for cloud computing security. Companies that own sensitive data such as banks, governments, and healthcare institutions, don’t want to take a chance with data security in cloud computing because of the breaches we just mentioned.
Nevertheless, have you heard about the Azure cloud data security adoption by the Pentagon? Their $10 billion deal means something in the digital cloud world. The question is: “If the Pentagon trusts the cloud with its data, why can’t I?” Exactly.
If The Pentagon’s data storing strategy hasn’t answered this question already, let me dispel the myths behind cloud computing that many people still believe. If Marriott had employed multi-factor authentication (read up to learn more about it) the breach may never have even happened.
Secondly, if you opt for a hybrid or public cloud, other companies won’t be able to access your data just because you’re using the same cloud. AWS and Azure provide their customers with identity & access management tools, such as AWS IAM, AWS Resource Access Manager, AWS Directory Service, etc., and Key Vault, Azure Sentinel, Security Center, etc. respectively.
If you’re still wondering about how secure the cloud is, how about the signing of HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) by cloud providers? This means that they are forbidden by law to share personal healthcare data. So, hospitals, clinics, and other medical institutions can already jump onboard the cloud computing train without fear.
Security for cloud computing also depends a lot on GDPR compliance. This law adopted by the EU presupposes the proper protection of personal data. It means that all the risks imposed by third parties must be eliminated and properly dealt with.
GxP guidelines and regulations are your best friends if you’re on the cloud as well. These rules make sure that providers meet customer needs and do what they initially promised. Both AWS and Azure are GxP compatible.
