Cloud migration is probably one of the hottest trends among businesses right now, not just those in the IT industry but all other niches as well. In fact, according to a recent industry survey, “90% of companies in 2019 are already on the cloud, with 38% of workloads being run in public,” while the other 41% is processed in private cloud. These numbers show that the cloud is the future, and the fast adoption rate proves the huge demand for this innovative technology.
The Cloud Computing technology that we know of today started from the idea of an “intergalactic computer network” introduced by JCR Licklider. This facilitated the development of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), also known as the predecessor of the internet, by Bob Taylor and Larry Roberts in 1969. This started the development of the idea of the “cloud” from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. In 1999, Salesforce redefined cloud computing when it started using the internet to deliver software programs to its customers. This way, businesses and individuals can access and download the software in an on-demand and cost-effective manner.
Amazon cloud drive also introduced its web-based retail services in 2002, and then Google followed with its suite of Google Docs services, now known as G Suite. Today, cloud computing has become an indispensable factor in every business process.
Unfortunately, privacy and security are the two main challenges that businesses face when migrating to the cloud. Almost two-thirds of organizations consider security as the biggest roadblock to cloud adoption. This is because when businesses and individuals migrate to the cloud, they face a different set of security issues they need to be wary of. With cybercrimes happening every 39 seconds, cybersecurity has become a big issue for everyone who uses the internet.
So, What Is Cloud Security?
Cloud security or cloud computing security, is a set of measures designed to protect data, infrastructures, and applications involved in cloud computing. Whether it is a private, public, or hybrid cloud, various security concerns continue to pose significant risks. Establishing a secure data room can be a strategic move in safeguarding sensitive information, acting as a fortified repository that facilitates controlled access to critical data. Leaks, unauthorized data exposure, susceptibility to attacks, weak access controls, and availability disruptions can adversely affect your cloud system. Cloud security allows you to establish preventive measures to keep your data and system safe.
Unlike traditional network security where the data is stored within a self-controlled network, cloud security deals mostly with data that is being stored by a third-party. Users have limited control and visibility over their stored data, raising various security concerns.
Why Do You Need Cloud Security?
Cloud computing security focuses on data security, because all issues revolve around the data the users stored in the cloud. For cloud users, it is crucial to understand what data you put in the cloud, who can access it, and how it is protected by the cloud provider.
Here are some of the common cloud security issues that cloud users have to deal with:
Data Privacy
You want to keep your data private as much as possible, and not let others access it without your permission. That’s easy to accomplish when you store data on-site. But if you upload them to the cloud, you don’t know how it is protected. You can’t be sure that no one else has access to your data because you don’t maintain the servers it is stored on. You are probably putting your data privacy at risk by storing it on the cloud.
Data Leaks
The biggest challenge of data security is keeping the data within the organization and making sure that it is not sent to outsiders. Data leakage can have some serious repercussions, especially if it involves critical or business-related data. Even if you take steps to prevent data leaks within your organization, such as using a PC cleaning software to clear your cache or using strong passwords to avoid unauthorized access, you can’t say the same about your cloud service provider.
Lack of Control
When you let someone else manage your data, it means less work for you. Unfortunately, it also means that somebody will have control over your data. If your storage provider gets attacked or encountered issues, your data is also affected. You have no control over what happens to your data.
Lack of Backup
Most cloud service providers don’t offer automatic backup services of your data. The user is responsible for making their own backups of the data you stored on the cloud.
Cloud security is designed to address all these risks and ensure your data is protected while on the cloud.
What Are the Benefits of Cloud Security?
For individuals, businesses, and organizations transitioning to the cloud, having a robust cloud security solution is necessary. Security threats are always evolving and becoming more complex, and cloud computing is just at risk as on-site environment. Hence, it is critical for cloud users to partner with a cloud provider that offers cloud security.
Some of the benefits of cloud security include:
Centralized Security
While cloud computing centralizes apps and data, cloud security, on the other hand, centralizes protection for your data. Cloud-based networks are composed of several devices and endpoints, and managing these entities using a centralized cloud security enhances filtering and streamlines the monitoring of traffic. It is also easier to implement disaster recovery plans when they are managed in one place.
Reduced Costs and Administration
One of the advantages of using cloud storage and security is that it removes the need to invest in dedicated hardware. This reduces capital expenditure, as well as administrative overheads. You can also kiss goodbye to manual security configurations that causes massive drain on resources. When you move your assets to the cloud, everything happens in one place and is completely managed on your behalf.
Data Security
In this age of ever-increasing data breaches, cloud security maintains protocols to protect your sensitive information and transactions. Cloud security prevents other entities from eavesdropping or tampering with your data that is being transmitted.
Reliability
Cloud services provide the ultimate dependability. And by implementing the right cloud security measures, users can securely access data and apps stored in the cloud wherever they are or regardless of the device they are using.
Protection Against DDoS
Distributed denial of service or DDoS attacks are becoming rampant these days. By having a robust cloud computing security solution, you can ensure that you are protected from DDoS attacks because cloud security implements preventive measures to stop huge amounts of traffic being aimed at the cloud servers. Cloud security monitors, absorbs, and disperses DDoS attacks to minimize risks.
Bottom Line
More and more businesses are realizing the many benefits of migrating their systems to the cloud. However, it is also critical that cloud users have a reliable cloud computing security to make sure that all data, applications, and systems are protected from leakage, data theft, corruption, and deletion.
