Security in the cloud is not the same as in an organization's own computer network. As more companies rely on cloud computing they must balance increased productivity against new security concerns.
As reported in Cyber Security Intelligence (cybersecurityintelligence.com./blog/properly-securing-your-cloud-system-5499html), a survey in the United Kingdom by Centrify, a provider of privileged access management systems, found that while about half of respondents said transitioning to the cloud allowed them to keep operating during lockdown, a similar percentage admitted security was a barrier to public cloud adoption.
- 35% of organizations in the cloud were less than 80% confident of its complete security.
- 45% were concerned about the increasing amount of machine identities and service accounts.
- 28% have been targeted by a hacking attempt since the start of the pandemic.
- 31% of decision makers admitted their development teams are more interested in getting around security than building it into their system.
To ensure cloud data security, use these concepts:
- The cloud system must be designed with strong data security: antivirus, encryption, firewalls.
- The system must have backup.
- Test the system, possibly using ethical hackers.
- Use redundant storage.
- Allow multiple data access accounts and permission levels; employees should only be able to access what they need.
When entering into an agreement with a cloud service provider, be sure security issues are addressed.