5 Ways To Ensure Cyber Security In The Cloud

Most businesses utilize hybrid cloud services for most of their critical business processes. Unfortunately, most businesses are at risk due to the rising number of cyberattacks and breaches of cloud services.

Cloud security is extremely adaptable and can handle various tasks, including data storage, access to productivity tools, and IT infrastructure deployment. In all these scenarios, cloud services enable companies to move rapidly, accelerating your business with agile technology, usually at an affordable cost. Sadly, utilizing cloud services has its share of challenges and the potential risk of data security in the cloud. Luckily, you can find several reputable cyber security solutions providers to keep your business data safe. (1)

If the safety of your business data is your main priority, it’s crucial to think of ways to improve cloud security. Here are a few valuable pointers to ensure the best cloud cyber security.

When relying on the conventional username and password protocol, it’s no longer enough to protect against hacking. Most often, stolen credentials are one of the ways hackers gain access to your business data and applications. Unfortunately, hackers can easily access all cloud-based applications and services that oversee your business operations once they obtain your user credentials.

It’s time to take cloud cyber security to the next level with multi-factor authentication (MFA), which ensures that only specific employees have access to critical data in both on-premise and off-premise settings. Consider it a low-cost, high-impact security measure to thwart hacking attempts. (2)

In most cases, human errors are the root causes of data breaches in today’s businesses. Hackers are more likely to obtain access to critical data by phishing or social media spying on employees’ login credentials that are unsecure. (3)

Make it a priority to provide ongoing training for your workforce. Doing so is the best way to prevent employees from becoming victims of these rampant scams and compromising your company’s critical data. When it comes to cybersecurity training for your employees, it should be a continuous process that requires proper management to get the best results.

As employees leave the company, it’s crucial to ensure they can no longer access anything associated with critical business data. Consider this an important security responsibility that many companies overlook, delaying the task for days or even weeks after an employee leaves.

Depending on the position of the employees, they’re likely to have access to various cloud platforms and applications. With this in mind, you should have a systematic procedure to ensure that all access rights for departing employees are revoked.

If you find this task challenging, consider outsourcing the job to a professional capable of setting up, implementing, and maintaining the off-boarding process.

Real-time monitoring and analysis of end-user activities are effective ways to detect potential intruders. It can aid in the detection of anomalies in normal usage patterns, such as logins from an unknown device or IP address.

Any erratic activities might indicate a possible breach in your system. In such cases, it’s critical to catch hackers early on and fix security issues before they cause further damage.

Today, you can find various solutions to help detect any unusual activity. In most cases, consider starting with automated round-the-clock monitoring and managing when it comes to network security services. Advanced cloud cyber security solutions, such as intrusion or endpoint detection and vulnerability scanning, can also be implemented.

Remember that every business has specific requirements for various levels of cyber security services. With this in mind, making the necessary preparations before making any decisions is critical.

Most employees don’t require access to all of your cloud infrastructure’s data and applications. If you want to ensure the best cyber security in the cloud, make it a priority to set proper authorization levels. Doing so will ensure that every employee can only access or use the data or applications necessary to complete tasks. (4)

When you designate access control, it protects against hackers who have stolen an employee’s credentials and prevents employees from accidentally altering information they aren’t authorized to access. Most regulatory compliance standards now require these security measures, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

A hacker can easily access all of your critical business data if an employee with access falls victim to phishing. If you lack an in-house team to manage accessibility, consider working with a qualified IT professional to get this set up correctly. You can also work with a managed services provider (MSP) to handle user access and management on your behalf to obtain ongoing management of your cloud IT services.

Today, cybersecurity attacks continue to increase, and all businesses are targets, especially those which lack concrete cloud cyber security solutions. If you want to ensure your critical business data stays safe, there are practices you need to implement right away. These insightful pointers will serve as guides in ensuring your business data stays safe at all times.

1. “Emerging security challenges in cloud computing: An insight to cloud security challenges and their mitigation”, Source: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6141247
2. “Two-Factor or not Two-Factor? A Comparative Usability Study of Two-Factor Authentication”, Source: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256846548_Two-Factor_or_not_Two-Factor_A_Comparative_Usability_Study_of_Two-Factor_Authentication
3. “Why phishing works”, Source: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1124772.1124861
4. “Accessibility challenges of the next decade: cloud and mobile computing and beyond”, Source: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1969289.1969307