Cloud Computing & Data Security - How Protected Are You?

Cloud computing has made created a different way for the world to do business and is shifting the face of computing around the globe. More companies are shifting away from traditional, in-house servers and toward using the cloud for all their computing needs. It’s more cost-effective and innovative, but not without its concerns.

Cybersecurity is one of the main concerns businesses have when it comes to cloud computing, and rightfully so. Do you really know how protected you are? Here’s how you can find out.

Application Performance Monitoring

If you don’t have application performance monitoring in place, you’re leaving your organization open to critical errors that can cause hours of costly downtime. Application performance monitoring not only tells you when something is going wrong, but it can also notify you of how to fix it, apply a temporary fix itself using AI, and even predict when something may go wrong based on previous errors.

Error monitoring is an important part of securing your data and protecting your business from breaches. With the proper tools in place, you can find production errors that leave you susceptible to attacks and fix the molehill before it becomes a mountain. Additionally, having error monitoring in place can help your development team be more productive and efficient when launching new products.

Are You in Compliance?

Assessing your compliance with data protection regulations has dual benefits. First and foremost, checking your compliance will provide guidance for what security measures should be in place to protect your data. Secondly, being in compliance protects your business from hefty legal fines and fees associated with being found noncompliant by regulatory bodies.

It’s worth noting that it’s not just the regulatory bodies who are concerned with your adherence to data protection protocols. Consumer awareness surrounding how their data is being collected and stored has risen in recent years, due to high-profile incidents and data breaches covered in the media.

In 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a publicized congressional hearing regarding privacy protection. In 2017, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) came under fire when an employee was discovered to have snooped through private information to which they shouldn’t have had access. Now more than ever, customers want to know that the businesses from which they make a purchase are keeping their information safe.

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Employee Education Protocols

Having strong employee education protocols is paramount to ensuring that your cloud computing efforts are well protected. In fact, over half of data breaches are thought to be a result of employee misuse. Not only should you have employees sign a policy that clearly defines their expectations in regard to proper internet use and information access, but you should also have education sessions.

If you deliver a paper policy to your employees for signing, chances are they will sign without taking the time to fully comprehend what’s at stake. Through education protocols, you can tell them the consequences of seemingly harmless actions and make it clear that the well-being of the business (and thus, their job security) is contingent on their adherence to the policy.

Know Your Provider and Storage Differences

In addition to employees becoming educated in security protocols, it’s important that key decision makers regarding computing, storage, and cybersecurity are also up-to-date on what’s happening within the business.

First, it’s important to know the differences between cloud computing, traditional servers, and the hybrid cloud. Each approach has pros and cons-- know which set up is best for your business rather than flocking to the cloud.

Next, research your provider before making a decision. What have you heard about the cloud service you use? What about other third-party providers? Check out their reputation and reviews to find someone you can trust to keep your best interests at heart.

Go Back to Basics

For a traditional server setup, one of the best security measures a business can take is putting a lock on the server room door. Don’t get so caught up in the latest cybersecurity tools on the market that you forget the basics of protecting your data.

Requiring encrypted passwords to access your storage and having two-factor authentication are just a few basic ways you can make it harder for someone to hack your information. Security questions can add an extra challenge for those trying to access cloud data. Within your organization, be sure to limit access to certain individuals who require it.

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Remote Work and Individual Devices

With remote work opportunities becoming the norm, you may have employees who use their own laptop to access the network. In these cases, you can’t control what else they access when on their own time.

Consider what policies and tools you will have in place to protect your business from data breaches caused by employees using their own devices. This will add a layer of complexity to your business that many organizations overlook, opening themselves to a data breach.