Cloud storage is immensely popular these days. All thanks to the ease of storage and easy accessibility over the Internet – every business, no matter if it’s a small company or a large enterprise, favors Cloud over the traditional alternatives. However, with these significant advantages, Cloud Computing also brings along the data security concerns.
Saving data on Google Drive, Dropbox, and One Drive is easy. However, there are also risks of being highly susceptible to Cloud security breach and cyber-attacks. So, all users who store data in the Cloud wonder: Is storing data in the Cloud safe?
That’s what we will discuss in this blog. But first, we need to understand a few basic things.
Why are people so crazy about Cloud storage?
The ease of access is the biggest reason. In the traditional data storage approach, you need to physically access the machine to open a file. However, a file stored on the cloud can be accessed from anywhere. All you need is a machine and an Internet connection.
Another major reason is that files can be easily shared on the cloud. Not only this, but even multiple people can work on the same file at the same time. This improves the culture of collaboration and real-time feedback which ultimately enhances productivity.
Other benefits are the ease of managing data and freedom from the risk of losing data in case your computer gets damaged or stolen. You can store the data on the Cloud and be assured that it will be perfectly managed and taken care of.
Is it safe to store data in the Cloud?
To answer this question, we would like to draw your attention towards the fact that apart from offering amazing benefits, cloud storage also brings several security concerns like Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, use of shared resources, employee negligence, data loss or inadequate data transfer, phishing, system vulnerabilities, and social engineering attacks.
So, storing data on the cloud is not safe. Still, there is a wide range of Cloud Security mechanisms like data encryption, public key infrastructure, Single Sign-On, and identity & access management.
Some Practices that You can Implement to Ensure Cloud Security
1. Know your responsibilities
You need to know your responsibility both as a user and the cloud service provider. While as a service provider you need to ensure that applications are protected and the data is securely being transmitted and stored – as a user, you will have to be responsible and not share crucial details with anyone. They also need to follow all necessary security mechanisms to ensure their personal details remain safe. Cloud storage is all about mutual responsibility and collaboration.
2. Practice access controls
Another Cloud Security mechanism is to use identity access controls that all major cloud providers offer you. You need to know who has access to what data. While creating identity and access control policies, make sure everyone gets the minimum set of privileges that can be temporarily extended if needed. Moreover, you need to pay special attention to security.
3. Encrypt your data
Use mechanisms like data encryption to protect crucial details. This will ensure that even if someone can access your data, the information remains protected. It’s a necessary mechanism because otherwise leaving data unprotected can have some grievous outcomes.
Back in the past, there have also been instances when voter details and other important documents were exposed to cyber-attacks because the data was not protected. With data protection mechanisms like data encryption, you can ensure such circumstances never occur.
Data Encryption is a fail-safe mechanism — even if a security configuration fails and the data falls into the hands of an unauthorized party, the data can’t be used.
4. Secure the credentials
Securing the credentials is as important as other cloud security mechanisms. Otherwise, things turn out to be drastic like the 2017 OneLogin breach which proved for the first time that even the AWS keys can be exposed. So, it’s important to treat your credentials like important jewels and make sure you don’t reveal them anywhere.
5. Use Logging to monitor member activities
Another thing you need to do is to turn on the security logging and monitoring so that you can easily track if someone tries to unauthorizedly access your data or try to steal it. Some service providers provide these facilities like Amazon offers a service called CloudTrail for auditing AWS environments. Although, some still don’t have them. So, you need to be wise and take care of these little things while choosing a service provider.
6. Adopt a shift-left approach to security
The shift-left approach is all about incorporating all necessary security considerations into the Cloud early on instead of adding security in the final stages. This means not only you need to monitor what they have in IaaS platforms, but also check all the data before it goes live on the Cloud. Basically, you are getting hold of all the issues before they even occur.
All these little security mechanisms will ensure your data remains safe on the cloud and no one can access it without your permission.
Final Thoughts
It possible to be awed by the impressive benefits that the Cloud Computing offers and consider it as a crucial platform for enterprise growth as we mentioned in our previous blog. However, we also need to keep in mind the security concerns that may occur. Otherwise, things can turn out to be drastic.
Cloud Security is something we always need to take into consideration to ensure the safety of data stored in the Cloud. This is the reason why at Softobiz, we highly emphasize on Cloud Security. We make sure your data on the Cloud is safe by using various security mechanisms like encryption, firewalls, and security protocols. Here, you can know more about our Cloud Security services.
