Businesses around the world work with a constant flow of data. That data is often stored in the cloud for later use.
In addition to storing data, the cloud is used for everything from hosting and streaming video (Netflix, YouTube) to running a storefront (Amazon) to managing workflows (Google Apps) and platform-as-a-service or software-as-a-service.
The cloud is a great way to manage, store, and access data, but it can be vulnerable to security issues at times. To protect yourself and your company from such issues, you must keep your cloud secure. Here are five tips for doing so.
1. Choose A Secure Cloud Service
Security in the cloud begins with choosing a cloud service provider carefully. The provider must have a strong security infrastructure, policies to address compliance, and thorough privacy and security requirements.
Finding a good cloud service provider means understanding what you want from your cloud service and ensuring they can handle it. It also means finding out what sort of Technology they use, what requirements your company will need, and how they manage data and privacy.
Furthermore, you must understand how they comply with various industry compliance standards and what sort of certificates they use to manage security on their cloud.
Taking the time to learn this information prior to making a selection will ensure you have a safer and more powerful cloud to meet your business needs.
2. Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication
Anyone setting up a new cloud (whether for business or personal use) should always use multi factor authentication when setting up users. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is crucial to securing your data and entire cloud infrastructure.
MFA requires two or more independent pieces of information—like a password or passcode and a username—to log in to an account. MFA ensures that unauthorized users can’t access data if they somehow obtain the password.
With MFA, you get an additional security layer and offer fewer opportunities to attackers to gain entry into your cloud. MFA is increasingly popular as a security method.
It protects credentials, creates a safer work environment, and only enhances the user experience. It’s an essential security method for any network and extremely easy to implement.
3. Create Strong Passwords
Weak or lazy passwords can lead to a lot of problems. Whether it’s compromised accounts, breaches, or stolen information, a password that’s easy to crack will cause untold damage if compromised.
That’s why it’s so vital to ensure passwords are strong and not easy to steal. Having a week password that is easy to steal is essentially opening the door and inviting hackers in.
Indeed, a strong password is one of the best ways to prevent unauthorized access to your cloud and prevent the theft of your data. So, create strong passwords. Use a mix of symbols, numbers, uppercase, and lowercase letters.
Consider using pass phrases that contain a combination of these characters to further reinforce your security. To fight automated hacking software that can crack passwords, you must stay ahead of the attackers and monitor ongoing/current trends.
Educate employees about phishing scams and safeguarding their passwords. Make passwords uncommon and unique so they’re more difficult to compromise.
By taking precautionary measures with your passwords and following password best practices, you can help prevent cloud data breaches before they can occur. It’s not a foolproof method, but it’s a step in the right direction to ensure more security within your cloud.
4. Encrypt Your Data
Another way to safeguard your security in the cloud is to encrypt your data. Encryption is the process of encoding information so that it can be read only by people who have a certain decryption key.
By encrypting data, organizations can prevent unauthorized access to confidential data, making it much harder for a hacker to access it.
Incorporating encryption into your overall Cloud security measures will ensure your data remains safe and compromised while also providing a means for you to store it safely.
5. Integrate A Cloud Security Solution
Sometimes, the best way to keep your cloud securus to implement a comprehensive security solution. Doing so provides visibility control over your entire cloud infrastructure from its physical data center to the public or hybrid cloud your company uses.
It creates a centralized approach to help keep up with better compliance and regulations, improve incident response times, and save money by keeping your cloud secure. You can also help protect against threats that Target your systems.
In addition to that, it offers workflow, container, and network protection to help you keep your cloud safe and secure at all times. Better security in the cloud starts with an appropriate and comprehensive solution, so be sure to set up yours today.
