Enterprise adoption of cloud computing has soared in recent years as companies look to leverage its benefits, which include easy scalability, cost-efficiency, and flexibility. Enterprises are no longer confined to expensive on-premise setups for application workloads and data storage.
However, the cloud is not without its potential challenges, the most important of which is arguably the security of cloud systems. When enterprises outsource the responsibility to run applications or securely store data to third-party, it’s imperative to understand the underlying security challenges and concerns. Here are five of the most pressing cloud security issues today.
Backing Up Cloud Data
One of the main draws of public cloud systems is how they offer low-cost storage for companies of all sizes. Cloud storage is also practically unlimited in its scope, which means that as companies gather more data that they need to keep, cloud vendors can provide sufficient resources for storing growing amounts of data.
One issue with relying on cloud vendors to store critical data is that the servers on cloud computers can suffer from outages, malfunctions due to malicious attacks, and natural disasters, in the same way, that on-premise systems can. It’s imperative, therefore, to back up cloud data to a dedicated disaster-recovery service if organizations want to be prudent in how they use the cloud for data storage.
Managing Cloud Credentials
When companies decide to use the cloud to store data, they must ensure that cloud credentials get handled sufficiently. Cloud access typically gets granted via user credentials and access privileges, and a weak password or too much access can wreak havoc on the security of data stored in these systems.
Some steps to take to mitigate issues with cloud credentials include using a password management service, encrypting data, and only granting cloud users at your company the privileges strictly necessary to perform their jobs.
Performing Due Diligence
There are stalwart names in the cloud computing space that are hugely popular–AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform are prime examples. However, just because other companies seem to use these services, that doesn’t negate performing appropriate due diligence for all potential cloud vendors.
Without due diligence, you might not know how your chosen cloud vendor handles critical security issues, such as identity access management, sensitive data with specific compliance requirements, and data encryption. Perform your research to avoid unwanted surprises.
Regulatory Compliance
Essential laws protect specific information. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) protects sensitive healthcare information on patients.
Cloud vendors must be willing to provide certifications and undergo audits to ensure compliance with relevant acts. Otherwise, companies will end up paying the price. The main advice to overcome this potential issue is to demand certifications from cloud vendors if you must store sensitive data in their systems.
DDoS Attacks
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks attempt to overwhelm a service and its resources by sending it traffic from multiple sources scattered in different locations. Public cloud services are accessible via the Internet, which makes them a prime target for DDoS attacks.
It’s important only to choose the services of a cloud provider equipped to monitor and deal with attempted DDoS attacks. Otherwise, your services may become unavailable at critical times, leading to loss of business.
Conclusion
Even though cloud computing offers many benefits to enterprises, it’s vital to take a sensible approach to security. By becoming aware of the leading security issues in the cloud, you are better positioned to research and choose a suitable cloud deployment while minimizing security risks.
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