Attaining Security in the Cloud

Trust remains an integral part in every situation or relationship whether business or personal in nature. When it comes to cloud hosting, trust earns the top spot in its core operations and if not, then it should. This is primarily due to the fact that clients entrust their private information to a service provider that controls their data on the cloud. Giving a third party the authority to store and use your data may leave a person or company vulnerable to loss, theft, abuse or tampering of that certain information. Thus, fear and apprehension to avail of cloud services are the usual feelings that any client may go through as it may be detrimental to their business and even their personal lives. Whether choosing to use a single or multiple cloud service providers, a customer could be at risk when security systems are not in place. Some companies nowadays are opting to work with multiple cloud hosting providers to store their data. Through this setup, when one server crashes, they can still have a back-up of that lost data on another server with a different provider. When your data is on multiple servers around the world however, your data is in the hands of more people in the cloud than the usual which means a higher risk that it could be hacked. But this does not necessarily mean that your data is safer on a single provider since the most important matter to consider is whether your single or multiple cloud hosts are implementing strict security measures for your protection. When selecting a cloud host provider, you must look for different types of security measures that they could offer in your contract. This should involve protection not only for your software applications but also for the hardware systems to be used. One of the basic security approaches is encryption, which entails that data be seen by authorized persons only. Encryption must be required for static data as well as those being transmitted especially to various servers around the world. With encryption, it is paramount that key management is restricted to trusted individuals only and that contingency plans are available when key access has been compromised. Highly advanced encryption methods could however be too expensive for the customer, which is why companies can opt to build their own encryption system before letting out the information from their hands. Access control to the information must also be set-up depending on the kind of information and level of confidentiality. When policies and procedures are strictly employed with corresponding penalties for internal non-compliance, then there is a better chance that data will remain secure. Firewalls have also been widely utilized to ensure that networks are not being attacked by malicious individuals from the internet that is open to the public. Exposure to harmful websites must also be minimized while authentication tokens, certifications and log in challenges must be included in their offerings. Physical security is also a main concern in protecting data from being accessed or damaged. The servers being used must be located in a highly secure place that can only be accessed by authorized individuals. Password codes, alarm systems and cameras must be in place for heightened security. The hardware itself must be damage-proof if possible in the event of attackers or natural disasters. When using external media such as flash drives, encryption could also be implemented and restrictions on the allowable media to be used should be placed. As you choose the cloud service provider to run your applications online, you have to consider all these mentioned security measures before signing that contract or agreeing to pay a fee that won’t be worth it in the long run. Make sure that the cloud service provider prioritizes transparency in what they do in order for trust to be earned and sustained in your working relationship. Visibility in all aspects of operations allows you to monitor and identify possible issues and risks in security that could harm your business. When cloud host providers remain open and communicative, customers feel safer to entrust their data for a longer period and even at a higher price because they know that their privacy and protection are always the number one goal of the cloud service provider.

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Our articles are written to provide you with tools and information to meet your IT and cloud solution needs. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.   About the Guest Author: Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.