The business world is changing at a brisk pace. Previously businesses that would only operate on-ground with in-office staff are now shifting to a remote work model, requiring highly protective and advanced IT infrastructure to manage their data online. This demand has also put pressure on IT departments, which are now struggling to update their technologies to enable reliable, safe, and secure remote work.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Amid these crises, businesses are finding IT solutions in a technology that provide on-demand availability of computer system resources, large data storage, computing power, and much more without the user’s direct active management. This technology is famously known as cloud computing.
When using the cloud, files and data are stored at remote server farms, from where they can be accessed quickly and securely. The business world’s current need requires remote access to the information, and the cloud innately offers this ability.
Is Cloud Computing Safe For Businesses?
As much as cloud computing has benefited businesses, it has also increased the need for increased security. Without proper measurements, access permissions, backup, and testing, hackers can easily steal the data.
Keeping in the view that businesses are bound to guard their clients, financial, and other sensitive information from malicious intent of corrupt people, it is imperative to ensure that their data is secure over the cloud. Here’s how you can make sure that your cloud infrastructure systems are secured and always up-to-date.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication
Just the username and password combination are not enough to protect user accounts from hackers. Most of the time, stolen credentials lead to hackers getting access to business data and applications. To avoid this problem, protect your data by deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA, also known as two-factor authentication, ensures that only authorized personnel can log into your cloud applications and access the private information. MFA is also the most cost-effective and efficient way to secure your clouds data. Most security experts, including our team, will tell you that it is considered highly careless not to implement MFA as part of your clouds service plan.
Manage User Access And Permission
Not every employee in the organization needs access to all business files and applications. Setting proper authorization levels is essential to ensure that employees can only view and manipulate the files they need to do their job. This will prevent them from accidentally altering a file which they are not authorized to access.
Moreover, assigning access control is also important to protect data from hackers who might have stolen an employee’s credentials.
Analyze User Activities
Real-time monitoring and analyzing user activities on your cloud system can help you spot irregularities and suspicious activities different from normal usage patterns. These irregularities may include a login to your system from a previously unsaved and unknown IP or device or a user or employee trying to enter a file that he is not entitled to explore.
Real-time analysis of these activities can help you spot a possible breach early on and stop the hackers from exploiting your data. It also enables you to take other security measures in time before mayhem is caused.
Many data protection solutions can help you out with this, starting with employing an expert cyber and online security team. You can use automated solutions to detect intruders but before investing in such systems, get a third-party risk assessment.
Provide Training To Employees
Most security breaches in the cloud happen due to hackers gaining access to your system by stealing employees’ login credentials through various social engineering techniques. These techniques may include phishing, spoofing websites, and social media spying. Educating and training your staff, however, can prevent them from falling victim to such scams.
Conduct regular cyber and phishing training classes so employees can learn how to avoid such scams. Ensure your training is not a one-time thing, as this is a continual process and requires regular updates and learning.
To find out more about how you can safely manage your data on the cloud, visit our website or contact us here.
