Almost 100% of companies around the globe will be using cloud-based technology by the end of 2022. While the cloud has given individuals more flexibility in their working lives, and businesses vastly better data solutions, data stored on the cloud is still at risk for breaches.
One common misconception is that providers such as Google or Microsoft offer IT security protection for their users; however, the responsibility of protecting data stored on cloud computing falls back onto the individual and organization.
There is no doubt about why cloud technology is so important for businesses, enterprises, and for personal everyday use. But protecting sensitive information against breaches still needs to be a priority, regardless of where that information is kept.
Especially for maintaining data compliance.
In a 2021 study by Thales Global Cloud Security, it’s estimated that 40% of organizations experienced a cloud-based data breach. Yet, in spite of the potential for data theft, the overwhelming majority of organizations still fail to encrypt the data they store on the cloud.
Here are a few key preventive measures to take when securing your cloud storage against data breaches.
Backing Up Data On the Cloud
Cloud technology is not only helpful for transitioning data from damageable hardware to a more permanent, secure virtual space; it’s also a good solution for keeping your already stored data on the cloud even safer.
By using a system of redundant cloud storage devices or cloud servers, companies can take extra precautions to ensure the most critical data is accessible in the event that the first device is breached.
Encrypting In-Flight and At Rest Data: Why it's Needed
When information is transferred from a data center on-premise or a device to cloud storage, that data is “in-flight”. During this process, when data is being streamed from one point to another, in-flight data is often thought to be more vulnerable.
Therefore, adding a layer of encryption to the transfer stream process can provide additional data security. One way to encrypt data in motion is by using IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) VPN tunnels, TLS (Transport Layer Security), and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer).
TLS acts as an encrypted tunnel between email servers, while SSLs can encrypt communications with public and private keys.
IPSec, however, encrypts data during the transfer process when data is moved from one device or cloud location to another.
Multi-Factor Authentication
While organizations can take additional cautionary measures to protect their data stored on the cloud, ensuring their employees, clients, and users have MFA measures on their personal devices is imperative.
More times than not, human error is often the cause of data breaches for organizations. Taking the time to provide training on good IT practices will yield long-term benefits for both the user and company. With MFA in place, even if a user's device is hacked or breached, it’s much harder for a hacker to penetrate the entire data system.
Additionally, Identity and Access Management solutions can help ensure privileged users are accessing sensitive data for the right reasons. IAM provides insight into how cloud resources are used and when they are accessed. This can help organizations establish pre-configured responses to strange activity, as well as create alerts when abuse is suspected.
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