Security in the Cloud - 6 Ways to Know Your Sensitive Information Stays Safe

Last Updated: 

December 11, 2024

Cloud computing has become a cornerstone of technology. It’s revolutionised   not only how businesses store and access data, but families too. However, this advancement in technology brings serious concerns regarding data security.

This article aims to help you gain some comfort in the idea of cloud storage and give you strategies to ensure that your sensitive information remains secure.

Key Takeaways on Securing Sensitive Information

  1. Shared Responsibility Model: Cloud security is a shared responsibility between Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) and users. While CSPs secure the infrastructure, users must actively protect their data from unauthorised access and cyber threats.
  2. Authentication Practices: Implement strong authentication protocols, such as two-factor or multi-factor authentication, to ensure reliable user identity confirmation and prevent unauthorised access.
  3. Regular Software Updates: Regularly update and patch software to address security weaknesses. These updates provide improved encryption, authentication methods, and other enhancements, crucial for maintaining security in cloud environments.
  4. Data Encryption Importance: Utilise data encryption to convert information into a code, ensuring that only authorised users with the decryption key can access sensitive data. Encryption acts as a vital defence against unauthorised access and data breaches.
  5. Employee Education: Conduct regular cybersecurity training for employees to educate them about security threats, good cyber hygiene, detecting phishing attacks, and creating strong passwords. Yearly training helps keep employees aware of evolving cybersecurity tactics.
  6. Choosing a Reputable Cloud Provider: When selecting a cloud service provider, consider factors like certification, adherence to industry standards, reliability, performance, migration support, and the provider's financial health for long-term stability.
  7. Security Audits and Compliance Checks: Run regular security audits and compliance checks to identify vulnerabilities within your company's framework. These checks adapt to changing needs and evolving cyber threats, ensuring a proactive approach to security.
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Understanding Cloud Security

To successfully protect your cloud storage involves protecting your data from unauthorised access, data breaches, and cyber threats. 

The key to good cloud security is conceptualised in the Shared Responsibility Model. The security methods are shared by the cloud service providers (CSPs) and the users. The CSPs make sure their storage platforms have secure infrastructure which includes hardware and software. The users are responsible for the activity on their end. 

Way 1: Strong Authentication Protocols

Two-factor or multi-factor authentication models are the frontline of cybersecurity and crucial. It’s not only about passwords, but a layered approach that uses passwords and other steps to reliably confirm the user’s identity.

Credentials can be knowledge-based like passwords and PINS, possession-based like tokens or verification codes, and inherence-based like biometrics. Strong authentication practices help prevent unauthorised access.

Way 2: Regular Software Updates and Patches

Updates and patches to software often are released because of security weaknesses. Vulnerabilities are addressed and therefore these downloads are vital for maintaining security in cloud environments.

Cybercriminals exploit software weaknesses regularly. These updates will often provide improved encryption, new and more powerful authentication methods, and other enhancements. Leveraging tools like Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) can further enhance visibility and ensure your cloud environment is secure against data breaches

Way 3: Data Encryption

Information is converted into a code that can only be translated by authorised users. Those users automatically have the decryption key.

This process is crucial to protecting sensitive data like that under HIPAA laws. Medical billing software that is cloud-based typically uses encryption as a line of defence against unauthorised access and data breaches.

Encryption provides a layer of security should data be intercepted or accessed illegally. It remains unreadable and therefore secure.

Way 4: Employee Education and Training

It’s become a common practice for yearly cybersecurity training for employees and for good reason. Educating your employees about security threats and how to protect against them is effective. 

Any training programs should make sure to cover good cyber hygiene, how to detect phishing attacks, and how to create a strong and complex password.

The yearly training is a good idea so you can make sure your employees are aware of the evolving tactics in cybersecurity.

Way 5: Choosing a Reputable Cloud Service Provider

Cloud storage is a great way to protect your business. But not all cloud storage is created equal. When choosing your service provider there are a few things to look for.

  • Certification and adherence to industry standards
  • Reliability, performance, migration support
  • Providers financial health for long-term stability

Besides these factors, if your cloud environment will leverage containerised solutions with Kubernetes, it's crucial to consider dedicated security measures. Key practices include ensuring proper role-based access control, isolating resources using namespaces, and continuously scanning container images for vulnerabilities. These Kubernetes security best practices help safeguard the cloud infrastructure where your data is stored against sophisticated threats. Another security measure is an Oracle's sovereign cloud, ensuring data protection and compliance within specific regional and legal boundaries.

Way 6: Regular Security Audits and Compliance Checks

In order to identify any vulnerabilities within your company's framework you need to run regular security audits and compliance checks.

These checks evaluate your side of security and identify the areas of your protocols that make you potentially vulnerable. 

These audits adapt to your company's changing needs as well as the changing threats from cyber attackers. 

Conclusion

Security when it comes to the cloud is a multifaceted process. From implementing strong authentication protocols to conducting regular security audits and keeping software updated, each measure helps ensure that your company's sensitive information is safe and secure.

Making sure your employees, on the human side of things, know how to detect threats and protect themselves and their actions further defends against the evolving threats in the cyber world. 

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