The significance of cloud security and how businesses can enjoy its benefits

By Sumana Iyengar, CEO & Co-founder, Goavega

While many companies, both large and small, have begun to recognise the advantages of cloud computing and how it helps to ensure seamless business operations across borders, they are also starting to understand the need to adopt a strong cyber security framework to protect their cloud data and assets from the constantly evolving cyber threats. The demand for and understanding of cloud security infrastructure have grown as a result. This mostly relates to contemporary cyber security techniques that are essential for safeguarding cloud-based data and operations against cybercrimes, fraud, and other types of data breaches, hence securing the overall cloud computing system.

As data becomes more important, cloud computing is quickly gaining popularity among customers as well as software and product development organisations. And even as these innovative, cutting-edge products made possible by cloud computing continue to upend several industries around the world, the cloud is quietly but ominously becoming a potential weapon in the fight against phishing and other cybercrimes in the online world. Ironically, firms that put off moving to the cloud a few years ago continued to have data security as one of their top worries. The same technological advancement is now being used to combat cybercrime as well as serve as a possible platform for other technologies, including AI and machine learning, to identify and prevent cybercrime.

Some key benefits that businesses can enjoy through cloud security, can be understood, as below:

1) Stricter authorization: As cloud computing is used more often across a variety of industries, including BFSI, e-commerce, and fintech, the security requirements have gotten stricter. Most SaaS and cloud computing service providers now use a two- or three-step or multi-factor authentication method when establishing up a cloud network. It has emerged as one of the most affordable yet reliable security measures to deter would-be hackers from accessing cloud apps. Additionally, continuous vulnerability checks, encrypted data, customised, selective access options, etc. have all contributed to making cloud computing a safe and efficient experience overall.

2) Easier and more effective data recovery/disaster recovery plan: The loss of sensitive and secret data that is contained on devices like laptops and cell phones is more significant than their physical destruction. In circumstances like this, cloud security offers increased security. By enabling businesses to continue operating each of their businesses in the environment that best suits them, a hybrid cloud environment provides the optimum security environment. Additionally, it enables better flexibility or dispersion, allowing workloads to always be operational and data protected. To detect and stop threats, cloud security keeps a close eye on the cloud. They can take action to safeguard the system by immediately alerting the cloud provider of the threat.

3) Increased control of the information passage: Data breaches, inadequate internal or weak control setups, internal threats, unsecured application programming interfaces, vulnerable or improper access management, among others, are the increasing security concerns that businesses must deal with. A firm could restrict access to some employees for certain applications. Employees should generally only have access to the tools they need to do their duties. Strict access controls can protect private information from malicious insiders or hackers using stolen credentials.

4) Improved data security: A lot of cloud users have the delusional notion that their cloud service provider would take care of their security requirements. While a service provider will safeguard some elements of your cloud environment, businesses must also take security measures. Virtual Private Networks (VPN), encryption, and masking are examples of data security techniques. VPN enables remote workers to connect to company networks and supports remote access on tablets and smartphones.

In addition to the the above, brands and businesses seeking to assure a safer cloud computing experience now also need to make sure that they collaborate with reputable industry experts, have a centralised visibility of their network with regular health checks and vulnerability tests, and regularly focus on providing cyber security best practices training to both employees and other stakeholders who have access to cloud networks.