7 Effective Tips for Enterprises to Stay Safe and Secure in The Cloud
“Cloud is not just another tech revolution. It’s fundamentally a shift for building businesses in terms of how they operate” - Puneet Chandok, President - AWS India and South Asia.
The cloud has a proven track record of providing reduced costs, greater agility, enhanced scalability, and improved access. No doubt, the cloud helped businesses sustain during the pandemic through continuous innovation and delivery.
However, there are a few risks associated with the cloud too!
What are some of the security risks of cloud computing?
Moving to the cloud has helped enterprises to expand quickly, streamline business processes and lower their expenditure. But, this incredible technology comes with some risks that, when not mitigated, could have dramatic fallouts.
#1. Malware and phishing attacks
Phishing refers to a method where cyber-criminals try to acquire restricted information from the employees of a targeted organization. The major form of phishing takes place through emails, where malware is attached as links disguised as coming from the cloud service provider.
#2. Theft of confidential information
Data-related cyber-attacks are quite common too. When most of the data of an enterprise are stored on the cloud, a weak security system in place would allow cyber-criminals easier access to sensitive data.
#3. Compliance issues
Failing to comply with the regulations and standards of cloud usage and access could have serious implications for enterprises. On the cloud, the risk of non-compliance could be higher since there is no control over the cloud provider’s operations.
#4. Sudden loss of data
Enterprise data stored on the cloud is at risk of being hit by malware or during malicious attacks because of the shared infrastructure and limited control over the ecosystem.
Now that we’re aware of some of the most common risks associated with the cloud, let’s look at a few proven tactics that have helped enterprises stay safe and alert while being on the cloud.
Best practices and tips to ensure an enterprise’s safety in the cloud
#1. File encryption
While storing data on the cloud or during migration, it is necessary to encrypt files to avoid any risks to critical data due to breaches.
Although major cloud providers offer file encryption options on the server side, it is also crucial for enterprises to ensure data is already encrypted prior to storing it over the cloud using reliable third-party tools.
#2. Use of strong passwords
To prevent hackers from accessing enterprise data, the use of strong passwords at every possible gateway is a non-negotiable ground rule. Every organization must ensure all of the employees use a regime of strong passwords while logging in.
Constant changing of passwords is important too, as it makes it harder for hackers to crack them. Enterprises need to create an alert system, which signals employees to change their passwords after every set period.
#3. A two-factor authentication system - 2FA
2FA or the two-step verification system is where the users need to provide two different authentication factors to get verified individually and access the cloud. This additional level of security helps prevent intruders from accessing organizational systems or data.
By setting up a 2FA system, enterprises will have a stronger response to phishing attempts or cyber-attacks. When choosing a cloud provider, enterprises need to ensure that the 2FA is a part of their security process too.
#4. Choose the best cloud provider
While evaluating the right cloud provider, cloud security must be on top of the must-haves. Since security is a primary concern of every business, organizations need to ensure the cloud provider has enough security options for every possible use case.
Organizations also need to check if the provider is compliant with regulatory standards to avoid any future non-compliance issues. Also, they can request internal security audit reports and remedies taken to solve security-related issues previously.
#5. Exclude storing hyper-sensitive information on the cloud
Deletion of sensitive data could be a threat caused internally as well as from external sources. Internally, employees would not have a clear idea of the cloud storage location and might unintendedly try to modify or delete sensitive information.
Therefore, to be safer than sorry, enterprises could be proactive by not storing any hyper-sensitive business data or resources in the cloud.
#6. Monitoring user’s and devices’ access to the cloud
Enterprises need to regularly review and monitor every access given to their users and devices. Thus, dropping any unnecessary accesses to prevent any impending threats to the internal workflows. And devices that are no longer used, need to be eliminated from gaining access to the enterprise cloud too.
The security team should have end-to-end visibility of every user’s access to the data and their behaviour on the cloud. Accesses or restrictions need to be allowed based on a set of user privileges and revoked when no longer in use.
#7. Use of smart AI Tools to stop cyber-attacks
Enterprises must additionally opt for AI-based tools or a trustworthy cybersecurity system that assures 100% security to each of the business-critical resources. Since most security gaps are created by the ill-informed or deliberately malicious acts of people, it’s crucial to have a solution that constantly monitors user actions to quickly identify any unusual actions before they get out of hand. Such a system provides a much-needed security blanket over any enterprise’s valuable data, as it prevents cyber-attacks from wreaking havoc. It also stops breaches from causing drastic business losses.
Darktrace Antigena is a self-learning AI tool that provides an essential dynamic response to all kinds of cyber-attacks within your enterprise infrastructure and cloud. Adopting an AI-based cybersecurity tool could become an enterprise’s most powerful asset in the war against malicious elements. Novigo Solutions has helped numerous clients build a secure and safe future on the cloud by designing and implementing a holistic and comprehensive data and network protection strategy!
Talk to us at Novigo Solutions to set up your enterprise with the best security solution out there.