What Is Cloud Security?
Cloud Security involves securing data stored in the cloud. It focuses on both the protection of data while it is in transit, and its privacy when at rest. A common strategy is to encrypt data using a cryptographic system. This ensures that only someone with a key can decipher it. Other key practices include multi-factor authentication (MFA), microsegmentation, zero trust networks and threat intelligence, monitoring and prevention capabilities.
Despite these precautions, security breaches still occur. These are often the result of customer misconfiguration of the security tools provided by their provider or from employees that use “shadow IT” services on personal devices for work-related tasks. For these reasons, it is important to educate all employees about basic cyber security.
A major concern with cloud computing is that the files, photos and videos saved on a provider’s servers could be susceptible to hackers or lost due to a power outage at a data center. This is one reason why it is important to back up data residing in the cloud to local systems on a regular basis.
Most of the larger cloud providers practice redundancy by keeping multiple copies of data in different locations and servers. These backups can help restore access to data if a server or data center suffers an outage. They also regularly hire outside companies to test their servers and software for weaknesses. This helps to keep them safe from hackers and other malicious insiders. It is a good idea for even small businesses to follow this practice.