How to Reduce Chances of Attacks on Cloud Computing

With cybercrime on an all-time high, and cloud computing gaining popularity amongst different sectors, data security has become the number one priority for so many companies. Security issues have hit such a surge that cybercriminals have successfully made their way to FBI’s most wanted list. Here are some of the top ways you can reduce attacks on cloud computing.

Educate Employees

For a lot of organizations, one of the biggest causes of security threats is that their employees are uneducated. There are plenty of ways that people who work for you can make your data vulnerable. For instance, the devices they use for work may be the ones they use to log on to public Wi-Fi which is never secure.

When you teach your employees best practices and the proper defense protocols, you enable them to resolve the threat before it has a chance to spread all over your internal infrastructure.

Brief the Entire Staff on Best Practices

Involve them and motivate them to take ownership in which case they are more likely going to be actively involved.

Set up a response protocol for your people in case an employee even suspects that they have been compromised. You can even circulate a document that serves as a step by step guide for them.

Check how well your employees are doing by running tests now and then. This is a great way for you to assess if they are capable to handle threats as they arise. If not, then you must move on to the next step which is to invest in tools that allow your workers to handle scenarios.

Keep a Data Backup Plan

The possibility of data loss is very high, especially as the cloud begins to mature. It is important that no matter what goes on, you secure backup of your data, and with it your peace of mind as well. In order to operate securely, you must develop a security platform which allows your business to implement strong protection policies in regards to your data. Do this around multiple servers.

IT managers should be able to divide applications throughout different zones for more protection.

Access to Your Data

When you decide how to divide data, it is important that you also decide who can access it. The best way around it is to put up access controls which allow you to manage risks better. You can also tie user identities to back end directories, which is the same for external identities. You must be proactive and ensure security standards are in place.

You can take this further by using smartphone access control system which allows door access from anywhere, but also makes it easier for you to manage the users who have access.

Strengthen Passwords

With more complex cyber-attacks every day, one wonders whether it really matters to have the old 8 figure password anymore. The only problem with passwords is that to remember complex numerical we tend to reuse the same password for everything. It is still strongly advised that you come up with original and unique passwords to deter hackers.

Encryption

Cloud encryption is vital for protection. It allows for your data and text to be transformed with the use of encryption algorithms and then it is placed on a storage cloud. You must ask your provider how they manage the data. This is a neat trick that makes it easier for you to protect your data before it has even left your servers. You can encrypt at the edge of the network so that you are closer to securing the movement of this data.

A few things you must note include not storing the encryption keys in the same place you store your encrypted data. In fact, IT specialists must have the physical ownership of the keys and techniques that have been put into effect.

Set Policies Regarding Cloud Governance

You have only begun when you certify a cloud application. It is important that you ensure that the correct cloud application process is put into place, which ensures compliance with the external and internal data policy. You must also have your IT department work on usage policies, have risk assessments and tests. On top of that, it is crucial that everyone with a stake must keep themselves up to date on new trends regarding security and cloud computing.

When you are equipped with the knowledge of how exactly threats seep into your system you will be able to prevent threats on your cloud computing system. You are then in a position to make more proactive decisions about the information technology infrastructure