With more data than ever being stored on the cloud rather than in local hardware, the need to secure digital data is imperative to corporate security. Here are some tips to keep your organization’s cloud storage secure.
1. A Holistic Approach
You need to look at your security needs and strategy as a whole. Think about the big picture first and then get into the nitty gritty details. If you start with the details and work your way up instead, you may not notice flaws in your security approach before it’s too late. If you look at each aspect of your organization separately, for example implementing one strategy for the cloud and another for email, your security architecture may not mesh well. You need to figure out what security coverage your organization requires and develop strategies that meet all those needs. Then you can work on unique needs for specific technologies.
2. A Focus on Compliance
Keep employees updated on compliance protocols at your organization. You can send out a newsletter or an email blast to inform about updates as needed. You should also inform any outside vendors with access to your cloud of your compliance protocols and require these vendors follow your protocols too. Make sure your employees and vendors are capable of helping to keep your data secure if you’re going to give them access to it.
3. Employee Participation
Like compliance protocols, employees need to be able to recognize the security threats they face and learn how to combat them. You should offer regular security training opportunities, both for physical security and emergencies and cybersecurity. If you can, tailor the security training to your organization. Hold drills specific to your corporate locations and focus on cybersecurity vulnerabilities common to your industry. You should also periodically remind people how to protect themselves against human error security breaches like phishing scams. Many organizations will send out test phishing emails, texts or instant messages at random intervals to see if employees are paying attention and know-how to spot the signs, for example. If an employee clicks a link in a test email, you can ask them to attend remedial security training. Find ways to test employees on other cybersecurity for technology like the cloud too.
4. Remote Connections
When the ability or necessity to work remotely exists, the risk of security breaches goes up, so you need to ensure remote connections to the cloud and other services are secured. For example, if you’re wondering what is API security, it is a necessary tool because many APIs are available to access over public networks. If someone accesses an online service like the cloud or an API remotely over public Wi-Fi, these services need to have security features because the Wi-Fi connection likely doesn’t. Implement a service such as a VPN for your organization so employees can connect to that via Wi-Fi. The VPN acts as a barrier between the cloud and the potentially unsecured Wi-Fi connection and allows you to monitor when employees log on and off.
5. Encryption
Encryption is a major aspect of cybersecurity. Encrypting data makes it much more difficult to hack, which can itself be a deterrent to hackers. Encrypted data tends to be seen as more trouble than it’s worth to decrypt. You should encrypt all data you store in the cloud. With other security and controlled-access measures layered on top of encryption, your cloud storage will be much more heavily guarded.
6. Conditional Access
Like encryption, conditional access is a key security feature for cloud storage. Conditional access allows only approved devices and employees with the proper credentials to access the cloud or other software. This security measure requires devices and users to pass security clearance measures such as screenings or token authentication before access to information is granted.
Once you have a cloud security strategy that works for your organization, be sure to keep monitoring and improving it. Cloud technology has changed the way we work with, store and think about data so cybersecurity needs to adjust too.