Top safety tips for using Cloud

Featured article by Mauricio, leading Cloud expert at Cloudwards.net

The wave of cloud adoption has brought along a wave of data safety and authorization concerns, particularly for organizations with critical data safety concerns. Whereas cloud computing based technologies empower organizations by providing affordable, agile, and scalable software, platforms, and IT infrastructure, the decision to embrace them is frought with serious qualms for most, because there have already been instances of data theft, hacking, and unauthorized accesses related to cloud based services.

In this guide, we’ve put together the top safety tips you need to take care of, before moving on to a cloud enabled service.

Insufficient Data Backup is the Single Biggest Pitfall You Need to Steer Past

If the core team that made cloud computing possible could have its way, it would ensure every data center, every business headquarter, and every IT service office has the word BACKUP embossed on titanium and screwed on the entry gate. Companies like T-Mobile have learnt the lesson the hard way (it lost all its customer data, and was literally left with nothing!). Ensure you don’t experience the same trouble, and that’s by focusing on strong backup and disaster recovery processes. If you’ve on-boarded cloud computing based service vendors, talk to each to understand what data backup processes they have in place, and what you need to do to make the process foolproof. How often is the data backed up? How secure are the backup machines themselves? How is the backed up data archived? These are the questions to ask.

Know the Physical Location of your Data

Most cloud service providers offer intrusion detection and firewalls to keep intruders from accessing your data, and most of them use advanced encryption to add another layer of data safety. However, knowing where your data resides is the first step towards understand what kind of data security measures are in place. Enterprise cloud service providers are willing to address all kinds of security concerns you have, so go ahead, ask them to explain to you as to which machines will store your data, what will happen if one of them gets damaged, what happens to the data once you terminate the contract, what’s the date guardianship plan if the service provider sells its cloud operations off, and what happens if the service provider goes out of business. Cloud service providers who can answer these pin pointed questions have a long term perspective on data security, and are worthy of your trust.

Evaluate Vendor Side Security Measures

How seriously does your managed IT cloud-enabled service provider take security? Which server or data center will your data be stored at? Does the service provider have any existing clients that are HIPAA or PCI certified? Are the data centers SAS 70, SSAE 16, and SOC 2 audited? Managed IT services make a strong case here, because these come topped with strong security measures such as advanced intrusion detection, firewalls, and antivirus software, delivering end to end data security for your cloud-hosted data and IT assets.

Test Everything, Get an Ethical Hacker on-board if Necessary

Public cloud services don’t offer the kind of sophisticated data security options that knowledge based business deem critical. This means that for any organization that’s bound to stay compliant with standards such as PCI or HIPPA, the options automatically narrow down to private cloud services. Even for them, due diligence towards ensuring the cloud computing based service doesn’t come with inherent data safety risks is a must-do. Security assessments and vulnerability scanning are key activities as you try to evaluate how secure your cloud-hosted data is. Many organizations employ ethical hackers to help them understand any data security flaws. If one person can access your cloud-hosted data, chances are others can too!

References from Organizations with Similar or Higher Data Security Goals

Asking for client testimonials and references from existing clients often unveils a lot more information about your cloud service provider’s security readiness than anything else. You don’t have to know the exact name of the client, just understanding if the vendor supports organizations from industries with critical data safety requirements (such as financial services, healthcare, defense, and government organizations) is good reason to believe that the security measures being provided are good enough. If you can connect with an existing user of the cloud service, nothing like it, because you can then understand all the supplementary processes you need to put in place to provide for wholesome cloud security.

Final Thoughts

Don’t take cloud computing services for granted. Don’t assume that any vendor offering a cloud solution will take care of your data security with equal fervor as exhibited in their sales pitches. It’s your data, it’s your business, and it’s you who has to invest time, mind space, and money in due diligence. These tips are your trusted allies as you look to move your data, processes, and computing to the cloud.

Mauricio is the lead Cloud expert at Cloudwards.net, a data and user feedback driven comparison engine for cloud storage, online backup and VPN apps and services. In addition, he also loves producing educational videos and reviews to help people get the best services for their needs. Get in touch with him on LinkedIn and @cloudwards.