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Data Security: Keeping Sensitive Data Safe Within a Public Cloud

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SecurityAccording to a recent Intel report, approximately 93% of companies have adopted some sort of cloud service, choosing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), or a hybrid. This broad adoption of cloud services and the move from private clouds to public indicate better trust in the technology — according to the Intel report, for every person who distrusts the cloud, there are two who feel it’s safe.


Security Risks

However, this doesn’t mean that there are no longer any risks associated with the cloud. Approximately 62% of respondents have moved sensitive customer data to the cloud, which has increased the risk of a breach; almost half of companies have been able to track malware back to a SaaS application. Part of the problem falls on the people using the cloud: a lack of cybersecurity professionals in combination with employees using unsanctioned cloud services known as shadow IT. Even NASA isn’t exempt, with a recent audit discovering that government data has been uploaded to public cloud storage services.

Sensitive Data and Cybercriminals

The large-scale move of data to public cloud services has unfortunately attracted the attention of cybercriminals, who seek to exploit weak and vulnerable targets. According to the report, user credentials are the most likely point where cybercriminals will seek to access data. Shadow IT is also an area of concern, with 65% of IT professionals stating that the use of shadow IT is interfering with their efforts to keep cloud services secure.

What the Business Can Do

Businesses can be proactive in reducing security risks before they become a real problem. Using solutions that are integrated and/or unified will enable the business to reduce the majority of risk by giving IT professionals a full overview of the system and its permissions. Authentication best practices — biometrics, multi-factor authentication, and unique passwords — will help to prevent cybercriminals from accessing user and admin credentials. Businesses should also utilize security technologies, including:

  • Cloud access security brokers
  • Data loss prevention
  • Encryption

The cloud is flexible and cost-effective, but the data uploaded to it needs to be safe and secure in order for businesses to reap the benefits. Whatever the service, whether individual or hybrid, businesses should be looking to increase their security by using available technologies, concentrating on keeping cybercriminals from accessing user credentials, and ensuring their IT department is ahead of the curve to prevent employees from using shadow IT.

Organizations Increasing UC Cloud Services Adoption

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Cloud ServicesIn recent unified communications (UC) news, surveys have found many organizations increasing UC cloud services adoption. According to cloud industry monitors, more than half of organizations across a range of industries are slated to adopt cloud UC services by 2020. These services are also expected to:

  • surpass on-premises PBX deployments in favor of hosted PBX,
  • attract and engage businesses of all sizes looking to switch over to cloud-based services, and 
  • streamline and centralize communications protocols for team collaboration, contact center services, and client fulfillment.

Industry Shifts

Early adopters of UC cloud services tended to be small- to mid-size businesses. However, a dramatic shift in recent months has seen more medium to large enterprises adopting these vital services as well. Industry monitors predict the following scenarios based on current surveys and statistics:

  • Over 45% of customer contact centers will have sound cloud technologies by 2020.
  • Centers will also integrate UC and team collaboration services, resulting in smoother and more efficient client and in-house communications.
  • Legacy PBX systems will become as obsolete as traditional desktop and conventional laptop computers.

These changes reflect a myriad of current industry shifts and developments. In fact, more employees are demanding better mobility in their work – along with higher bandwidth to facilitate and support crucial cloud services and worker needs.

Changes Already Being Implemented

Cloud providers are seeing strong uptakes in UC adoptions for newer businesses. UC is also being heralded for providing timely communications solutions, particularly for companies that are struggling with old PBX systems. While PBX still plays an essential role in overall business communications, more organizations are integrating hosted services as opposed to on-site or premise-based systems. This is helping them to:

  • redistribute available bandwidth for other business services and protocols,
  • save time and money by having remote IT teams manage and monitor UC cloud services, platforms, and apps, and
  • secure constant online connections and presence with little to no service interruptions stemming from inclement weather or downtime maintenance.

UC cloud services will only continue to grow and expand. For businesses dealing with a lack of communications due to outdated hardware or systems, now is the right time to switch over to cloud and reap its many benefits.

How to Prepare for Common Cloud Deployment Challenges

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CloudNearly 70% of global enterprises currently run at least one app in the cloud today. According to industry monitors, this is expected to reach 90% by the end of the year. Based on these statistics, companies not in the cloud may be falling behind – or are they?

While properly managed cloud environments usually lead to cost savings and agility, poorly deployed environments can have several drawbacks. Businesses must proceed with caution when incorporating cloud-based platforms to avoid any pitfalls and implementation issues. Following are a few challenges presented by cloud environments.

Understanding All Available Options

While it’s great for companies to tap into the cloud, they must explore a range of options. Careful analysis and assessment will prevent undesirable circumstances, such as:

  • Loss of time and business due to moving from one vendor to another
  • Lack of proper cloud service vetting
  • Selection of cloud environments that do not easily adapt and evolve with current trends

 

Internal Communications

Miscommunications between IT teams and executives may lead to cloud failures as well. With more high-level personnel now making cloud decisions for their respective enterprises, it is imperative for them to keep IT departments in the loop. This can prevent:

  • Oversight and lack of communication between organizational departments
  • Poor decisions and phantom budgets
  • Inability to achieve company goals

For any business in the cloud to succeed, all departments must be on the same page.

Updating Tool Kits

When shifting to the cloud, IT and other teams must learn new sets of skills, and enterprises must be willing to invest in training for all their new and existing employees. Updating tool kits and skill sets will secure optimal deployment and management across the board.

Many businesses will also rely on their IT departments to stay abreast of any new developments. This enables companies to stay ahead of the curve, and allow them to scale or increase services based on current or new trends.

Security 

Security is also a major concern for companies moving into the cloud. To prevent future problems and failures, it is imperative to:

  • Incorporate security defenses into cloud migration right away
  • Protect company data, client communications, and confidential files and documents from the beginning
  • Ensure IT teams have the right tools needed to fight all security threats from day one

 

In a world where hacking and foreign intrusion are now commonplace, businesses must understand what protective measures their cloud provides. This is vital in establishing a safe working environment while defending infrastructure, hardware, and software from any interior or exterior threats.

Security: How IT Decentralization Introduces Vulnerabilities

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SecurityThe decentralization of IT management, brought about by more businesses moving to the cloud, brings with it growing concerns about vulnerabilities, according to a survey commissioned by virtualization vendor VMware. The purchase of non-secure solutions has led to new compliance and security issues, and IT managers must overhaul their measures in order to keep up with the move to the cloud.

The Effects of Decentralization

According to the VMware study,

  • 69% of those surveyed agree that IT management has become decentralized,
  • 57% believe that, as a direct result, non-secure cloud and other services are being purchased,
  • a similar percentage believe that this results in non-compliant applications, and
  • 61% agree that decentralization leads to duplicate IT resources.

Shifting to the Cloud

The cloud has become a solution that the majority of businesses are using, driven at least in part by efficiency, flexibility, and long-term cost savings. According to the study, IT infrastructure spending is up by an average of 5.7%, which includes authorization of devices and new applications. However, this comes with the risk of breaches, especially as business leaders are able to purchase technology themselves rather than relying on the IT department to properly vet new applications before they’re deployed.

The Role of IT in Keeping Data Secure

Regardless of whether the IT department itself purchased and implemented the new applications, it is usually responsible for their security. According to the aforementioned survey,

  • almost 75% of business leaders are authorizing new devices,
  • 56% of business leaders are purchasing third-party applications,
  • nearly 50% of IT leaders have seen a shift in their internal application development, and
  • 75% of IT leaders agree that business users taking control of purchasing and deployment is leading to an increase in vulnerabilities and IT costs.

Finding a Solution

IT managers must find a balance between keeping sensitive data and applications secure and working with business users to continue to grow within new technology. One possible solution is a network virtualization framework, which will not only give the cloud the same security as a physical data center, but also strengthen the network.

Security is the main concern of any business’s IT department as it works to keep data safe and ensure the system is still manageable. However, with more business leaders taking on the role of purchasing and deployment of applications as well as authorization of devices, IT leaders will need to find ways to keep up. Business leaders would benefit from stopping the decentralization of their IT departments, allowing the business to continue to grow and take advantage of flexible new technologies without compromising security and compliance.

SaaS: Security Considerations

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SaaSAcross homes, schools, and a growing majority of businesses, Software as a Service (SaaS) applications are moving closer to the center of everyday life. But in business contexts, this move to cloud-based software such as Google’s G Suite or Microsoft’s Office 365 may open up security challenges that businesses aren’t equipped to address.

The Popularity of SaaS

Businesses have a number of reasons for switching to SaaS architecture, including cost effectiveness, centralization of files and work processes, and a degree of standardization and support for bring your own device (BYOD) workplaces. And the convenience of cloud-based architecture is convincing: according to a report by BetterCloud, a significant proportion (25% to over 50%) of businesses that already use the G Suite or Office 365 plan to migrate to entirely cloud-based software environments by the end of the decade.

However, that same report revealed that over 60% of businesses running SaaS applications consider themselves underfunded for addressing cloud security – and many of those businesses simply don’t recognize cloud security in their budgets at all.

Security and SaaS

Several factors may be responsible for this discrepancy, including poor understanding of what SaaS security entails on the business end. Server security, for example, falls under the auspices of the service provider. However, companies are responsible for a number of critical security topics, including:

  • Managing employee authentication and access, including requiring strong passwords, limiting the creation of accounts, and disabling account access when employees leave the company. Employees should also have access only to the files and applications they need in order to perform their jobs – access should never be granted across the board.
  • Mandating secure access points, using (for example) VPNs or secure web gateway applications, and requiring all connected devices to have passwords and idle screen locking. Employees who take advantage of BYOD policies should be prepared to keep their devices up to date and configured to the standards developed by their company’s IT security team.
  • Thorough knowledge of emerging cloud security standards, as well as work done by groups such as the Cloud Security Alliance, and insistence that SaaS applications meet security standards as a prerequisite for adoption. As SaaS is more and more widely adopted, these standards will become more finely-tuned.
  • Thorough knowledge of security implementations on the part of the SaaS provider. While IT security managers may have little or no ability to affect the security profile of a SaaS application, they should nevertheless know the details of the cloud’s security. This will enable them to judge whether or not the implementation is in compliance with security standards, and whether or not it’s in compliance with company- or industry-specific regulations.

While SaaS removes a number of concerns from the IT team’s wheelhouse, security can never be entirely outsourced. For some years, security has been a highly-cited reason for discouraging adoption of cloud technologies, but with appropriate funding and attention to detail, companies can enjoy the convenience of cloud sourcing as well as rigorous security.

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