The Security Questions Surrounding Cloud Solutions

All types of businesses use cloud resources as a part of their IT infrastructure. It allows them to turn what was once a major capital expenditure into a controllable operating cost; and, it does it while offering solutions to almost any business problem. The one drawback that most IT professionals agree on is how to gain enough control over a cloud platform to ensure that the platform is secure. 

That isn’t to say that cloud resources are lacking security, but many cloud options are managed by cloud providers and don’t give organizations enough control over the infrastructure to deliver sufficient peace of mind. As a result, cloud security becomes more end-point oriented, and like any other computing platform, requires a lot of the same strategies that you’d expect. They include:

• Ensuring data/solutions are securely accessed.
• Sufficient monitoring of all user/system access
• Thorough alert system in the event of unusual user/system behavior

Obviously, managing and maintaining local infrastructure is much more intensive than managing end-points, but when a platform is accessible from anywhere on many different types of devices, maintaining vigilant policies that dictate user accessibility will go a long way toward keeping your cloud resources secure. 

Understanding Cloud Security

For small business owners, there is something that is relatively unsettling about cloud computing, especially when you consider how much companies have come to depend on those resources. Some businesses run their entire business in the cloud. Consider that, in essence, to manage the financial risk that you would take on by purchasing and managing onsite equipment, you are willing to take on the risk that your hosted solutions are managed and maintained up to your standards. For millions of companies, that transfer of risk pays off, but when it doesn’t, it can be catastrophic. 

That’s why cloud security isn’t just a feature that comes with your business’ cloud platform, it is an ongoing strategy that needs to be maintained.

Consider how you protect the systems you host locally: you control access. You control who can access certain resources, how they can access them, and what types of authentication they need for access. Part of the benefit of cloud resources is its relative ease-of-use, and since cloud resources depend on the transfer of data/resources over an Internet connection, that simplicity can be problematic.

One action you can take to adjust your security strategy is to make cloud platforms a little harder to access. Many cloud services offer solutions for multi-factor authentication. This technology goes beyond the password method by adding an additional step to the sign-on process. After a user enters their login information, instead of accessing the resources, the user will have to put in a randomly generated code to gain access. By adding a step to the sign-on process, the chances are better that the person accessing the platform is authorized to do so.

SMART Services can help you use the cloud from start to finish. Our experts can help you find the cloud platform that meets your organization’s needs and utilize it in the most productive and secure way possible. To learn more, call our IT professionals today at 586 258-0650 .