Three Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Data in the Cloud

Moving to the cloud offers tremendous benefits for SMBs that can range from lower IT costs to anytime access to data and certainly more reliability in terms of uptime. But, data in the cloud is also vulnerable to security threats just like the data stored on physical servers. This blog discusses three things you can do to protect your data in the cloud

Secure Access: The first step would be to secure access to your data in the cloud. So, how do you go about it? Safeguard your login credentials-your user IDs and passwords-from prying eyes. Set strong password policies that are practiced across the board and educate your employees about good password hygiene. Also, do you have employees using their own devices to access their work-related applications and documents? Do you have staff working from home? Then, you also need to formulate strong BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Device) policies, so these devices don’t end up as the entry point to cybercriminals.

Educate Your Employees: What’s the first thing that pops into your head when someone talks about cybercrime? You probably picture some unknown person, a tech-whiz sitting behind a computer in a dark room, trying to steal your data. But surprising as it may seem, the first and probably the biggest threat to your data and IT security in general, comes from your employees! Malicious employees may do you harm on purpose by stealing or destroying your data, but oftentimes, employees unwittingly become accomplices to cybercrime. For example, forwarding an email with an attachment that contains a virus, or clicking on a phishing link unknowingly and entering sensitive information therein or compromising on security when they share passwords or connect to an unsecured or open WiFi at public places such as a coffee shop or the airport with a view to “get things done”, but, without realizing how disastrous the implications of such actions can be. Enroll your employees in ongoing security training to keep them on their toes.

Choosing the Right Cloud Service Provider: If you are putting your data in the cloud, you need to make sure that it is in safe hands. As such, it is your cloud service provider’s responsibility to ensure your data is secure and, accessible, always. But, are they doing all that is needed to ensure this happens? It is very important to choose a trustworthy cloud service provider because you are essentially handing over all your data to them. So, apart from strengthening your defenses, you need to check how well-prepared they are to avert the threats posed by cybercriminals.

Complete cloud security is a blend of all these plus internal policies, best practices, and regulations related to IT security, and of course, the MSP you choose to be your cloud security provider plays a key role in all this.