It was back in the 1960s when the idea of network-based computing was conjured by J.C.R. Licklider, who was an American psychologist and computer scientist. But the term ‘cloud computing’ was not coined until 2006 when the then Google CEO Eric Schmidt presented it at an industry conference.
If the purported numbers hold, within the next 19 years, i.e., by 2025, over 100 zettabytes of data will be stored in the cloud. While the growth has been enormous, it has not been without caveats and threats. With the IT teams strapped for resources and consistently looking to fulfill the ever-increasing demand, there are a plethora of stakeholders who are not sold on the security benefits and compliances offered by cloud computing.
So, we thought of pointing out some of the significant security benefits that the cloud offers for organizations across the globe.
What Does Cloud Security Mean
Cloud security refers to a collection of procedures and technology designed to address threats, external or internal, to a business and its operations on the cloud. It involves multiple control levels placed within the network infrastructure to ensure optimum protection for assets owned by the organization on the cloud, such as web applications and websites. Every organization expects regulatory compliance, data security, DDoS protection, and other stringent measures from the cloud provider they partner with.
The Need for Compliance in Cloud Computing
Cloud compliance refers to the need to comply with the regulatory standards of cloud usage per industry guidelines in partnership with local, national, and international laws. For this, cloud providers set shared compliance responsibilities that help tie together a myriad of service features with applicable compliance or audit-based requirements. The most popular assurance programs include ISO 9001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, FISMA, and DIACAP, and there are a plethora of different standards according to the industry you operate that can be relevant to help you optimize your efforts and ensure data integrity. Compliance with these standards ensures optimum security to enable businesses to function in the cloud ecosystem smoothly.
Top Security Benefits of Cloud Computing
With almost half of the global businesses keeping their sensitive and confidential information on the cloud, including standard and encrypted data, it becomes all the more vital to focus on security. In addition, the growth of SaaS, IaaS, and other similar computing models has further brought about a host of challenges and made it difficult for them to keep their data secure.
With more and more organizations making the cloud an integral part of their operations, third-party cloud computing providers need to understand how to tighten the lid and ensure optimum data security. They usually follow industry best security practices to help establish accountability and maintain server integrity to prevent data leakage. In addition, organizations that transition to the cloud are also responsible for keeping their data secure and need to have their consideration to protect workloads and applications running on the cloud.
Thankfully, the recent developments in this space have ensured a reinforced focus on cloud security, and here are the significant benefits on offer –
Centralized Management
Organizations are often guilty of keeping their data in such a manner, which increases the chances of nefarious activities exposing them to unwanted hands. But when the focus is on cloud security, companies automatically start centralizing their data which contributes to better control implementation, improved visibility, and thereby higher resilience to attacks. It further contributes to improved disaster recovery and business continuity, optimizing the entire operation cycle.
Improved Reliability
94% of businesses saw an improvement in security and data reliability after switching to the cloud. When you focus on cloud security, you also focus on managing data integrity. While most organizations are reluctant to accept internal data theft, it is vital to understand that it is common and has plagued several top brands worldwide. So brands inculcate IAM (Identity and Access Management) and other necessary controls to prevent perpetrators from gaining access to sensitive organizational data and degrading it. It establishes higher data reliability making it more usable for decision making.
Updated Services
76% of brands measure their cloud progress based on cost efficiency and the money they save because of cloud initiatives. With regular software updation costing a bomb, it has been one of the significant bottlenecks preventing organizations from updating their security regularly. Unpatched software is one of the top causes of malware infections globally, and it has been a sore thumb for organizations of all sizes and types.
Shifting to the cloud provides them with the benefit of regular updates as cloud providers offer routine patches which can be installed without keeping the services without any significant downtime. In a time when most of your operations are online and a lot of your workers are still operating remotely, regular updates are priceless and help in maintaining your efficiency.
DDoS Protection
The Q1 2022 saw a 46% increase in the number of DDoS attacks compared to the last quarter and a 4.5x increase compared to the same time-period in 2021. In recent years, the most prolonged DDoS attack recorded has lasted for 292 hours. These attacks not only force a business to lose millions of dollars they can also result in them losing their customer’s faith. The cloud, being one of the primary targets of DDoS attacks, focusing on its security would enable brands to train, dedicate, and prevent their resources from DDoS at all possible costs.
Drive Cloud Security with Cloudlytics
With increasing online operations and a focus on going remote, more resources swiftly transition to the cloud. However, while it offers increased flexibility for operations, it also poses a higher risk to data integrity. As a result, brands would need to focus more on improving visibility, compliance, and agility to ensure the optimum security of their resources.
In such cases, the third-party cloud provider also plays a crucial role in keeping your data safeguarded. At Cloudlytics, we offer a compliance manager focusing on identifying, prioritizing, and remediating compliance risks at the earliest. In addition, we have event analytics and an embedded cloud intelligence engine to ensure optimum security for your sensitive organizational data.
