Your Work in the Cloud Is Actually Pretty Secure

Grazed from VMblog.com. Author: Kayla Matthews

Cloud computing is everywhere. Even industry leaders like Google and Apple store content in the cloud. One common misconception is that cloud computing – or the act of storing your data on remote servers – is not very secure. Many IT professionals adhere to the sentiment that cloud computing poses a significant security risk.

Strangely enough, with all the concern about security being lax, the IT industry has bulked up security for cloud computing. Let’s take a closer look at why the public cloud is much more secure than a local data center.

Public Cloud Services Are Up-to-Date on Security

Due to the nature of computing, security is always shifting and evolving. When it boils down, most enterprises don’t have the budget to stay on the frontline. They don’t have the money to continuously deploy new and more advanced security measures or update their systems.

But cloud providers don’t have a choice, so they are proactively updating their security.

Think about it: If you know of a cloud service that’s been attacked, you’re not going to use them. If you already are, you’re going to move your data to a service that’s more secure. Cloud-service companies must be on top of their security, otherwise they will hemorrhage customers.

Seventeen percent of enterprises have more than 1,000 VMs deployed in the public cloud, which is an increase of 13 percent since 2015. And how many profile hacks have cropped up on the radar that involved a breach of a cloud computing service? Not many. In most cases, breaches happen because of a weakness in an internal IT system or private cloud that’s not secure enough.

They Are Better Prepared to Deal With a Breach

If and when a breach occurs, cloud platforms are better prepared to deal with an attack. The necessary hardware is available to perform backups, which they regularly perform anyway. In addition, they have a unique system that can be updated easily and efficiently to handle threats.

Preventative maintenance is key, but that means preparing before something happens instead of after the fact. Most enterprises don’t engage in adequate preventative maintenance, and they don’t have the budget to do so.

Cloud companies service a growing population of customers and enterprises, so they need to be prepared to handle possible problems. Companies like Nordic Backup utilize multiple redundant gigabit internet connections to prevent downtime.

They Are Much More Efficient

In addition to being prepared for potential breaches, cloud-based services can also be used to make traditional forms of software even more efficient. For example, kanban-scheduling software service Kanbanize lets you integrate Google Drive into your project management system. This boosts efficiency because the service provider doesn’t have to concern itself with additional data storage and security measures but you still get the option to streamline your projects.

Essentially, these kinds of integrations split up the responsibility of cloud computing. The software provider can focus on its own platforms and security, while the cloud service handles the security and performance of its cloud storage platform.

Many cloud computing platforms work this way, using collaboration to boost security and efficiency. It’s a feature that most internal networks and platforms cannot offer.

On-Premises Environments Are Targeted More Often

Believe it or not, companies that employ an on-premises environment experience an average of 61.4 attacks, while companies that use a cloud service provider experience a much lower average of 27.8 attacks. Parties with an on-premises environment deal with more brute force attacks than those with a service provider.

What does this mean? Internal platforms and local data centers are targeted more often, and there’s a reason for this: They tend to be less secure.

Nothing Is Completely Secure

Cloud environments aren’t impossible to hack, but the point is that cloud providers have done a better job securing their systems because they have access to technology that allows for it. The average enterprise, on the other hand, does not.

It doesn’t matter whether the environment is cloud-based or on-premises – both will always be vulnerable to attacks. There’s no way to make a system invulnerable, but with the proper planning and preventative maintenance, security can become less of a concern.

Cloud service providers are better at engaging in appropriate planning and preventative maintenance, and they have the available resources to do so.

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