Businesses are facing a challenge with their enterprise computing. Should they go to the cloud or keep their data on a “secure” in-house server?
Every time a major data breach is reported (e.g., Target in 2013, Home Depot in 2014), decision-makers challenge the cloud’s security.
In reality, those data breaches were caused by human error, not a fault in the cloud.
In the case of Target, the hacker stole a third party’s access.
At Home Depot, it was a vendor’s login that was fraudulently used to slip into the network and install malware to bypass the retailer’s antivirus software.
Here’s four reasons why moving your enterprise computing to the cloud is safer than relying on your legacy, on-site system:
Your cloud service provider monitors the servers 24/7. They have the infrastructure to focus wholly on the health and security of the network.
The public cloud’s security is updated more often than your own. Your IT staff has a myriad of tasks to manage. How often do they tend to upgrades?
The businesses that manage cloud servers invest in security measures that are more intensive and sophisticated than corporate IT departments use. They integrate state-of-the-art encryption technology, compliance standards, and identity-based policies. These providers conduct ongoing vulnerability testing. Because of the size of these businesses, they can afford to invest in such technologies, because the ROI is faster with the volume they serve. An individual company probably can’t justify that cost.
Along the same vein, these providers have established proactive measures to not just reduce and detect breaches, but initiate a rapid response to mitigate the damage.
According to AlertLogics State of the Cloud Security Report, users of on-site servers experienced an average of 61.4 attacks. Public cloud users averaged 27.8.
“Control does not mean security. The physical location of your data matters less than the means of access,” explains David Linthicum, of Cloud Technology Partners.
“Systems built without the same rigor around security won’t be as secure, whether they are cloud or not. So, the best practice here is to focus on a well-defined and executed security strategy with the right enabling technology. Don’t focus as much on the platform.”
Before you decide whether or not to move your enterprise computing to the cloud—as a whole or in part—be clear as to the security features that must be provided.
