More and more organizations and businesses of all sizes are adopting the cloud as a preferred technology. Certainly, statistics agree, with the Flexera 2020 State of the Cloud Report indicating organizations are using 2.2 public clouds and 2.2 private clouds on average. As more organizations shift to the cloud, the greater the risk of a cloud security breach that could impact your own business. Correspondingly, IT professionals need to be aware of cloud security concerns and be prepared to take action.
Obviously, there is no way to be prepared for and protected against every single security issue, but a proactive approach goes a long way. You can focus on training and understanding user permissions to make the most of your cloud computing safety and security. Provided that your company has security in mind, including the possibility of working with a managed services provider, you can enjoy all the benefits of the cloud while reducing the risks.
Focus on Training and Testing
Every organization using the cloud has one big weak point: humans. Employees are the source of many security issues. It often comes down to employees not having the right knowledge or resources to be safe.
Training and educating employees is an important line of defense against cloud computing security issues. This should be an ongoing, widespread approach, covering the entire workforce. Additionally, employees need to trust that they can come to IT with any concerns or potential compromises and not face blame.
IT staff can run security tests that simulate security concerns. This is a good way to test the security of a business. If an employee answers a test phishing email, for example, IT will know that there needs to be more focus on that area of cybersecurity.
Ensure Appropriate User Permissions
Whether someone inadvertently causes a problem with data they should not have been accessing, or is acting maliciously, user permissions could prevent these problems. Odds are, most users do not need access to everything on the cloud, including applications and data. Employees simply need access to what they need to do their job. Anything beyond that can have security implications.
Access control ensures that employees get what they need to work, but can’t accidentally edit or delete information. It also ensures that if a hacker discovers employee credentials, they cannot go further into the system.
User permissions also come into play when someone leaves your company. To protect against hacking, credentials of ex-employees should cease to exist. Many companies have discovered the importance of this when an employee has left unhappily and can use credentials for malicious purposes.
If you do not know how to delete permissions or your IT department can’t keep up with configuring user permissions and other day-to-day IT tasks while working on strategy, don’t worry. A managed IT service provider offers exactly this kind of consultation and planning, which we will discuss next.
Work with a Managed IT Service Provider
A managed IT service provider is your single-point contact for IT concerns. When you outsource to experienced, skilled service providers you will have peace of mind that they are handling the back-end security.
Managed IT service providers understand not only security but compliance, in areas like HIPAA and GDPR. If your company grows, services change, or you introduce new technology, the managed service provider should quickly adapt.
Perhaps most importantly, managed service providers are there to monitor cloud security and safety at all hours of the day, no matter where users may be. If anything goes wrong or looks like it might, you have your managed service provider’s assurances of a quick, effective fix.
Finally, managed IT service providers offer an extra layer of protection with backups. While the ideal is to avoid cloud security issues of any kind, a backup is priceless if they do happen. When you have a managed service provider handling your IT, they can set up a robust backup strategy that ensures business continuity.
Tor Technologies is here to provide the managed IT services and/or cloud computing security your company needs. We understand how important it is to have strong data protection policies, proper user permissions, and frequent backups. When we develop a customized plan for you, we’ll be sure to meet all of your security and safety goals.
Tor Technologies is ready to help you with your cloud computing systems and strategies. Contact us today!
Online: https://www.tortechnologies.com
Phone: (808) 797-2100
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tortechnologies