Cloud security is still one of the top concerns for IT leaders. Recent economic realities have led many organizations to push aggressively into digital initiatives, a trend that is expected to continue. However, the threat of data breaches remains unnerving for many companies, who fear what might happen if they fail to safeguard their data.
Over the last year and a half,79% of companies have experienced at least one cloud data breach. Even more alarmingly, 43% have reported 10 or more breaches in that time. With 92% of organizations are currently hosting at least some of their IT environment in the cloud – the scope of such breaches can be massive.
Cloud breaches can also be massively expensive with the least expensive hybrid cloud breaches costing an average of 3.61 million US dollars—28.3% less than public cloud breaches.
While it may be impossible to completely secure your organization from the scope of data breaches, it is possible for organizations to be strategic about cloud security to stay resilient in the face of attacks. Organizations can also secure the help of expert cyber security service providers like IT Consulting New Orleans.
5 Key Elements of a Strongest Cloud Security Strategy
Visibility
Cloud environments are dynamic and change frequently. Organizations that don’t have visibility into these changes can be left exposed to security vulnerabilities. Many organizations have concerns about the lack of visibility into cloud infrastructure.
Dynamic cloud environments make it easy to spin up new workloads at any time and forget these assets once they are no longer needed, but that leaves your environment exposed to security vulnerabilities.
Exposure Management
Maintaining network security requires prioritizing and addressing vulnerabilities that can cause disruption to your business. A strong IT-Security team relationship, in which both groups communicate their respective concerns and work together to achieve a common goal, will enable your organization to better protect itself.
Prevention Controls
Organizations with large on-premises or hybrid environments can struggle to migrate their tools to the cloud because of compatibility issues. They also face new security threats as they expand into the cloud.
Organizations that want to take advantage of hybrid cloud models need to consider the security implications of their expanded IT estate, as well as threats from new attack vectors in a world where threats can come from anywhere.
Detection
Inadequate security can leave your business vulnerable to cyber criminals. Due to a shortage of cybersecurity professionals, many organizations have difficulty detecting breaches in their security.
As of 2020, there was a global shortage of 3 million cybersecurity experts, making it difficult for many organizations to detect breaches and take action against them. To defend against automated attacks, organizations need to be able to constantly monitor their environment or secure the services of a reliable IT Support services provider.
Response
Every business should have a documented plan of action in the event that a data breach occurs. The plan should include clearly defined roles and responsibilities, as well as the names of departments and individuals who are responsible for mitigating the impact and returning to normal business operations.
The plan should also be tested, reviewed, and updated annually. Businesses must take a shared responsibility approach to cloud security. To develop a cloud security strategy that will protect your organization, it’s important that you understand where the provider stops and where your responsibility begins.