Protecting Your Business: A Guide to Cloud Security Strategies

As a business, keeping the information and apps that you’re using in the cloud secure requires a thorough understanding of your unique needs and potential vulnerabilities. Here are some key steps to consider when developing a cloud security strategy:

• Identify And Classify Sensitive Data

The first step is to identify and classify the data stored in your cloud solutions. This is crucial as different types of data may require different levels of security measures. For example, customer information or financial records will need higher levels of protection compared to internal memos, general business documents or archival information.

• Access And Authentication Controls

Controlling access to your cloud services is critical in preventing unauthorised parties from compromising sensitive data. And by unauthorised parties, we’re not just referring to cybercriminals – mitigating internal threats and reducing the risk of human error can also play a huge role in protecting your data. Using security methods like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and implementing role-based access control are vital components of a robust cloud security strategy. Partnering with a trusted technology provider like Solid Systems can ensure that your Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions are both up-to-date and continuously monitored for suspicious activity.

Want to learn more about MFA? Check out our downloadable infographic.

• Data Encryption And Tokenisation

Encrypting data stored in the cloud is essential in protecting its confidentiality. Encryption involves converting information into code, which adds a layer of protection which is critical, particularly when it comes to sensitive information. While encrypted data can still become compromised during an attack, it will remain unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the decryption key, reducing the risk of the sensitive information being leaked or exposed.

In a similar way, tokenisation can also protect data by replacing sensitive information with unique identifiers, rather than storing the details themselves. This helps reduce the risk of data breaches and minimises the potential impact if one were to occur.

• Network Security And Segmentation

With hybrid and multi-cloud environments becoming increasingly popular, data is being spread across different providers and apps, which can make it difficult to keep track of which information is being accessed by which platform. Throw in the fact that Shadow IT is on the rise – a practice where your humans are finding solutions that help them to do their work more effectively, but without you knowing which apps they are using – and it’s easy to understand why network security is rising in importance. This makes securing your network with a hybrid cloud strategy a crucial consideration for any business

It has become essential to have proper visibility and control over your network traffic. Implementing measures like firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems can reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your network. And setting up a Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) can help you to maintain visibility on which apps are accessing your data, and limit their access to critical or sensitive information.

Segmentation is another network secure technique that plays a vital role in limiting the impact of potential breaches. By dividing your network into smaller sections, you can limit the exposure of sensitive data and minimise the potential damage if one area is compromised. This also allows for easier monitoring and management of network traffic, as well as providing a layered approach to security.

• App Security

With more business adopting cloud-based apps than ever before, securing them has become a top priority. I’ve already mentioned the risk that Shadow IT adds to your network security, and it’s important to ensure that you know which apps are being used by each of your teams, and that they are as secure as possible. Some potential security measures that you could implement include putting proper access controls, like IAM solutions, in place to manage which of your humans have access to the apps you use, and which data the apps can access.

The data encryption that I mentioned earlier is also critical when it comes to app security. Even if a breach occurs, encryption means that the information will be unreadable without the proper decryption key.

• Incident Response And Disaster Recovery

Despite all of your best efforts, you may still fall victim to a security breach. That’s why having an incident response and Disaster Recovery Plan in place is crucial for any cloud security strategy. This will ensure that you have the necessary procedures and protocols in place to effectively respond to and quickly recover from a potential attack or data breach.

• Monitoring And Auditing

In order to fully understand and assess the effectiveness of your cloud security strategy, it’s important to have proper monitoring and auditing processes in place. This involves regularly reviewing logs and reports from various security tools and services, as well as conducting regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing.

Luckily, you don’t have to tackle this on your own. This is, once again, where having a reliable cybersecurity and technology management partner can be an invaluable asset. When you work with Solid Systems, for example, we don’t just implement technology and security solutions. We also manage and monitor them on your behalf, giving you the peace of mind that you need to work effectively and focus on furthering your business, while trusting that your security needs are being taken care of.