Until now, you may have heard the word “cloud.” People now trust the cloud with their data more than storage devices and are prepared to pay to enhance the cloud’s data security and cloud storage. Let’s learn more about the cloud, how it secures data, what it is, and other things.
Cloud enables people to save, manage, and access data and applications online instead to on local servers or desktops.
Cloud service provides data storage, data security, processing power, and other computing resources as a service that people can use remotely over the internet. Quite fascinating, right?
Security in the cloud holds significant importance to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.The hight the data security the high the reliable the cloud is!
But you might be wondering that how secure is cloud Computing?
How secure is the cloud data?! Well, do you remember, when data was stored on secondary devices, the data security concerns were not as serious as they are today. In the worst-case scenarios, the data storage device would be lost or get infected with malware. However, this is not the case with cloud data storage. Security has become a vital concern for cloud data security as businesses and individuals entrust their data to cloud service providers. This is due to some reasons, including the fact that cloud data storage is a service on the internet that is always vulnerable to attacks and data breaches. As a service, you can have additional concerns that your data is being accessed, sold, or misused.
What is Cloud Data security?
Cloud data security can be thought of as the technologies, measures, procedures, and security control practices to protect data stored in cloud computing environments from data loss, theft, leakage, and misused. These measures ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data stored in the cloud.
Accordding to Statista, the graph below shows that the data loss is a major security concern since 2020, and as businesses continue to shift their data to the cloud, security of the data in the cloud becomes more significant.
However, the cloud is a safe place to store data when proper security measures and cloud security governance are implemented. Cloud security governance involves defining policies, roles, responsibilities, and oversight to ensure data in the cloud is protected and compliant with regulations. Furthermore, as security of the data in the cloud is usually achieved through:
- Encryption, those with a digital key or private key can only access the cloud data.
- The lack access by the majority of employees to locations where cloud servers are located.
Isn’t the cloud-based security looks promising?
Let us uncover something unpredicted!
Most of the data risks are not from cloud service providers or hackers! Shocking right? These risks exists with in the organization, based on Netwrix the majority of security threats were from the business users.
What you can do is to ensure top But always be safe with online services and providers; thus, a reputable cloud based services like BrightData and Crawlbase that stores all your scraped data into the cloud and keep it secure , strong passwords, and two-factor authentication are essential for securing data in the cloud against potential security threats to cloud data. Moreover, you should also ensure that your cloud storage solution complies with the data privacy regulations in your jurisdiction.
According to Statistica 60% corporate data is stored on cloud as per 2022. While, 89% of companies use both public and private clouds to store their data and in total there are 3.6 billion cloud users in the world. Also, 72% of companies view cloud migration as a digital revolution and maintain it as a top priority because it will ultimately affect their data cloud security and offer additional advantages like flexibility, financial benefits, etc.
According to Norton’s 2022 Cyber Safety Insights report, shows that the 71% of businesses and individuals employ the data security practices to achieve high cloud based security. from potential data breaches and risks. Moreover, Fortinet cloud report of 2022, and forcepoint Cloud Security Report of 2020, shows that 95% of organizations are concerned about their cloud based security.
Is the Is Data Not Safe in the Cloud?
Data in Cloud is generally safe. Cloud service providers implement robust security measures, but there is no guarantee of cloud based security. as no system is foolproof. Despite the security measures, there may be potential security threats to cloud data that could result in unauthorized access or data breaches.
Moreover, cloud services should not be blindly trusted, as data in the cloud can be lost or become unavailable if there is a problem with their service or technical difficulties. To mitigate these risks, incorporating offsite tape vaulting as part of your backup strategy ensures you have a secure, physical copy of your data stored in a separate location, providing an additional layer of protection and recovery options.
Pro tip: Always have a backup plan available.
However, choosing a reputable cloud service provide and implementing additional security measures are the key which can help you enhance cloud based security.Boost your cloud security strategy with insights from Google Cloud consulting
According to Gartner, customer-related concerns include incorrect configurations, poor security monitoring, bad access management procedures, poor data management, missing cloud upgrades, and a lack of cloud security expertise are to responsible for 95% of big data cloud security failures in big companies.
Is Cloud more secure than on-premise?
Yes, the cloud is considered to be more secure than on-premsie storages as the cloud is cheaper than on-premise and uses the most robust security strategies and measures to provide cloud-based security and privacy to your private data.
The main focus of on-premises data security is securing the infrastructure, networks, and computers found within an on-premises site. This involves creating technical security measures for servers and other on-site equipment, such as firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), and antivirus software.
While cloud data security involves a combination of procedures, techniques, measures, and security controls that are in use to protect data and infrastructure in cloud-based environments.
For your clarification, let’s see the difference between cloud and on-premise security.
According to Gartner cloud security is better than on-premise servers if used properly due to better security management, high standards of security, proactive in identifying vulnerabilities and conducting patch management and data encryption practices while storing data on the cloud. These factors ultimately enhance cloud security.
But, can cloud providers access cloud data?
Painfully, yes! in most of the cases.
There are some reasons for this:
- As the data is encrypted using private keys which the either the user knows or the cloud provider knows!
- In the case of disasters and power outages, the cloud service providers copy your data to multiple locations for your easy access and high availability, but … you guessed it right!
However, the specific details of data management, encryption, and access control can vary depending on the cloud provider’s terms and conditions, and it’s essential to review the terms and conditions of the cloud service provider you are using.
Security Threats to cloud Data
Let’s look at the security threats to cloud data that directly affect the cloud data security. The following are the major security threats to cloud data:
- Data breaches: Unauthorized access to cloud data that uncovers or breaches confidential information, such as financial or private data, ultimately resulting in financial loss or reputation.
- Misconfigurations: Incorrect configuration of cloud resources, services, or privileges, which may result in data breach or unauthorized access to cloud data.
- Lack of cloud security architecture and strategy: The lack of an organized security architecture and plan for the cloud environment, which leaves gaps and vulnerabilities that could be used by malicious actors very easily.
- Poor access and identity management: Lack management and control of access privileges, permissions, and authentication systems in the cloud environment, which could result in unwanted access or password guessing and results in ….. you guessed it right!
- Insecure APIs and interfaces: Vulnerabilities or incorrect configurations in the code APIs, interfaces, and code that could allow unwanted access, data manipulation, or data exposure.
- Limited Visibility: Lack of network management monitoring and insight within the cloud environment makes it difficult to quickly identify and address security issues.
- Human Error: The security of cloud data can be at risk by mistakes, carelessness, or unintended activities of cloud users or service providers.
Let us tell you that, the biggest security threat in cloud data is non other than due to unauthorized access to data!
How to secure cloud data?
Uptill now, we have learned the importance of cloud data security and cloud based security. The level of data cloud security aspect in the cloud holds significant importance in enhancing the cloud provider’s reliability.
The higher the level of data cloud security the more reliable the the cloud is!
You might be wondering that cloud ensures users security then how it has threat to the cloud data based security. There are number of reasons for this as because no technology or system is 100% secure and intruders are very smart and always find a weak spot. Weak spots in cloud data security can be flaws in the cloud architecture, improper configurations, unsecured APIs, access controls not handled well, built-in erorrs or human mistake. Since, Cleverload depicts that the 79% of attacks were just targeted to get access to the user data and 59% were targeted to get acces to the business data.
Opps! Is the cloud secure for business?!
According to Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report of 2022, 25% of information security officers are not happy with their organization’s big data’s cloud security due to the security threats to cloud data which mainly due to the lack of professionals in the field of in information security.
Businesses need to be extra careful with their cloud data security as their cloud data is being managed by multiple team members with different devices and could be from different locations. In these cases, securing data in cloud can be a complex task. Strict and robust security measures, including cloud security best practices, can enhance your cloud-based security.
To ensure the cloud data security, let us discuss some some top ways to achieve higher levels of data cloud security. Although cloud service providers use encryption for securing data in the cloud by defualt , however, it is always a good idea to take additional measures on your end.
1. Optimize access management
You should manage your access channels to your cloud, ny making the password extremely strong. Moreover, you should regularly monitor the access prililages to reduce the data storage risks in cloud. Most of the time, 81% security breaches are due to weak passwords as 13%of people reueses the same password for all of their online accounts.
2. Use multi-factor Authentication
Add an extra layer of security authentication to your cloud that requires you or the people having access to the cloud to provide a PIN or code to reduce the risk of unauthorized access due to weak or compromised passwords. According to Microsoft, the use of multi-factor authentication can help you prevent 99.9 percent of security breaches on your accounts.
3. Read the terms and conditions of the Cloud
Before trusting your data with any cloud provider, it is essential to read its terms and conditions of cloud security, as they will provide you with detailed insights on how the service is securing data in the cloud, how it will combat to potential risks of the cloud, and most importantly, whether they ask for your consent to use or sell your data to provide information if required by the legal authorities.
4. Configure privacy settings
Configure the privacy settings to make sure that your data is not shared with the applications with which you have connected to the cloud server. And to further improve the privacy and security of your data, keep an eye on them and make sure they’re configured securely once every few weeks. You can increase your confidence further if you also carry out tests to ensure everything is set up correctly. Explore this overview of network penetration testing to get the lowdown.
5. Keep a backup of your data
Maintaining frequent backups of your data is a good measure to ensure data availability and recoverability in case of any data loss, security incidents, or disasters.
6. Refrain from uploading Confidential information
The data you upload to the cloud should be carefully considered because cloud managers may access it. If your security codes, passwords, or financial information are stored on the cloud, there will certainly be a problem because if there is a security breach, hackers will have easy access to the rest of your data. As explained above, business users are a significant threat to your cloud data.
Moreover, according to a survey by the Cloud Security Alliance, 67% of firms already store confidential material in public clouds in 2022, up from 33% of companies that did so in 2019.
Final thoughts
From secondary storage devices to cloud data storage, there was a huge shift in managing and storing data, as well as proving security. Cloud-based security is no doubt a new data cloud security strategy that is gaining popularity day by day. Individuals and businesses are looking forward to trusting the cloud with their data.
Crawlbase cloud storage services provide you with everything you need; with their storage API, you can search, store, and even scale the storage capacity depending on your needs. Moreover, they back up and clean your cloud space for you so you can focus on your business goals. For their smart cloud storage services and cloud proxy, they have smart and affordable pricing plans which you can choose according to your storage needs.
In this blog, we have discussed the top security measures that are essential for securing data in the cloud. Moreover, while choosing a cloud security provider, look for a reputable provider that uses industry-standard encryption methods to protect your cloud data and doesn’t misuse or access it.
FAQS
Is the cloud safe from hackers?
The data that you save with cloud storage is safe, but it is not immune to hackers or security breaches because hackers are evolving their tactics and always targeting weak points or vulnerabilities Therefore, it is important to implement security practices to secure cloud security.
Is cloud storage safe for photos?
Cloud storage is secure for images when compared to secondary storage devices. These devices, which may be lost or damaged, pose a greater risk. Additionally, since cloud services are internet-based, regular backups and monitoring will protect your photos.
Is data on the cloud always secure?
The data you upload to a cloud is not always completely safe, it is still the most effective and secure way to store your data, which includes files, images, and other digital data. Despite the best security methods being used in securing data in the cloud, there is always a possibility of security vulnerabilities. But it also depends on the kind of data kept in the cloud, the security precautions users have employed, and, most importantly, the security precautions taken by the cloud service provider itself. To increase data cloud security, customers must therefore adopt additional security precautions such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, and data backups.
Is it safe to store personal data in the cloud?
Data stored in the cloud is typically more protected than data stored on storage devices since cloud service providers take numerous security measures to secure user data stored on the cloud. Moreover, cloud data is safe as long as you follow to security procedures at your end too.
Can my data be hacked on the cloud?
Although cloud service providers implement many security measures at their end and ask users to implement additional security measures at their ends to get high security for cloud data, your account can still get hacked because no technology or system is 100% secure. Thus, your data on the cloud can be hacked. If hackers figure out your password, they can enter your account, compromise all of your cloud data, and utilise the cloud infrastructure to access other accounts as well.
