Cloud Data Protection: Best Practices 2022
Though the cloud provides a fast, secure way to do business, cloud storage challenges present new obstacles for security and compliance in the remote and hybrid workplace.
Best practices combine employee education and the application of best practices and security policies on every level, research on cloud partners and their capabilities, an honest evaluation of stored data and existing policies, and intimate knowledge of applicable regulation. Not an easy hurdle to overcome, but a critical one.
What Is Cloud Data Protection
Cloud data protection) is the practice of securing a company’s data in a cloud environment. But with many cloud data security challenges to overcome, it’s easier said than done.
Why Is Cloud Data Security Important?
Just as unsecured premises and an open safe represent easy opportunities for criminals, unsecured cloud data offers a treasure trove of sensitive information to hackers and cybercriminals, who grow bolder and more active every year. Added cloud data security can aid in defences against attackers.
It’s Proactive
Proper cloud security isn’t a one-and-done solution. Cybercriminals invent new ways to attack your company and your employees every day. A good set of cloud security best practices adapts to new techniques as they emerge and future-proofs online measures to prevent new attacks before they happen.
It’s Scalable
Your security needs expand with your company and the volume of data you use. Cloud storage easily expands with your company’s storage needs, and data protection infrastructure must scale right along with it.
It Can Help You Stay Compliant with Data Governance Programs like GDPR or the Cloud Act
Global legislators have begun to recognise the importance of data privacy and protection for their citizens and are enacting powerful regulations to ensure the data you obtain remains safe and secure.
Breaches, violations, and failure to meet these stringent (but necessary) requirements lead to fines, further scrutiny, and loss of consumer trust. Data privacy laws and governance regulations have risen over the year, including the passage of the following:
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act)
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- California Consumer Privacy Act
- California Privacy Rights Act
- Consumer Data Protection Act
- Colorado Privacy Act
It’s Cost Effective
As a growing industry that provides vital security, cloud protection services are ready to compete and offer cost-effective solutions to match the ease and affordability of cloud storage itself.
Cloud Data Protection Challenges
Most companies use a third-party service for their cloud storage solutions. While it’s wise to let the experts take over, it’s equally wise to acknowledge the vulnerabilities.
You may not know where your customers’ data is stored and must rely on your provider’s word that it’s safe, secure, and in the location they claim it is.
Miscommunications between you and your provider and a potential lack of compliance standards on their end can create vulnerabilities that fall back on you — as the customer, your data security is your responsibility.
Cloud Data Protection Trends 2022
Fortunately, new services and best practices are continuing to emerge and develop. Criminals always innovate, and those of us who fight them do too.
Supply Chains and Third-Party Tools Become Targets
No one company can do it all, no matter how hard it tries. From payment processors to the supply chain, working with third parties is one of the costs of doing business. But like cloud providers, these third parties may lack knowledge of the regulations and duty of care that you require.
Because your partners are privy to your day-to-day operations, you must provide at least some information for them to work for you. However, they are vulnerable and can suffer a breach regardless of your internal security measures.
If you reduce the amount of data that you provide to your partners and ensure you release only the information necessary for them to work for you, you can limit your liability and their exposure, thereby keeping systems on both ends safe.
On-Premises Security Investment as Offices Open
Return to office has been a slow, staggered process, and many companies have elected to go fully or partially remote for weeks or years to come. Over the past few years, IT security has shifted focus to remote device security and must now cover both.
Criminals know that now is the time to strike. Scouring onsite networks for vulnerabilities before adding new and sensitive data has become critical. Ensure firewall and malware scanners are up to date with the latest trends, and re-educate employees on the dangers of phishing and other scams.
Paying Down Security Debt
Security is an investment, but it can be difficult to find the money to invest after a previous breach. Fines cut a hefty and unexpected slice out of the annual budget, and well-publicized breaches harm the bottom line.
Customers want their data to be secure and will take their business elsewhere if they feel their trust in you has been violated. Now is not the time to suffer from a lack of growth.
While it’s better to be proactive and never suffer a breach at all, continued investment in the aftermath of a breach is well worth the additional cost. It shows you’ve learned your lesson and aim to improve in the future, which reassures customers and shows hackers that you refuse to be vulnerable again.
Cloud Immaturity Will Make You a Target
Those who are unprepared for an attack are at the greatest risk of suffering one. Cybercriminals know how to probe defences to look for weaknesses.
If you have just begun cloud migration efforts, you are at your most vulnerable. That’s before considering other things that can expose your enterprise operation to attackers, including:
- Still relying primarily on on-premises data storage
- Not having automatic backups in place
- Being without a business continuity and backup plan
- Failing to customise policies on vital data to narrow who can access it
The chaos and confusion of a change as data moves from one location to the next means you leave your customers’ sensitive information vulnerable. Do not be lax and do your research before any move or upgrade.
Hackers seek out those just beginning to move to cloud storage and protection. Failures in the human element remain a leading cause of cybersecurity breaches. Before you commit, do your research and be ready to react to shut down any breaches as soon as they happen.
Cloud Security Best Practices 2022
The best cloud security solutions offer 99.999% uptime to limit downtime chaos that can make your data vulnerable. Research cloud storage solutions certified for relevant data compliance and continue to encrypt files, use two-factor authentication, and monitor ingoing and outgoing traffic.
The new hybrid workplace requires new vigilance, with strong, regularly changing passwords, locked-down endpoint access, and limited permissions to contain the damage from compromised accounts.
Scale Your Cloud Service According to Growth
As your business operations grow, you will undoubtedly bring in more data. With enterprise cloud storage, this will be a range of information from highly confidential data to vital data needed to maintain operations should a ransomware attack ever occur. Don’t leave your data vulnerable due to a lack of storage bandwidth.
Cloud storage services such as Seagate Lyve Cloud automatically scale alongside your data usage, providing the flexibility your enterprise needs to stay protected without the panic of remembering to manually scale.
Regularly Set and Update Policies on Object Storage
With S3 storage, users can set policies around particular objects and buckets, which customises who (and who can’t) view certain information. Setting policies not only places restrictions on who can access data but on who can edit or delete data as well, delivering an additional layer of protection. Lyve Cloud is compatible with existing S3 storage, providing an intuitive interface through which users can set up and manage these policies.
Partner Existing Cloud Data Services with Storage Services
If you are already using software like Veeam or Commvault to satisfy cloud storage or disaster recovery needs, you can partner these existing services with additional cloud storage to elevate security.
Continuously Revise and Train on Your Business Continuity Plan
Upgrading your data protection tools and software is the first step in ensuring your enterprise operation complies with a sufficient level of security. It is also important to not only develop but update your internal disaster recovery and business continuity plans according to cloud upgrades made. Additionally, invest time into developing training around these plans and implementing it company-wide to ensure all employees are on the same page.
Explore how Lyve Cloud can enhance your cloud data protection best practices in 2022.
