OK, you’ll need more information than just a simple yes. But, for those busy people with a To-Do list a mile long, there’s your answer; yes, the Cloud can help with the cybersecurity and physical security of your technology infrastructure and important data.
Before we dive into this topic a bit deeper, let’s understand what the Cloud actually is. The Cloud is just a fancy, industry buzzword for a technology infrastructure that resides in a central location; it can be private (no one else but you) or multi-tenant (you share with others).
The Cloud is a collection of computing devices that reside outside of your office or off your physical computer. Pretty simple? Trust me; IT people can make things more complicated.
How does the Cloud help with security? Here are some of the main ways:
1. Professionally Managed: Cloud infrastructure services are managed by a team of professional technical experts. Did you hear about the recent Capital One data breach? It was human error that caused that massive data breach; a misconfigured open source firewall. If you trust your IT infrastructure to a team of professional cloud experts, these issues become a thing of the past.
2. Enhanced Business Continuity: Not all security issues can be avoided. After all, there is no such thing as 100% security. We like to think we come pretty close, but nothing can be 100% secure. The bad guys out there will always find a way in. A few years ago, the San Francisco Municipal Railroad lost millions in revenue from a ransomware attack. How do you protect against issues like this? A professionally managed cloud service will have enhanced business continuity measures in place to ensure, if a breach occurs, it can be locked down quickly and restored even faster.
3. Better Physical Security: Keep the bad guys out. Not just over the Internet, but physically keep them out. Serious players in the cloud services community invest millions of dollars in physical security from secure locations, biometric security solutions, locked cabinets, facial recognition systems and much more. I’m sure we all heard the saying “secure as Fort Knox.” Many of the world’s top cloud service providers are as secure as Fort Knox or more.
4. Employee Security Training: Just ask AT&T about the importance of training and trust for their employees. Just recently a Pakistani man was charged with bribing AT&T employees to plant malware on their devices. How do you protect against this? One way is to make sure your team members undergo cybersecurity awareness training, and they practice the “see something, report it” security mindset.
These are just a few ways the Cloud (and more) help keep your business secure. Remember, nothing is 100% secure. But having your technology investments in the Cloud is 100% more secure than keeping them in your office or in the basement of your home. Invest in the protection of your business IT systems starting today.
