Top 5 Tactics for Improving Cloud Security Hygiene for Businesses
Kutubkhan Bohari | November 22, 2022 | 529 views | Read Time : 05:00 min
In the past couple of years, the world has gone through a rapid digital transformation, which has led to a deeper penetration of modern technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and others.
As a result, smart businesses are shifting their digital resources to the cloud to benefit from features such as streamlined operations, centralized data storage, increased operational flexibility, and hassle-free data transition. As per a study conducted in 2022, nearly 94% of businesses around the world are using at least one cloud service.
Every enterprise possesses large volumes of sensitive data, including financial statements, business designs, employees’ identity information, and others. As organizations worldwide migrate from on-premises working to a remote working model, more data is being stored in the cloud than ever before, making cloud security one of the most crucial aspects for businesses today.
5 Proven Tips to Strengthen Cloud Security Hygiene for Businesses
With the advent of cloudification and the increasing use of cloud-based applications, the prevalence of cybercrime has increased significantly. For instance, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a significant spike in cybercrime, with reports of a 600% increase in malicious emails. Furthermore, a report from the United Nations says that cybercrime will cost the world economy $10.5 trillion every year by 2025.
Even though cloud networks, such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services, have their own data protection measures for securing the cloud services they provide, it does not mean that businesses utilizing these services should rely solely on their security measures and not consider adopting additional measures.
So what are the tactics modern businesses should adopt to improve cloud security hygiene? Let’s see:
Deploy Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
When it comes to keeping hackers out of user accounts and protecting sensitive data and applications used to run a business online, the traditional username and password combination is often not enough.
Leverage MFA to prevent hackers from accessing your cloud data and ensure only authorized personnel can log in to your cloud applications and critical data in your on- or off-premise environment. MFA is one of the most affordable yet highly effective controls to strengthen your business's cloud security.
Manage Your User Access
It is crucial for your business to ensure adequate permissions are in place to protect sensitive data stored on cloud platforms. Not all employees need access to certain applications and documents.
To improve your cloud security and prevent unauthorized access, you need to establish access rights. This not only helps prevent unauthorized employees from accidentally editing sensitive company data but also protects your company from hackers who have stolen an employee's credentials.
Monitor End User Activities
Real-time analysis and monitoring of end-user activity can help you detect anomalies that depart from usual usage patterns, such as logging in from a previously unknown IP address or device.
Identifying these out-of-the-ordinary events can stop hackers and allow you to rectify security before they cause mayhem.
Create a Comprehensive Off-boarding Process
After an employee leaves your firm, they should no longer have access to any company resources, including cloud storage, systems, data, customers, or intellectual property. Unfortunately, completing this vital security duty is sometimes put off until several days or weeks after an employee has left.
Since every employee is likely to have access to a variety of cloud platforms and applications, a systemized deprovisioning procedure can assist you in ensuring that all access permissions for each departing employee are revoked and prevent information leaks.
Provide Regular Anti-Phishing Training to Employees
Hackers can acquire access to protected information by stealing employees' login credentials using social engineering techniques such as phishing, internet spoofing, and social media spying. As a result, cybersecurity has now become a collective responsibility, making comprehensive anti-phishing training necessary to educate your employees about these threats.
As unscrupulous hackers frequently come up with new phishing scams by the day, regular anti-phishing training is essential for developing formidable cloud security.
Bottom Line
Cloud security hygiene no longer consists solely of strong passwords and security checks. Instead, it is a series of innovative procedures that organizations use nowadays to leverage cloud networks. With more businesses moving towards the cloud and cyberattacks on the rise, it is the responsibility of your organization to remain vigilant and protect itself from cyberattacks.