The cloud is a popular choice for businesses that need access to tools to sustain operations, but there is an innate flaw that comes from hosting anything in an online environment: security. Do not pretend that security is not an issue for your cloud-based resources—failing to acknowledge the importance of security could be a fatal mistake for organizations that leverage cloud-based technology resources.
Misconfigured Cloud Settings
Cloud tools and solutions can work quite well, but they need to be set up properly first—particularly in the realm of security. Due to its nature as an accessibility and communication tool, the cloud must ensure that security is kept at the top of mind so as to avoid data breaches and vulnerabilities. Make sure that you are reviewing, checking, and confirming that your cloud’s security settings are correct on a regular basis so as to not put your organization at risk.
Ineffective Access Controls
The cloud allows resources to be accessed from more than one location, a benefit that simplifies remote work and makes it more accessible to small businesses. Your team will need to know how to effectively utilize these resources to ensure they can get the job done, but you must also do your part to allow or restrict access to important data or applications as needed. A cybercriminal can lean into ineffective access controls set by your organization, too, for if they manage to get their hands on credentials for a network administrator or someone with upper-level privileges, you can bet that they can cause a lot of damage. To protect from this, it also helps to build secure passwords.
Targeted Attacks
Look, it’s no secret that there are countless threats out there, but the fact that the workplace has grown exponentially more connected over the past several decades means that there are more avenues than ever for cybercriminals to make their way into your infrastructure. What’s worse, cyberattacks are quite lucrative and easily repeatable, and due to the sheer number of different threats out there, hackers can switch their tactics up based on what they think will be most likely to succeed against your business.
Depending on your type of business and the compliance regulations of your specific industry, a data breach might mean much more than simple data theft. It could mean fines, lost confidence in your market, legal action, and even costly compensation. Other threats might try to harm your productivity, like Denial-of-service attacks and ransomware, with the latter being particularly devastating. You must be prepared for not just the cyberattacks we have outlined here, but for all potential threats that can derail operations. It all starts with a solid preparedness strategy.
Employee Behaviors
Your cloud solutions—especially in regards to security—will only be as effective as the team members that utilize them. If you don’t teach them how to use your solutions in a secure way, you are putting yourself at greater risk of cybercriminal activity. The other side of this is when the employees themselves are the danger, abusing the permissions they have been granted and using them in a way that is destructive to your business. Since the cloud is so accessible, it can be difficult to know when this is happening for your company, but it’s not impossible.
Turn to us for help with dealing with these cloud security challenges.
Industry professionals like GeekBox IT can help your organization identify, prepare for, and respond to cloud security threats. To learn more, reach out to us at (336) 790-1000.