The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has disrupted the global economy and forced the workforce to adopt work from home approach. Even as much of the global economy has shut down amid the pandemic, cloud services companies have been the best bet for the big and small enterprises. The current situation has forced such firms to explore a new way of life. It is to note that governments, businesses and all of us have turned to technology as a solution to accommodate the new normal. Cloud plays a major role in keeping up with the speed and efficacy that the current situation demands.
Migrating to Cloud is a fundamental generation shift, more like mainframe to PC and then from PC to the client server, client server to enterprise and enterprise to cloud. While this is not entirely new for a few enterprises, it is still new to most of them. The security threats on the cloud could be very similar to the ones you had or did not have on-prem (on-premises software), but the tools available and the ways to mitigate them vary on the cloud. Basic security oversights, including governance, vulnerabilities and misconfigurations remain the top risk factors organisations must address to secure increasingly cloud-based operations.
Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to address security risks as cloud migration accelerates during COVID-19:
Do’s for cloud security
> Thoroughly research your cloud provider before signing up.
> Be aware of where your data will be stored and what level of encryption will be used. Also, find out who will have access to such things.
> Have a mechanism for retrieving your data.
> Consider having a private cloud environment to mitigate data control and compliance concerns.
> Understand the advanced level of security cloud computing can provide.
> A properly configured cloud solution adds layers of protection that will secure your data more than when it is simply stored on your private network.
Don'ts for cloud security
> Do not go with a cloud provider that is new to network security. Confirm that your cloud provider has a proven track record of keeping data secure.
> Do not neglect security. Most of the organisations switch to cloud even without considering the new security precautions they should keep in mind.
> Don’t be afraid of the cloud. Cloud computing is a new technology that is revolutionising the way businesses configure their networks. It provides levels of scalability and speed that surpass traditional networks.
Dr. Christopher Richard is MD & Chief Cloud Architect, G7 CR Technologies India Pvt Ltd.