Today’s businesses are turning toward cloud services to carry out important functions. Whether enabling remote work or improving logistics and scalability, cloud solutions are vital in the modern landscape. And how do you keep cloud options secure, namely, “What is cloud security?”
Just like with other emerging technologies, businesses must now ensure that they’re taking the right steps to implement cloud computing security measures to prevent data theft and cyber attacks.
In this article, we will answer the question “What is cloud security?” by explaining the functions and importance of having a dependable cloud security solution for your business.
What is Cloud Security?
If you’re new to cloud computing, you might be asking, “What is cloud security?” It’s an integral component of an organization’s overall cyber security practices that serves to protect data and applications in cloud environments.
Cloud security is a broad category that focuses on preventing unauthorized access and data breaches across a variety of infrastructures and services.
Your business might make use of public cloud services, including software as a service (SaaS) applications, that are accessed through various platforms.
While these services will have their own internal security controls, the link between your organization and the service requires the right network security protocols.
Your business could also be implementing private cloud services with an environment specifically for your needs.
These types of services can rely on third-party data centers for resources or be managed and operated internally. Hybrid cloud services are a combination of both private and public services.
When your business implements private cloud services, the security responsibilities fall solely on your organization. You’ll need to answer questions like “What is infrastructure security in cloud computing?” and “What is data security in cloud computing?” to develop a robust security approach.
In many cases, ensuring proper cloud security can be beyond the scope of your internal IT teams. In that case, you can rely on support from professionals to develop and implement a solution to protect your cloud systems from a wide range of security threats.
Find the Right Cloud Security Solution for Your Business
Reduce your risk from data breaches and unauthorized access by partnering with Protek.
The Importance of Cloud Security
You might be wondering, “What is cloud computing security, and why is it so important?” Cloud computing security protects your business against a wide variety of negative and potentially catastrophic outcomes.
If your business handles or manages any kind of sensitive data, you need to be sure that you have the right practices in place to ensure that your data never falls into the wrong hands.
With on-premises systems, access control is much more straightforward. Access to the building or specific devices provides an effective barrier against many security threats.
However, cloud services rely on off-site networks. Without the proper amount of protection in place, your data in the cloud will not be safe.
According to IBM’s 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach to a business in the United States is $9.44 million.
While this varies depending on the size of your business and the nature of the data theft, it paints a clear picture of the potential consequences of not prioritizing cloud security.
Along with the financial and legal consequences of breaches, a lack of security can also impact your operations. Various threats can deny access to or even delete key resources, leaving your business unable to perform its core functions.
Understanding the Benefits of Cloud Security
Cloud security provides a wide range of benefits and solutions to common IT problems for many types of organizations.
First, cloud security can provide exceptional data security in extended networks and remote work arrangements that businesses rely on today.
Through the use of data encryption and other important protections, cloud security allows businesses to store, access, and manage data confidently.
Cloud security also facilitates identity and access management, an important component of any type of network security. Various solutions can provide robust tools for managing authentication and preventing unauthorized access that doesn’t interfere with operations and productivity.
In many industries, cloud security also plays an important role in legal compliance. Healthcare organizations, in particular, face significant scrutiny under HIPAA and other regulatory frameworks.
Other industries face their own unique challenges as well, and cloud security is integral in meeting those challenges.
Cloud security also makes it possible for businesses to scale rapidly. Cloud infrastructure is modular and can be mobilized quickly. This lets your business grow without introducing additional security concerns.
What is Cloud Security: Threats and Solutions
Cloud security provides protection against many different types of threats. Phishing attacks, unauthorized access to physical devices, and various types of network attacks can all compromise sensitive data on your network and in cloud environments.
Additionally, cloud security implements the necessary firewalls, monitoring, authentication, and other protocols needed to maintain data integrity.
There’s also the matter of cloud workload security. What is cloud workload security? It’s a series of security features that ensure the integrity and continuous access to data and applications that your business relies on every day.
Malware, ransomware, and other threats must be defended against to maintain cloud workload security. According to research by Datto, 39% of organizations that experience malware attacks suffer business-threatening downtime.
Understanding cloud security threats and their nature is vital to take an effective approach to cloud computing security, and your business needs the right partner to make that happen.
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Find the Right Cloud Security Solution for Your Needs
Modern businesses can’t afford to go without effective security measures to protect the data and applications they maintain in a cloud environment. The financial and legal consequences of inadequate protection are simply too high to risk leaving cloud security up to chance.
As a premier managed services provider, Protek helps you avoid the pitfalls of improper security by providing total protection for your cloud environment.
As a complement to our wide range of cloud and migration services, we provide robust security solutions. You can ensure that your systems, whether on-premises, hybrid cloud, or entirely cloud-based, are protected with Protek.
Get in touch with us today to learn how our managed services can improve security for your cloud-based data and applications.