Security and Cloud, some myths we must dispel

The adoption of the Cloud in the business environment is unstoppable and security is no longer a brake on its adoption. In this article, we dispel four myths about the security of cloud services.

Contrary to what transcends these false beliefs, Cloud Computing is a much more secure environment than traditional architecture, as much of its complexities are delegated to the provider, simplifying these tasks among the technical teams of organizations that are already in the Cloud.

More and more companies are opting for solutions in the Cloud, and the trend is that they are more and more. Recent reports indicate that almost 70% of companies already use solutions and services in the Cloud, while 27% plan to do so in the near future. This depends a lot on the country in which the study is done, as is logical.

If we refer to Spain, according to a study by the consulting firm Quint Wellington Redwood, the Cloud market is expected to double in size, reaching 950 million euros in turnover. By 2020, 1.6 billion is expected to be spent on Cloud services. Other studies state that 50% of all companies globally use the Cloud for their business.

Be that as it may, the adoption of the Cloud is verified to be real and it is confirmed that security is no longer a brake for practically no one.

Security remains one of the main risks and concerns for any company, but the maturity of Cloud solutions and services, the greater awareness of the different risks and, above all.

The enormous advantages that the Cloud brings to any organization and the flexibility and efficiency for the deployment of additional security measures in as a Service mode make possible this indisputable takeoff in our country.

Cloud and sensitive information

The proof that the Cloud is used massively and that there is increasing confidence in these solutions is that 21% of all files in the Cloud contain sensitive data. The data they refer to as sensitive is confidential data – for example, financial records, business plans, source code, business algorithms, and so on.

This is not necessarily a point of friction. Having sensitive data stored in the Cloud does not imply risk per se, but data can be put at risk if it is misused internally or shared with the outside in violation of established policy.

There are certain myths about security in the Cloud that continue to circulate and that, in certain environments, can represent a certain brake when it comes to opting for solutions in the Cloud. These are beliefs that can be easily turned around, as we shall see.

Four myths about security in the Cloud

The myths that we are going to try to banish forever are thoughts that can arise in certain environments either by ignorance of the development of the Cloud, or by insecurities at the corporate level. However, they are commonplace and, if not well clarified, can spread and give a misleading picture of what technology can do for us today.

Complete security is impossible to achieve

Complete security is impossible to achieve in any technological system or service. Even if we had a solution completely disconnected from the network, isolated in a secure building and guarded by specialized personnel, it is not impossible to access the system and steal the stored data.

In Cloud Computing, exactly the same thing happens. What is true is that by relying on specialized and experienced vendors, security standards in the Cloud can be superior to those of many inexperienced organizations.

The key to protecting data and making the Cloud a secure environment is in the preparation of the organization’s professionals. In addition, it is a matter of finding the right security solutions for each Cloud model and enhancing the creation of consistent security policies for all corporate applications.

Manually deal with threats

False, for several reasons including the costs of opting for the “manual” path, and on the other hand the growing complexity of threats in the form of cyberattacks.

In fact, it is increasingly evident to any technical manager that the current complexities of security management could not be amortised under an internalised model. Having redundancy, hardware stock, personnel 24×7… makes it unfeasible to face threats in the traditional way.

Artificial intelligence and automation are the future to deal with threats, in addition to streamlining and standardizing IT processes, eliminating human errors and allowing IT staff to focus on other priorities that require creativity.

MultiCloud is not the solution for a consolidated company

This myth can be summed up in the belief that the MultiCloud environment is a matter for emerging or start-up companies, but that a consolidated company can opt for better, safer and more appropriate solutions.

And, of course, it is false. A MultiCloud solution is a choice based on the business needs of an organization. In addition, this option has great advantages that can be exploited regardless of the size of the organization in question, such as the flexibility to find and make use of the service in the optimal Cloud for a particular need.

Security only depends on the IT department

Affirming this means not being aware that responsibility for the use of the data is shared between the service provider and the service users themselves. And it is not only in the case of the use of the data, but in all aspects.

The shared responsibility model implies that the provider ensures connectivity, solution security, usability and other aspects, but the company’s responsibility implies educating users and using tools that allow them to know how the information stored in the Cloud is used and shared.

Conclusions

Managing the security of any IT project requires highly trained, specialized and qualified professionals.

The value of having an experienced and certified infrastructure provider brings a number of benefits to organizations that go beyond the abstraction of hardware: thanks to redundancy measures, monitoring, segregation and isolation over the layers managed by the provider, the technical teams of companies can incorporate other layers specific to each project, managing them as a service.

Therefore, it is necessary to have complete and effective security policies that all employees and users of the organization comply with. In this way, and being aware of the shared responsibility, it is possible to overcome any myth about security in the Cloud and benefit from the great advantages of this model.