Data is the most valuable asset for businesses and their customers. As such, it must be protected from unauthorized access. Cloud data protection is the practice of other digital assets from security threats, insider threats, and human error. It leverages policies, technology, and processes to keep data confidential while still accessible, which is required in cloud-based environments.
Cloud computing has many benefits that allow one to access data from any device if you have an internet connection to lower the chance of losing data during incidents or outages and enhance agility and scalability.
Many organizations hesitate to migrate sensitive data to the cloud as they struggle to understand their options and meet regulatory demands. Knowing how to protect data remains one of the biggest hurdles to overcome as organizations move from building and managing on-premise data centers.
Why do Businesses Need Cloud Data Protection?
Today’s world runs on big data, with businesses and organizations collecting, generating, and storing vast data amounts each second. This data ranges from highly confidential to less sensitive data. More companies are moving their data to the cloud and keeping it in different places than before – hybrid, public, and private clouds, SaaS applications, and cloud storage environments, among others.
Companies have significant volumes of data that they need to manage, analyze, and access. They also need more agility and time to market and support hybrid and remote workforces. Thus, the need for cloud services such as Microsoft PKI to help them is more dire than ever.
Traditional perimeters are slowly becoming oblivion as security teams see the need for a new approach to cloud data protection. Applications and data are no longer in a data center, and more people are working outside the office. Therefore, companies must solve how to manage access and protect data as it crosses various environments.
Cloud Data Protection Best Practices
Cloud data protection best practices use the same data governance and information security principles. Some of the cloud data security best practices include:
- Compliance – Businesses must comply with privacy laws and data protection and regulations. For instance, US companies must comply with the HIPAA Act 1996, while in the EU, they must comply with the GDPR. Yet, it is challenging for companies to establish and reinforce security policies across multiple environments, let alone prove compliance. This is why nine in ten cybersecurity professionals are concerned about cloud security.
- Confidentiality – This means that data can only be modified or accessed by authorized processes or people. You must ensure that the data in your organization is safe.
- Availability – As much as you stop access to unauthorized persons, the data must still be accessible to authorized individuals.
- Integrity – The key here is implementing measures or policies that prevent deletion or tampering of data.
Closure
Data is the crux of every business and organization today. If it is compromised, companies will come down crumbling, and the safety of their customers and personnel will be jeopardized. As such, every company must protect its data. Hopefully, you now understand why.