How You’re Screwing Up Data Security in the Cloud

Many people, particularly businesses owners, don’t seem to realize that “cloud security” and “cloud data security” are two completely different things and should always be treated as such. Just because you’ve taken steps to guard access to your cloud-based storage service doesn’t mean the files themselves are free from prying eyes — it just means the files are harder to access. You’re likely screwing up data security in terms of the cloud that you would do well to address as quickly as possible.

1. You Don’t Understand Which Data Needs Protecting

To put it into the simplest terms possible, the type of data security you use should be directly proportional to the type of data you’re protecting. If you think that using a single security model on all types of data will increase your chances of success through consistency (as many do when they take a blanket approach to cloud security), you’re only leaving yourself vulnerable and under-protected. You are also likely going to be spending more money than you need to in order to achieve far fewer results, all while violating regulatory compliance at the same time.

2. Never Forget That Data Moves Around

When people think about encryption, they usually think of it in two different contexts. Files are encrypted in your cloud-based storage provider, and then they’re also separately encrypted on your computer’s hard drive when you download or access them. But what happens while those files are in transit? If they’re being transmitted over the air completely unprotected, all the encryption in the world won’t matter if you’re facing someone with the right piece of software who knows how to use it.

Protecting your data while it is in motion through in-transit encryption is the only way to make sure you have complete, end-to-end protection for your data at all times. This is especially important when you’re talking about the cloud, as your data is more or less in constant motion.

3. You Put All of Your Eggs in the Data Security Basket

Data security in terms of the cloud cannot be the only technique you use to stay protected in today’s digital age; instead, it should be one of many. It should be an integrated part of your entire security strategy that rests alongside how you protect your internet connection, how you protect your intranet and other network equipment, etc. The moment that you fail to link your data security to the overall security strategy that your business is using is the minute that you start creating vulnerabilities. Rest assured; vulnerabilities can and often will be exploited.

Always remember that in terms of security, you need to take both a holistic and a proactive approach. Never assume that you’ve “done enough” to keep your files secure, even if you’re using one of the most secure cloud-based providers around, because if you do, you’re about to lose a game that you never truly understood in the first place. Remember that an intrusion attempt or another cybersecurity situation is no longer a question of “if,” but very much a question of “when.”

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