Compliance and Security in the Cloud
As you use more businesses services in the Cloud, giving you scalability and cost savings, remember you need to trust the security and compliance of your services, wherever they live. Your cloud services likely come from multiple providers, because you added services as they became available. Because your business systems are critical to business, and contain sensitive data, make sure you trust your Cloud services providers to make security and compliance a priority.
If your industry is healthcare, insurance, or anything that has specific regulatory and compliance requirements, using Cloud services means trusting a third party to follow protocols. Having a Cloud Managed Services Provider that knows your industry and understands its regulations is a big plus.
According to Forbes, multi-cloud configurations are increasing, meaning businesses add services piecemeal as they grow. The majority have three or more cloud providers, meaning their sensitive data is spread out amongst several entities. This has created concern about cloud security, leaving those responsible for it feeling the pressure to ensure their company’s and customers’ data security.
According to a recent Forbes article, “Security teams have limited control and visibility over the increasing complexity associated with multi-cloud environments. What’s more, four out of five organizations reported confusion about the shared security model associated with the cloud and 88% said that maintaining clarity in the shared security model has been challenging. In other words, they aren’t quite sure where their responsibility lies for their own cloud security versus that of their cloud provider.”
How to Ensure Compliance and Security in the Cloud
Choose a Reputable Cloud Managed Services Provider
The ideal scenario would be to have all your cloud services safely under the management of one provider, whom you know and trust, and who makes security the top priority. mPowered IT Cloud Managed Services can handle everything from hosting and email, to business software services – including Microsoft & Azure, Virtual Desktop and VOIP phone services. Even if your current cloud services are scattered now, you can start migrating them to mPowered IT to consolidate the management and security of those services. You’d have one strong cloud provider, one team to work with, and the assurance that they know compliance and take security very seriously.
Implement Strong Security Protocols
While your Cloud services keep your systems and data in an off-site secure datacenter, you still need security protocols in place at your office and workstations. mPowered IT offers complete Cybersecurity services to monitor and protect your business from intruders.
Educate Your Employees
Your employees are your first line of defense against security threats, and unfortunately, also often the weakest link. Cybercriminals specifically target employees for Business Email Compromise, phishing, and other scams. The level of sophistication continuously improves making it extremely difficult to discern what emails are legit and which are bogus. mPowered IT is a big proponent of employee training, because well-trained employees can stop the most evil cybercriminals if they know the signs of a scam.
Monitor Your Environment
Even with the best security protocols in place, you know your business better than anyone else. Watch for suspicious activity. If something doesn’t look right, seems like an odd transaction or communication, go with your gut. Check into it.
Have a Plan
Part of your company’s risk management strategy should be your own network security. What would you do if you had a major security breach? What if your data was taken for ransom? The best time to plan for a network disaster is before it happens. mPowered IT provides three levels of Backup & Disaster Recovery, to ensure that whatever may happen, your data can remain safe and available to you.
Get a True Partner in Cloud Managed Services
We work with all clients as partners, aligning our business goals with theirs, ensuring a well secured IT network. To learn more about our Cloud Managed Services, speak with an expert.