What is Cloud Data Protection? Best Methods, Obstacles, and Rewards

Cloud computing has become a core necessity for businesses that wish to make their business processes extremely efficient. The greater scalability and flexibility of the cloud come with numerous perks; however, migrating to the cloud arrives with its own set of challenges.

After knowing what is the cloud, it is essential to note that it comes with its main challenge, which is cloud security. While the cloud spaces are becoming more challenging, the series of attack vendors that the cyberbullies exploit maximizes. The cloud environments and the users are content with the attempts at data breaches, system-related risks, and unauthorized access events that require them to develop strong cloud security solutions.

Our post today will discuss everything that you should know about cloud data security, including the best practices and the challenges encountered by companies while managing and implementing cloud security.

What is cloud data security?

Cloud data security, or online data protection, showcases a specialized cybersecurity discipline that is more than conventional data protection. It aims primarily at cloud-native frameworks and includes numerous tools and controls ensuring better confidentiality, data availability, and integrity at rest and even in transit.

Apart from introducing just a static layer of protection, securing cloud data depends on a dynamic approach that constantly adapts to mitigate the growing threats. However, it is essential to note that securing data within the cloud is more than protecting data. It also includes ensuring compliance through regulatory standards stipulating stringent guidelines on how data gets stored, processed, and even transferred.

Cloud data security is more than just securing key data; it is a strategic move offering numerous perks for businesses. The growing threats of cyberattacks prioritize the requirement for strong defenses. The global cost of data breaches, as reported in 2023, reached $4.45 million, marking a notable 15% rise over three years.

Data Protection Challenges in the Cloud

Whenever you are setting up data protection, like the implementation of two-factor authentication, your company is probably facing numerous challenges, as follows:

• Integrity: The systems should be designed to ensure that only authorized access is granted. The numerous configurations should ensure that the permissions are deleted or modified for the right users.
• Locality: Data regulations are applied through the physical data location being collected and used. It is tough to determine and control across distributed systems. The systems should be designed proactively to clearly define where the data is located at all times.
• Confidentiality: Data is required to be secured on the basis of its confidentiality. It needs the appropriate restrictions on permissions and the application of encryptions to restrict readability. Identically, the encryption keys and admin credentials should stay protected to ensure that these limitations are maintained.
• Storage: Cloud infrastructure is completely handled by the vendor. It indicates that the firms should depend on the vendors to ensure that the physical infrastructure, data centers, and networks stay secure.

Cloud Data Security Best Practices

To ensure that the protections you are creating stay effective, try considering the following best practices you can implement:

Evaluate Built-In Security

All cloud vendors you are opting for should have robust internal controls in place to offer robust tools that help secure data. Search for vendors offering service-level agreements, ensuring that the systems are protected appropriately. Furthermore, verify the type of policies the vendors have to meet the compliance regulations. If the vendors lack certifications, you should meet the compliance standards.

Utilize file-level encryption

Numerous cloud service providers offer measures of both at-rest and in-transit encryption. It would be best if you implemented both. Try considering the addition of more file-level encryption. The most seamless way to do this is to encrypt data before transferring it to cloud-based storage.

If you are unable to encrypt at the file level, check if you are able to share the data. Sharding involves storing parts of applications or data across varied locations. It makes it tougher for attackers to start reassembling the data whenever they have access to it.

Restrict Access with Strong Credentials

You should implement robust credential policies and stringent access permissions. The strict permissions ensure that applications and users can access the data they require, and the robust credential policies can prevent attackers from abusing the permissions granted to applications and users.

It is important to audit the permissions and set the passwords’ lifecycles. Ensure that every credential present in the system is being used actively. You should also ensure that the passwords are tough to guess and that users are not reusing them.

Secure End-User Devices

The endpoints form the highly at-risk portions of the system, specifically the endpoints that are user-controlled. For instance, connected smartphones to the network become part of the BYOD or bring your device policy. Such devices form a liability since the security teams would generally have complete control over security measures like encryption or updates.

For the prevention of the abuse of these devices, you should implement a solution revolving around endpoint protection. Such solutions can help in restricting and monitoring traffic across the network perimeter, which helps you limit the manner in which the data exists and enters the system.

Conclusion

Cloud data protection remains an integral part of protecting vital data stored across cloud spaces. Proper practices consist of a combination of proactive management strategies and strong security measures. Companies should meticulously assess the security capabilities of cloud vendors, implement strong encryption, and enforce robust access controls.