Tech
Cyber Security and Cloud Integration in 2020

Cyber Security and Cloud Integration in 2020

2020 will be an important year for Cyber Security as more and more business integrate their operations with cloud technology. How does this impact the already increasing level of security breaches and data leaks? How will cloud technology impact Cyber Security practices in 2020? Here a few security considerations for businesses implementing cloud infrastructure in the new year.
 

A New Year of Data Breaches

Security has never been a non-issue in IT, but as we move towards a cloud-integrated future, the level of risk and need for security has sky-rocketed. While trying to convince business to move towards a cloud-based IT service is no longer difficult, what is tricky is convincing them the need for extensive and at times, expensive security protocols. However, with data breaches still being an issue even for business giants like Fortnite, Capital One, and Facebook - all of whom had data and security breaches in 2019 - the need for greater security scrutiny is paramount.

Reviewing the level of Cyber Security threats in 2019 alone, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had to deal with 658 cyber attacks throughout the year. With this, the NCSC has ramped up its cybersecurity strategy to make it much more difficult for potential hackers to infiltrate both the public and private spheres. Unfortunately, there is only so much the NCSC can do within the private sector. What does this mean for Cyber Security and Cloud integration in 2020? It means that there will be vital aspects to consider within the industry which will impact not only how the sector is regulated, but also how businesses model their IT security strategies for the future. Here are some essential aspects to consider for Cloud integration and Cyber Security in the new year.

 

Cloud Integration & The Future

Cloud services include a broad spectrum of offerings such as data storage, virtual servers, business apps, all of which can be added to your operations on an ad-hoc basis from relevant service providers. Integration with Cloud services can also improve operational efficiency and increase scalability and flexibility. All this means a push towards a future where on-location data hubs are obsolete. While there are different levels of integration, many innovative brands have shifted towards integrating their entire IT infrastructure with the cloud environment. While this can improve efficiencies and pave the way for better operations standards, it can also open up a treasure trove of security threats.

 

Know Your Manner

Cloud Service Providers do grant a sliding scale of security along with their services. Nevertheless, businesses likewise need to ensure that they are carrying out their strategies of security deployment and control over their databases and software. The best way to do so is through a proactive and knowledgeable IT department. Understanding and communicating the security challenges of cloud integration to the whole business can be the difference between a data breach that could cripple your company or one that never even arises.

What are some of the security challenges in a cloud environment? One of the critical initial concerns is where or not you can recognise and manage the required security controls. In addition to this, there will be vital regulatory responsibilities that your business will need to adhere to in order to defend sensitive data within the cloud environment adequately. To do this thoroughly means that your Cyber Security team will have to take on the liability for security between your Cloud service provider and the customer.

Finally, because of how rapidly specific sectors have integrated cloud systems into their operations, and the rapid growth of cloud technology overall, means that agility is a crucial factor. Delaying resolutions to potential security breaches, or simply hoping that your systems remain unpenetrated is a recipe for disaster. Revising the status of your Cyber Security needs will be task #1 for your IT team in 2020. This is especially true for financial businesses like Monzo and Barclays.

 

Cyber Security, Finance and Cloud Integration Security

Arguably, one of the top sectors at risk of a cyberattack, financial businesses will need to be ever more vigilant in 2020 and the years to come. Compromising the data security of large entities such as Barclays or JP Morgan could mean not only a threat to businesses and consumers but even impacts onto the market and loss of financial or even defence-related data.

With financial fraud on the rise - some 7,000 people in the UK becoming victims of credit fraud on Black Friday alone - expenditure on Cyber Security in the financial sector will continue to be a key topic for IT staffs this year. Such measures go for any online business as well. If you are committing to cloud integration, you need to consider the appropriate cost for security to protect both your business transactions and your customer data.

 

The Year of the Multi-Factor Authentication

There are numerous cost-effective and free ways to protect your software and business accounts; multi-factor authentication (MFA) will prove to be a standard across all cloud-integrated businesses. MFA is an extremely cost-effective manner to ensure that only authorised personnel have access to your cloud data/apps. While it won't necessarily protect against a breach, this is an additional and useful hurdle to put before a would-be hacker. Many Cyber Security experts even believe that not implementing MFA is security negligence.

 

Backing Up Your Cloud Solutions

While this isn't necessarily an external risk, one where a potential hacker will steal your data, backing up your cloud solutions is crucial. Granted a hacker can obtain an employee account and wreak havoc by deleting data. However, there is also a high risk of human error, via an employee, who accidentally deletes vital information that the company cannot retrieve. If the data has no backup up the business would be unable to do much. With crucial company information, this can form numerous security issues. This is why many service providers reiterate the importance of their customers backing up all cloud solutions.

These are just a few of the aspects that will be of interest in the Cyber Security sector for businesses looking to utilise cloud services. Regardless of the strategies, your business has put forth with regards to cloud migration; security should be an essential factor to address with your IT team.