If you’re unfamiliar with the cloud, you likely have a lot of questions about how it works, what its purpose is and how it can make your business function more effectively. But your biggest question most likely has to do with security. How secure is the cloud? How is data protected? What happens if there’s a breach? Why is it better than what I’m currently doing? The answers to these questions are both simple and complex, so let’s break it down.
When set up properly, the cloud is secure be default. The way it works makes it as such. When data is put onto the cloud, it is divided into “boxes” or segmented. Payment processing data is housed in one box while email addresses are housed in another and trademarked information is housed in a third box, etc. If you’re not using the cloud, all of this data could be housed on the same server. That server gets hacked and all of that information is at risk. If there’s an attack on your data that’s in the cloud, because of the way the information is separated, your risk of exposure is much, much lower.
The cloud uses S3 storage, which comes with a five-9’s guarantee. This guarantee says that there is a 99.99999% chance that nothing will happen to your data. Where you used to back up data onto physical hard drives and store them in the corner of your office, S3 now does that for you. So not only is your data secure, but in the event of a breach or an attack, your data is backed up in a way that limits exposure.
Remember, the cloud is literally every service you use. Google docs, email, iPhotos or Shutterfly, Office 365, etc. You use it every day, even if you don’t think you do. Even spell check comes from cloud services. When you use these services, it used to be that you would be accessing a server. Once that server is accessed, all of the ports on that server were opened, so if there was an attack, everything was exposed. With the cloud, when you access a specific service, only the port for that service is opened. So anything else on the cloud is closed off, inaccessible to someone who may be attempting an attack.
The cloud is used by the CIA, the Department of Defense, the Pentagon. Foreign governments all over the globe are in the cloud. Everyone is in the cloud and it is literally the most secure place you can get. It is baseline compliant with almost every compliance program in existence, including brand new ones because most of the time it just falls into compliance things without having to do anything. Data centers are guarded with literal military-grade security and maintained by the highest level of experts there are. The level of security provided by the cloud is something your company could never achieve on its own.
The premise that the cloud isn’t secure is a myth. The truth is that it provides the most secure place for your data and documents in existence today. And if there would be a breach, because of the way the cloud is designed, your risk of having sensitive data exposed is far lower than having your information on a single server.