Five security tips for using the cloud

Security is a top priority for organizations now more than ever and at Infosecurity Europe 2017 cloud security was a hotly discussed topic. As the complexity and frequency of cyber-attacks is increasing businesses are looking to find new ways to protect themselves. The cloud is being adopted by more businesses than ever and it is thought to be more susceptible to cyber-attack than other platforms. Therefore it is essential that organizations prepare themselves for any eventuality.

 1. Watch out for ransomwear targeting the cloud

Most organizations are not aware that not only can ransomwear cause disruption to physical servers but it can also attack the cloud. As the cloud cannot be protected by traditional security it is essential that organisations are prepared for ransomwear attacks and have the correct systems and processes in place to protect themselves and their businesses.

 2. Organizations should invest in automation tools

The complexity of cloud-based attacks is increasing which makes it difficult for organizations to protect themselves. Automation tools can help and they are now being designed specifically to combat unforeseen attacks. The expo showcased a number of highly intelligent tools that will be able to provide real time alerting and response thus helping to minimise risk from internal and external threats.

 3. Organizations may need to increase spending on Network Security

It is important that businesses do not treat cyber security as an afterthought instead it should be at the forefront of decision making. Often when organizations switch from being mainly a physical entity to using the cloud they take for granted that the provider will take ownership of security. In reality the goal of cloud providers is to deliver agility and improve performance and security is not the top priority therefore organizations need to consider their security needs and if necessary increase their spending on Network Security.

 4. Software developers will have more cloud security responsibilities

In a traditional infrastructure there are well defined roles and responsibilities but this is not the case for businesses using the cloud. The cloud is vulnerable to cyber-attacks therefore software developers, not only those working in IT security, will  be accountable for maintaining a secure system of work.  

 5. Establish certificate and key management systems for the cloud

As more organisations move their applications to the cloud there will be an influx of new certificates. A secure key management system and certificate lifecycle will be needed so that organisations can keep track of certificates and properly manage systems.