Cyber Crime costs the US over $100 billion a year. The cost for the UK isn’t quite as large but is still thought to be in the tens of billions!
As cyber criminals find new ways to attack users, companies of all sizes are being affected everyday.
If your organization has ever been victim to a computing/data breach, you’ll know that this can cause a whole heap of problems, from the cost of recovery (although some businesses never recover) to the loss of trust from clients and customers.
The growth of Cloud Computing has left many SME’s with more questions than answers, considering 40% of small businesses don’t wish to use Cloud Services for fear of security breaches.
But as David Linthicum outlines in his blog, many organizations are failing to engineer the right security protocols for their cloud-based systems, leaving them vulnerable to data breaches.
So here are 3 tips to help you lock down your security:
1) Encrypt your data using a VPN
Simply put, when data is encrypted it is temporarily transformed into a very confusing code that can only be read upon using the encryption key to decrypt the data.
One way to encrypt your data is to use a VPN or Virtual Private Network. A VPN ensures that when your computer is connected to your Cloud servers (wherever they may be located), a secure connection is set up and the data that is transferred between the computer and servers is encrypted.
A common and simple method of doing this is through an SSL or Secure Sockets Layer. SSL uses two types of encryption keys, symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric encryption uses the same key to both encrypt and decrypt the data, whereas asymmetric encryption uses 2 different keys to encrypt and decrypt the data respectively. Both forms of encryption are used within SSL, and help to keep unwanted visitors from accessing your data.
One of the great things about VPN’s is that they can be set up for various devices, including desktops and mobile devices, so it’s definitely a worthwhile option.
For more information on how to set up a VPN, check out this link.
2) Two-factor authentication
Another way to beef up your Cloud security is to use two-factor authentication, aka two-step verification, aka multi-factor authentication (phew!).
These days, passwords on their own just don’t seem to cut it in keeping your data safe. Two-factor authentication, quite literally, goes one-step further by combining passwords with another way of authenticating your identity.
One really simple example of two-factor authentication is Bank cards. Essentially, the physical card itself is factor one, and the PIN is factor 2, both of which are needed to access your account.
When applied to cloud security, two-factor authentication often consists of an initial username and password combination, followed by a 2nd factor such as a hardware token or a code sent by email, that is required before access can be gained to your cloud servers. Although this means it takes a bit longer to access your data, the extra layer of protection it creates is worth it.
3) Anti-virus software
Another way to keep your data safe in the cloud is to install the latest anti-virus software.
It’s always best practice to ensure you continuously update your anti-virus and anti-spy software on the devices you use to log into your cloud servers. This can protect you from Keyloggers (software which tracks keyboard activity) and Trojan Viruses, which can be used to identify sensitive information used to log into your cloud servers.
Remember, 3 helpful ways to keep your Cloud secure are;
- Encrypting your data with a VPN, ensuring you set up a secure Internet connection between your computer and servers.
- Using Two-factor authentication to gain access to your servers, a password and a second method of authentication.
- Installing Anti-virus software on your devices can reduce the chances that hackers can learn your passwords to gain access to your servers.
