As cloud computing continues to expand and companies are moving more data and applications from on-site servers to the cloud, new security threats emerge placing sensitive information at risk. Because of this it is important to evaluate what information “entities” are good candidates for cloud storage and which are not. It’s very important to make sure that that your provider has a reasonably secure environment.
Although we’ve all heard of some high profile companies having their information system compromised, it’s a fact that mid-size and smaller companies can be just as much at risk as larger companies. Many smaller companies handle enough sensitive data to require just as much security as a large enterprise. It isn’t a matter of scale as much as a matter of volume.
Unfortunately, when it comes to cloud security there usually are no guarantees. Most cloud providers do not offer an SLA (Service Level Agreement) for security. Which means that if you get hacked there is no “we’ll give you some money back, help you with your legal defense, or PR efforts.” Therefore, it’s imperative that you realize you are ultimately responsible for your security.
The answer is to consider a separate cloud security vendor. Instead of being at the mercy of your cloud vendors security, you can opt for a stronger cloud security service. Cloud security is quickly evolving and soon we should be able to experience the same level of security in our cloud environments as we do in our internal information infrastructure.