It is imperative for organizations to perform due diligence before opting for cloud implementation. There's a whole collection of steps to be carried out to figure out the risks and vulnerabilities that organizations can face moving applications and data to the cloud. And this shouldn't be a hasty decision either. To go about cloud implementation in the smoothest possible way, it is imperative to address the vulnerabilities and consider the best practices that organizations should use. If you are clueless about what you need to offer your teams about information security before moving to the cloud, this is exactly the place to be.
The best practices for cloud implementation are not only geared towards large organizations but also SMEs. The size of the organization isn't a major factor, as these practices outline the importance of improving the security of data and applications with cloud usage. It is important that the practices are complemented with the relevant practices of the cloud service providers. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that your cloud management team is prepared with the right set of questions and knowledge required to know if they are heading in the right direction.
Implementing Data Security in the Cloud
So before it starts sounding alien to you, let's jump to the factors as to why you need to provide your team with information security training to ensure your data is completely protected during cloud implementation.
These four steps can be the game changer for you:
Define and Understand
The highlight would be:
- Identifying the sensitive data and discovering its current storage location
- Classifying and categorizing data types
- Defining clear policies for data access and management
In addition to providing information security training to the teams, organizations can also consider automated tools to identify the organization's sensitive and crucial data and find out where it resides. The sensitive data isn't necessarily on the database alone. It can be in an unstructured form in data logs, documents, and files that are spread out on non-database repositories, various services, and more. After identifying the data and its location, it must be categorized in a more organized way to all sensitive data is in one place and secured. The next steps will include thorough data management, smooth cloud transition, and clear policies that outline the access methods and how the data will be protected.
Secure and Protect
The highlight would be:
- Data protection from all ends - including authorized and unauthorized access
- Encryption of sensitive data
- Organize unstructured data to see what you have been missing
Resolve control solutions for better security and protection of your data. Implementing policies can help you allow an only authorized party to access the sensitive data when necessary. In some cases, you can set stricter rules about making only partial data available to the authorized personnel. When the data is on the cloud, the authority of access is a major concern and should be dealt with utmost responsibility. To secure data completely, you can use methods like redaction, encryption, and even masking solutions.
Audit and Monitor
The highlight would be:
- Conduct an audit and prepare a report for compliance
- Assess database and all the possible vulnerabilities
- Monitor the enforcement of policy exceptions
Unfortunately, most organizations are running without keeping a check on their database or setting up a database policy. With audit and reporting for compliance, organizations can simply turn on their database-logging, which can reduce a lot of labor effort, time, and expertise required for setting up and maintaining a large database environment. With these simple steps of auditing and monitoring data before cloud implementation, an organization can instantly boost database performance.
Security Intelligence and Compliance
The highlight would be:
- Demonstration of compliance with customized automate reporting
- Data integration activity that monitors event management and information security
- Implement security intelligence across cloud
While a lot depends on the cloud service provider you choose, there are things that you can keep under control too. This is especially important when it comes to cloud implementation and data security. There has been a rise in the need to take a proactive approach to cross-IT security. With data security training, the team will be able to analyze and predict possible vulnerabilities and threats and act accordingly. The key is to implement a more refreshing data activity approach for monitoring and ensure the steps are perfectly aligned with deeper security intelligence goals. Eventually, all the data collected from the audit and analysis database, file sharing-data activity, and data warehouses can be shared and fed across the IT security engines.
Cloud Implementation and Data Security
Data security is crucial before you are ready to move to the cloud. In addition to these four steps mentioned above, you need to focus on educating and training your teams. With information security training, not only you are prepared with security intelligence capabilities but are also able to integrate data security into your overall transition mode. There are many pieces of training and certifications that you can start with. The idea is to choose a reliable platform that offers you nothing but quality and upgraded information with practical implications. Cloud implementation is not a new concept, but it holds a potential risk of theft of crucial data. Therefore, it is important to take a proactive approach and prepare your team before the attack is more.
With training, your data transition will be in secure hands, regardless of the cloud platform you choose. So, connect with us now and learn more about your options.