This is the first in a series posts guest authored by the Cloud Observation Squadron, offering inisghts, suggestions, and interesting facts about cloud storage to all members of the ElephantDrive Herd (and pretty much anyone else who will read).
Businesses today are eagerly seeking out the cloud to better serve their computing and data storage needs; unfortunately, many of these same businesses are not as concerned about cloud storage security as perhaps they should be.
The versatility and storage capabilities make the cloud appealing for a variety of reasons; however, there are security concerns that must be addressed for a business’ data to remain secure.
Data security is first and foremost on everyone’s mind, especially ours at ElephantDrive. One of the most prevalent security concerns found on the cloud is data leakage. Since the cloud’s very nature is one of a shared platform, many businesses are concerned that their data will be inadvertently or purposefully shared with others. Properly architected systems will silo data, making it unusable by other accounts and strong data encryption applied pre-transfer (while it is still on your device) will effectively guarantee the data’s privacy (data is not encrypted, even “at rest”). This basic level of encryption will safeguard your data, but so will the manner in which the physical computing infrastructure is maintained. Our computers and storage devices are maintained by our partners in secured, temperature-controlled cages that are backed with redundant power, connectivity, and fire/flood procedures to add further layers of protection for your most valuable information.
Customer identification must also be carefully considered since one company’s data will very likely be pooled with another’s. As a result, we “…insist on persistent authentication at the most granular level.” If pooled businesses share credentials in addition to space, then it is possible that a business’ information could be deleted, although not deciphered, by those outside of the company. If access to a particular pool of data is only granted on the basis of very specific credentials, the likelihood that an unauthorized individual will access the data becomes lessened.
Additionally, we compartmentalize the most sensitive data so that only insufficient tidbits of information remain that will not divulge precious secrets without their separated counterparts.
While data encryption is critical for protection, businesses may also want to verify that the connection line is also secure (i.e. that “the channel of communication is private”). It is prudent to assume the worst and work to prevent any data snooping that may occur as the data travels through routers and switches across the web.
The cloud offers a level of high security for all users who take the proper precautions. Please contact us today to ensure the proper protection for data.
