As your team identifies areas that are ideal for shifting to the cloud, either because of cost or productivity or both, these changes come with critical cyber security considerations. Each time your organization chooses a new cloud provider or downloads another cloud app, your security plan changes.
That doesn’t mean that you should avoid cloud migration; it means that you need to pursue cloud migration with a focus on cloud security. Here are four cyber security pitfalls and what you can do to avoid them:
Failing to Develop a Clear Strategy for Cloud Migration
Making key decisions in advance of your cloud migration fosters a smooth process. These choices include whether you’ll partner with one cloud provider or take a multi-cloud approach. You’ll also need to decide whether to keep some data on-premise and determine the governance models you need to have in place before migration.
Avoiding the Pitfall:
It all comes down to planning your strategy. If you are already investing in cloud solutions, conduct a cloud security assessment first and then determine which data will be migrated and in what format. You can look for open-source tools that allow your cloud apps to integrate well, providing secure flexibility.
Data Theft and Malware
A cyber criminal is on the lookout for opportunities to gain access to your data via phishing emails or a poorly configured server. In addition, the mere fact that much more data is moving to and from the cloud is providing more opportunities for interception of data.
Avoiding the Pitfall:
The right cyber security measures can protect data both in transit and in storage. These measures include awareness and training programs that teach employees how to recognize phishing emails, as well as improve detection and response for cloud security. Proactively identifying and eradicating threats will prevent them from developing into a serious issue.
Lacking Clarity in Cloud Security Roles
One of the challenges of cloud migration is defining who is responsible for each part of cloud security. Moving your data from an on-premise system to a cloud solution can lead to confusion and misconfiguration of your servers, which leaves your systems vulnerable.
Avoiding the Pitfall:
If you choose one of the leading cloud providers, you can count on built-in security. Their ownership of the environment makes it in their best interest to secure data in the cloud. But your business is responsible for security of the cloud, so it’s a shared responsibility model.
Not Having the Right In-House Talent
Major changes to your technology strategy require a change in the skills of your employees. As you prepare for cloud migration, you may find that your employees are not equipped in dealing with new cloud apps or the underlying infrastructure you may be investing in as part of your overall transformation.
Avoiding the Pitfall:
Plan for the upskilling of employees as part of your cloud migration cyber security strategy. You may need to hire more members for your security team that are trained in cloud security, and you may need support from additional DevOps engineers that can reconfigure your cloud environment for better data security.
Before you embark on your cloud migration, allow Hudson Technology Partners to guide you through the various cyber security factors that may impact the process. Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation.