Cloud Storage Isn’t As Safe As You Think. Here’s How to Avoid a Costly Data Disaster.

One of many greatest misconceptions about cloud storage is that in case your knowledge is within the “cloud,” it’s secure. Sadly, that’s not how knowledge safety works. A cloud server will not be one thing within the sky that’s intangible.

Cloud infrastructure is constructed on precise servers, bodily knowledge storage gadgets and different {hardware} elements which can be as prone to assaults and failures.

Due to this fact, whereas cloud service suppliers construct and handle the infrastructure, the accountability for knowledge safety, integrity and restoration will not be solely on them (learn their phrases and circumstances, and you’ll be shocked).

Associated: Is My Knowledge Actually Protected? Your Questions About Cloud-Based mostly Storage, Answered.

Cloud doesn’t at all times imply computerized security

Among the largest cloud suppliers construct their options round reliability, making certain uptime is as near 100% as attainable and ensuring their {hardware} is updated and match for objective.

Whereas GDPR compliance and knowledge safety legal guidelines put some strain on cloud service suppliers to safeguard your knowledge, latest occasions have confirmed that this isn’t sufficient.

As just lately as July 2025, Microsoft servers had been attacked, and earlier within the yr, Oracle’s cloud servers had been hacked twice, which led to healthcare data of greater than 14,000 individuals being stolen. Each Microsoft and Oracle declare to have essentially the most sturdy cloud providers with a clientele that features the world’s giant companies and even authorities businesses.

World schooling big Pearson suffered from a cyberattack, which led to the lack of terabytes of information from their AWS and Google Cloud. Each of those are the biggest and the third largest suppliers of cloud providers on the earth, respectively.

With so many incidents going down at such frequency, we have now to dispel the parable that just because your knowledge is on the cloud, you will have computerized backups and restoration.

We want to consider shared accountability and take some direct measures to guard our cloud knowledge.

Threats to cloud knowledge

Threats to cloud knowledge can are available in a lot of methods. Easy human error performs an enormous half; the truth is, some research recommend that human error alone accounts for over 88% of all knowledge breaches, unintended deletions and misplaced knowledge, making it important for all corporations to have some sort of knowledge restoration instruments.

The web can also be stuffed with ransomware and malware that creeps into synced cloud storage and never solely assaults essential servers, but in addition spreads to different networks.

In keeping with one research, ransomware assaults trigger $57 billion of injury yearly.

In the end, many corporations have misplaced knowledge just by selecting an unreliable cloud service supplier or have turn out to be victims of “revenge assaults” from estranged workers.

Associated: Is Your Firm’s Knowledge Protected within the Cloud? (Infographic)

Your accountability to guard your individual cloud knowledge

1. Perceive the shared accountability mannequin

Begin by ensuring you’re employed with a dependable cloud supplier and turn out to be accustomed to their shared accountability mannequin. A shared accountability mannequin is a cybersecurity framework that establishes who’s liable for totally different features of a cloud computing infrastructure.

The obligations are shared between a supplier and a buyer, and understanding them is essential. In a nutshell, that is what it seems to be like:

Supplier’s function: Construct and handle cloud infrastructure, shield the {hardware}, and guarantee uptimes for patrons. This will embody numerous different actions, together with community upkeep, configuration settings, and so on.

Buyer’s function: Construct your individual knowledge backups, use and take a look at knowledge restoration instruments, use encryption, and so on.

All giant cloud suppliers, together with Google and AWS, have shared accountability fashions as a part of their agreements.

2. Knowledge governance

Prospects are liable for their very own knowledge governance — a framework that units the insurance policies and requirements for organizations to handle their knowledge as a strategic asset. This principally encompasses an inner algorithm that establishes how knowledge is gathered, saved, secured and disposed of.

Whereas knowledge governance is constructed round a primary mannequin, each group manages its knowledge barely in a different way relying on the sort of knowledge they’ve, its significance and the corporate’s general IT finances.

3. Knowledge encryption

Encrypting delicate data earlier than importing it to the cloud is without doubt one of the greatest strategies to guard your knowledge. Through the use of both end-to-end encryption instruments or client-side encryption, your delicate knowledge is scrambled and become unreadable strings that may solely be recovered with a secure key.

This added layer of safety is highly effective, a lot in order that in case your cloud supplier’s servers are hacked and your knowledge stolen, it will probably by no means be used or be readable to a hacker.

4. Entry administration towards human errors

One of many best methods to guard your knowledge is to restrict human error and apply strict entry controls. It will embrace taking a number of measures, beginning by making certain multi-factor authentication for all types of entry to make sure ID verification.

Work on role-based entry controls, which restrict the quantity of people that have entry to particular knowledge, primarily based on their job description. This additionally permits the potential of monitoring knowledge administration below every function, including an additional layer of scrutiny. This small repair alone would possibly prevent tons of time and cash.

5. Audits and inspections

Like every other side of enterprise operations, it’s essential to conduct common audits and inspections to make sure your cybersecurity is updated.

This consists of testing your backup techniques, knowledge restoration instruments, and creating and evaluating disaster methods.

All of that is finished to make sure your group is ready, your knowledge is protected and you’ll be able to reduce dangers and leaks.

In keeping with a latest research by CrowdStrike, assaults on cloud knowledge have elevated by 75% in only one yr.

Associated: Why CEOs Ought to Completely Concern Themselves With Cloud Safety

On the similar time, for many companies, the significance of cloud computing has solely elevated. For some companies, cloud computing can value as much as 5% of their income, whereas for startup SaaS corporations, it may be as excessive as 90%.

Due to this fact, financing a bit extra to ensure this important enterprise part is safe, recoverable and secure is the most effective funding that you would be able to make.

One of many greatest misconceptions about cloud storage is that in case your knowledge is within the “cloud,” it’s secure. Sadly, that’s not how knowledge safety works. A cloud server will not be one thing within the sky that’s intangible.

Cloud infrastructure is constructed on precise servers, bodily knowledge storage gadgets and different {hardware} elements which can be as prone to assaults and failures.

Due to this fact, whereas cloud service suppliers construct and handle the infrastructure, the accountability for knowledge safety, integrity and restoration will not be solely on them (learn their phrases and circumstances, and you’ll be shocked).