Should you really trust the Cloud?

cloud-security-and-a-cab-driverThe question on everyone’s mind is, “Is the Cloud Secure?” Well, let’s think about that for a minute, because it is an important question. You are taking your critical business data, important financial information and key secret documents that are the foundation of your company and putting them on the Internet. To which point, are you sure you trust someone you barely know with this vital information. Think about it, it’s like hailing a cab and then giving the cabbie your own car keys and asking him to drive your car home. Would you trust him with your own car and to drive safely in order get you home unharmed?

The key here is to assess relative risk. Are local computers like the ones in your office any more secure than a cloud based system? I highly doubt it. Cloud data centers like the ones here at TOSS C3 are designed and built from the ground up, prioritizing security. Cloud providers (the real ones) invest huge amounts of money to ensure security in their data centers, much more than a normal company would invest. In a 2011 survey of 583 U.S. companies conducted by Ponemon Research, 90% of respondents said their organizations computers had been breached in the past 12 months. Ask any security expert and they will tell you that the other 10% probably just didn’t know it had happened. If we look back to our cab driver example, chances are that the cab driver is a better driver than you, and is less likely to crash your car than you are. Think about it, he drives all day long, his job is to get people to their destination safely. The same goes for a cloud provider, it is their job to protect your data and they invest a lot of time and money into this responsibility, much more than an average company ever could.

So, “Is the Cloud Secure?”, I am here to tell you that “yes”, the Cloud can be extremely secure, it all depends on whom you select to trust with your data. Of course, we all know the brand names Google and Microsoft but how can they be any more secure than anyone else? Internet security is the same for everyone, right? Well, yes and no. Yes there are compliance and regulation laws that each company have to follow to offer their Cloud services. The “no” side to all this is that not all companies are able to keep track of all these regulations and therefore simply do not follow them.

With all that said, no matter who you choose for your Cloud services, be sure to research the company yourself and ensure they are able to discuss and prove they are meeting all the security guidelines to protect your data. To find out what questions you should be asking check out our post, “The 16 Critical Questions to Ask before Hiring a Cloud Provider”.

Written By: Chris Bates
Cloud Support Center Team Lead

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