Why Cloud Computing is best practice Data Security
As big data continues to permeate across businesses of all sizes and scope, we see new emphasis on the storage, collaboration and especially security of crucial information. It’s no longer enough to simply see “https” in the URL; securing against theft or interference from in-house human error, disgruntled employees, malware, hackers and data theft. Data protection has become both more complicated and more important. And with regulatory authorities increasingly focusing on data breaches, companies must take specific actions to protect their data. Here are some best practices for data security.
- Version Control
Version control can be a collaborative lifesaver or a disaster. By version control, we’re simply referring to managing the changes by different team members to the same document. For example, if you have employees at different geological locations adding their own information to a spreadsheet financial report, a new “version” is created each time they save their changes. This is great for collaboration, but only if it is monitored and managed properly.
- Disgruntled Employees
Terminating someone in IT is always a risky move. The very reason they were there is because they understand information systems and have, during their tenure, explored the nuances of yours. So, imagine the damage that could be done if circumstances forced you to release a competent member of your team, and he or she felt resentful as a result. A simple password change is likely insufficient to prevent them from accessing your cloud-based or even in-house resources. Even worse, consider them revealing confidential information (especially as it pertains to coworkers, managers, or customers) online. Not only is this possible, it has happened numerous times to many different organisation’s, and the companies themselves have had to pay dearly for it.
For starters, all employees, especially IT professionals, should be required to sign nondisclosure agreements. This legally-binding contract transfers all responsibility of intentional data leaks to the employee in question. It also allows the company to set the specific criteria and procedures as they relate to the misuse of confidential data.
Second, disable any account that may have given that employee any remote or even physical access to your organisation’s digital assets. Regardless of how restrictive his or her access may have been, we’re talking about the very people who know how to manipulate information systems without their supervisor’s knowledge.
Finally, continue closely monitoring all activity from both onsite and remote users. This is part of a robust data security plan anyways, so the infrastructure to do should already be there. Even so, pay careful attention to access from unauthorized IP addresses or sudden changes in data.
- How Can Zinon Cloud Help?
Fortunately, there are comprehensive solutions to the scenarios described above. This is particularly useful to businesses, as they may not have the time or resources to fully implement each of the solutions we’ve mentioned within their existing infrastructure. And they shouldn’t: there are already robust, comprehensive solutions to effectively protect and manage company data. Why spend the resources to fully implement and maintain a solution when viable, completely scalable solutions already exist (and at a lower price)? Especially when those services are provided by a firm that has spent years protecting organisation’s across all agencies from the many threats that face them?
Ultimately, this is what Zinon Cloud does. Cloud services and security are our sole focus; as such, we have had years to study the many threats that plague digital assets, including those that are frequently overlooked by in-house implementations. We have developed comprehensive solutions to match. For example, our hosted exchange package allows all organisational communication to occur on a secure, dedicated server. Employees and managers can exchange emails, share files and add or edit events or tasks from any web-enabled device. Even better, access for each user can be easily customized, and our encrypted server prevents individual users from making any unauthorized changes.
Best of all, Zinon Cloud’s secure servers are all located right here in Ireland. To learn more about our host of options, or to build your own solution, contact us to get started.