Cloud Security Remains A Concern For IT
“Cloud computing” and “cloud-based applications” continue to provide many significant benefits to corporate-level digital activities. Transferring computational and even software needs online in “the cloud” offers companies many cost and operational benefits. Businesses that use cloud computing can achieve their computational needs online without needing to purchase hardware. Often, that cloud-based computational power exceeds what they could afford if they had to buy their own equipment.
At the same time, could-based storage and applications mean that executives and employees no longer have to retrieve data or work on only one machine at a home office. The data and software are always available online, provided staff has the right equipment and clearance to access it.
However, with these tangible work and cost benefits come new concerns such as security.
IT Experts Are Worried About Cyber Security
The ease of access to online data or applications also means that while staff can access their data or software anywhere, potentially from any online-enabled device, this also raises the possibility that criminals can too. Cloud-based storage and computing require extra cyber security considerations, but in a survey conducted across 1500 IT personnel by the Ponemon Institute, 60% of IT and security leaders lacked confidence in their organization’s ability to correctly handle the extra requirements of cyber security that cloud-based operations require. 59% of respondents cited account takeover or credential/ID theft as the top cyber security risk.
Many IT personnel are finding that traditional legacy security methods such as a single-password system are no longer sufficient to enforce modern security needs, especially now that multiple devices can access the same account. New protocols, such as Zero Trust Network Access, employ newer safeguards, such as multifactor authentication, that add extra, more secure levels of access and, in some cases, eliminate the need for passwords entirely, using biometrics, passkey systems, and other mechanisms that don’t require a user to memorize something to get access to an account or data.
A More Secure Future
As more operations shift to a cloud-based architecture, organizations must accompany this shift with an appropriate reinforcement of cyber security. New multifactor security concepts can do away with the vulnerability of a single-password system and eliminate the inconvenience of a long string of alphanumeric characters to try to offset that vulnerability. Groups like the Fast Identity Online Alliance or FIDO are helping to standardize this transition and make it easier and more interoperable for enterprises to get there. If you’re interested in using the FIDO protocol and moving to a passwordless authentication system, read here to learn more.
