Cloud Hosting Article

When it comes to cloud computing, security is of primary concern, whether it is on-premises or off-site. Hence, it is no surprise that cloud hosting companies are attracting customers based on their ability to guarantee security for hosting services. Market studies have shown that cloud services are more secure than a company’s on-site security.

Despite such assurances, experts say that businesses must take additional security steps when using cloud services of a hosting company. To ensure safety of data on an off-site server, a blog post on business site Norms Conference highlights three security steps that businesses must take. These include a firewall, data backups and monitoring.

Besides highlighting the significance of firewall protection, the blog post reminds you that a firewall serves as a first line of defense against hackers and other uninvited guests who are eager to steal your information stored in the cloud. In fact, a 2011 study by the Poneman Institute shows that nearly 67 percent of IT professionals thought that their data was at risk due to poor firewall security. Thus, security experts recommend companies to upgrade to a plan that affords greater control.

The second step to enhance cloud security is backups. When company data is stored in more than one server, chances of recovery are much higher. No matter how well protected your servers may be, they can also be damaged by lightning strikes, which averages around 20,000,000 times a year in the U.S. alone. According to NOAA, it is the equivalent of roughly 38 lightning strikes every minute. Consequently, the blogger emphasizes the use of backups for data safety.

Lastly, the third step recommended in securing cloud data is monitoring. To ensure safety, keep an eye on your storage devices and the company website. Most hosting companies offer monitoring services that alert you when your site goes down or someone is trying to steal your data, thereby allowing the company to immediately take action against forthcoming attacks.

In reality, the cloud is not as insecure as you may think. By taking proper steps and using right plans and options, cloud security can be boosted significantly to guarantee safety and efficiency.