Cloud computing has drawn the attention of companies belonging to distinct verticals such as healthcare, insurance, finance and banking. It reduces IT expenses and improves an organization’s operational efficiency; however, there are significant security issues for data in the cloud. The uncertainty of the level of security to data in the cloud could be a concern to many organizations. It is important for companies to learn as much as they can about cloud security as they being to transfer their organizations to the cloud.
The three cloud service delivery models – SaaS, PaaS and IaaS, have their own level of benefits and security issues. In this post, security concerns that make organizations uncomfortable about adopting SaaS are uncovered and possible solutions are discussed.
Using the internet as a medium, users or customers can access applications hosted in the cloud remotely. With SaaS, you enable your customers to access your business applications through a browser or a mobile app. You can call it a web-based model and your IT services company manages everything, from databases to application upgrades, saving you time and costs on IT operations.
The SaaS delivery model is gaining popularity as it enables enterprises to meet their IT needs. It can deliver the same level of robust functionality of on-premise systems for small to medium businesses, but it still needs to become more efficient in terms of offerings and solutions for a large organization’s complex business requirements.
Though the majority of companies have transferred their business operations to the cloud, there are companies that are still uncomfortable with SaaS and their reason is the lack of visibility of data being stored in the cloud. Your IT services company’s efficiency can alleviate these security concerns. However, there is something you can do to minimize the issues.
- All SaaS cloud based applications are accessed using private user credentials. Your inefficient password management gives makes it possible for hackers to gain access to your data in the cloud. Creating strong passwords, using phrases, and changing them often is best practice.
- An application passes information between client and server with a protocol before a user accesses it. If insecure protocols such as FTP, IMAP, POP and others are used, then the possibility of your data being insecure is high. So, you should ask your IT services company whether they are using secure protocols such as FTTPS or HTTPS.
- Your provider may allow the cloud users to extend the application. Proper training on API is required to do that, otherwise security issues can occur.
Before you choose to invest in cloud computing, you should perform proper research on the service to try to learn as much as possible about the cloud service provider and how can they overcome security issues such as data security, data control, and data location.
Data Security: In the SaaS model, the cloud obtains susceptible data from enterprises. SaaS application processes the data obtained and stores it at the provider end. So, your provider should use proper security principles and standards for security issues. The data that flows across the network should always be protected using strong network traffic encryption techniques. You should check with your provider about the techniques and strategies to use, to minimize the security risks.
Data Control: You will have no idea how your IT services company controls and secures your data in the cloud, so you should know the backup procedures that are applied during worst case scenarios. The Service Level Agreement contract from your IT service company should include backup solutions.
Data Location: As per the USA Federal Information Security Management Act, data should be stored within the geographic location of the country. Data in web-based applications can move dynamically, so your provider should ensure that their SaaS solutions adhere to standard security procedures.
Here are a few additional points:
- Your provider should use secure SaaS deployment that ensures mitigation of data security issues. Applications should be deployed in a cloud with strong deployment configurations.
- Your provider should conduct regular application and network vulnerability assessments.
- Your provider should conduct regular GRC audits to conform to local government regulations regarding sensitive data storage.
Sudhakar Goverdhanam
CEO Prime Technology Group LLC
Prime Directives 