Cloud services: is there data security in the cloud?

Good cloud services value technical data security standards to ensure that the cloud storage environment keeps your data truly safe.

Let's talk about this by explaining what the cloud is and what concerns you should have about data security in cloud services and how to resolve them.

After reading this text, you will have the confidence to adapt your company. And you can count on our team for that.

Good reading!

What is cloud?

Cloud is a storage technology for maintaining and accessing information via the internet, running apps, providing services, etc., with data security as its premise .

But, in addition to knowing what the cloud is , it is also important to know why you should work with a cloud service .

To help with this understanding, suppose you are a university student, with no money, but with a great idea.

You put it into practice and start developing an application with a friend, and publish this app on the internet by hosting it on your own computer.

Simplifying our example, let's ignore that there is much more to do than this, such as configuring router, operating system, DNS, firewall, etc.

Well, then people start using your app, after all you have a great idea!

But you realize that your basic notebook can't handle all the requests that are coming in and, frequently, it closes down, which also slows down the users' experience... Which isn't a good thing!

So, you think of three options:

1st) update your notebook by adding more resources, such as RAM, HD etc. 🙄

2nd) buy more notebooks or desktops to help deal with all the simultaneous requests. 🙄

3rd) host your app in the cloud! 😀

This third option may seem like a leap in the dark, as you have no knowledge about this type of service. You will know if a cloud environment , which is not physical, is safe - you think…

Why work with a cloud service?

Imagine a super old IBM computer (mainframe), the size of a pickup truck, but with less computing resources than a 2005 cell phone.

Well, that still exists today, but these mainframes have evolved, of course. Now, they are more similar to the image below. Have you ever seen an environment like this?

So, the cloud is basically you renting these supercomputers, which are currently super cheap, secure and adaptable to your needs.

Like this?

Going back to our example, that is, your app, now you have a sudden spike in usage in the middle of the night with a billion people! 😱

But... You won't have any more problems because of this! Do you know why?

After carefully analyzing the pros and cons, you have opted for a cloud service , and it can be automatically scaled to deal with this large demand and also guarantees data security .

And this was perfect for you, because your type of application is seasonal, meaning it will only be used one month a year. Not a single soul will use your app outside of this period. Then, your cloud service can be automatically reduced again to save you money .

Now, imagine if you had chosen to buy more resources, notebooks or desktops… You would have had to leave them idle, unused for 11 months! So, it is easy to understand that   working with a cloud service is a flexible option and an excellent solution , if not the unique, modernly speaking?

How to use cloud storage service

Basically, you need to create an account on a platform, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) ; Google Cloud Platform (GCP) ; or Azure , for example.

Then, you'll create the resources you need, from the comfort of your web browser. For example, consider these services or resources that you can create and use:

It's very simple!

All you need to do is click a few buttons and configure your settings.

Now, very important: ensuring cloud data security is not the exclusive responsibility of cloud service providers. She belongs to those who hire too. And below, you will understand why.

Data security concerns and how to deal with them

Speaking of data security , regarding the physical aspect of the cloud service infrastructure, there is no concern. That simple. Most cloud providers follow strict standards and specifications to maintain their security certificates .

Good cloud services value technical data security standards to ensure that the cloud storage environment keeps your data truly safe.

Let's look at AWS servers , for example. They are located in strategic regions considering factors such as:

• be a place undisturbed by natural disasters;
• there are many and accessible power sources ensuring that these servers do not go offline; It is
• have trained security guards present at these facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Now, you also need to know about the responsibilities related to data security that are assumed by anyone who hires a cloud storage service .

There are basically three actions that need to be put into practice:

• limit external access;
• limit internal access (from collaborators; no infinite privileges!); It is
• predict problems that may arise.

Cloud data security: 3 general tips

We have three basic tips for you to overcome any concerns about data security and, of course, ensure the protection of your information stored in the cloud .

Tip #1

Require employees to effectively protect their accounts. As? Using stronger passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Tip #2

Automate project creation. For example, using tools like Terraform and Ansible to create your infrastructure in an automated way ensures consistency across projects, decreasing the chances of misconfiguration, which can lead to security breaches.

Tip #3

Take regular backups to make sure everything is protected, but in case of an outage, there are always provider-specific features or services that can help you with this.

Virtual data security concerns

Reinforcing: when using cloud services , to ensure cloud data security , do your part by limiting internal and external access . To do this, you will need two basic things: VPC and IAM .

Cloud data security: how to limit external access

You should use VPCs and subnets to map your network, grouping and isolating related resources, and ensuring data security by limiting external access thereby.

This way, resources within these VPCs and subnets can :

• communicate with each other using their internal IP addresses , as long as the firewall (security device) rules allow it.

But they cannot:

• communicate with the internet unless you specify this by creating a public IP address for the people who will need it.

Firewall

Also very important about ensuring data security is configuring firewall rules. They allow or deny traffic “from” and “to” resources attached to the VPC.

In these rules, you can specify the type of traffic , such as ports and protocols, and the source or destination of the traffic , including:

• IP addresses ,
• sub-networks ,
• tags and service accounts .

Cloud Data Security: How to Limit Internal Access

Here, you should use IAM to ensure cloud data security by managing access to your resources.

Cloud Data Security: How to Predict Problems

Yes, you can predict issues regarding cloud data security by applying two concepts: logging and monitoring.

Logging is the most direct way to diagnose information about your resources. Each provider has its own service to store logs of all your resources and centralize them so you can see, inspect, analyze, and fix whatever you need. You can set alerts on certain types of log data or events, for example.

Monitoring is similar to logging, but is more focused on metadata about your applications, such as performance, uptime, etc. There are specific features in each provider for you to deal with this.

Then!?

Do you want to adapt your company and are looking for a data-driven culture for business? Click here to read this exclusive material . It will illuminate your ideas!