3 Reasons Why Thinking The Cloud is Non-secure is Backwards

Written by Michael Brown 1
June 26, 2014

Many people worry that the cloud is an non-secure way to transfer and store their data. However, this type of thinking is fairly backwards, mostly due to the fact that the cloud is as secure as you make it. Here are some reasons that cloud security may be much better than your clients assume.

Many MSPs probably encounter clients or potential clients that are still hesitant about cloud services because of the perceived security risks. It’s inherently human to be wary of things that are seemingly out of our control.

Sending sensitive and private data “off into the sky” seems and sounds very risky. The sky is big and open and scary. Anyone could swoop in and take things floating around in the sky! However, this article at Memeburn.com points out something that is easily overlooked: The cloud is not non-secure; it’s simply how we use it that makes it more or less secure.

Here are three counterpoints to the typical “the cloud is unsecure” worries:

Security is simply part of what they do

What good would a cloud provider that transferred and stored data but didn’t protect it at all be? These providers have built their entire business around protecting other’s data and they understand that their reputation and business depends on it.

“But as cloud providers are often an attractive target for attackers (due to the variety of data they could be storing), these companies can and do expend vast resources on security”.

MSPs should emphasize to their clients that quality cloud providers will have the highest level security protocols in place, and often times it may even been stronger measures than in-house server security.

It Actually Can Double Up Security

“Using the cloud does not mean settling for less security than you’d get in-house. If fact, it can mean extending your own security out to the cloud environment and adding that to the security offered by the cloud provider.”

There are plenty of security measures that clients can (should) implement even before they send their data off to the cloud, such as encrypting data via various different tools. This essentially creates “onion layers” of security thanks to in house protocols in combination with the cloud provider security measures.

The Control is Still in Your Hands

“Ensuring your own policies are enforced regardless of where the data is being held provides peace of mind that your business will be safe even when adopting cloud computing.”

This is one of the more important aspects of cloud security for MSPs. Companies already have security protocols and policies in place, and just because their data is being stored somewhere else doesn’t mean those policies should be enforced. It is still up to the company or MSP to verify that the cloud vendor is compliant with any security measures of the client.

"Sending your data out to the cloud does not take it outside your responsibility.”

The cloud is not inherently non-secure. Cloud providers invest large amounts of resources to keep your client’s data secure. The real determining factor in cloud security is how you address cloud usage. MSPs that are proactive and engaged in confirming that their client’s data is safe while stored in the cloud will find that there is far less risk than many companies initially assume.