Issue of Data Loss Incidences Escalating after Mass Cloud Transitions
Cloud services are not just another part anymore; they have become an integrated component in IT systems, which is a necessity in many organizations. As for any technology, security and data loss issues have become a major concern in terms of cloud services as well. Big cloud service providers to are guaranteeing data security as they give state-of-the-art facilities and adequate security measures. But this is not suitable for the small companies as the price with these large companies might not be economical. Using cloud services for data itself is inviting trouble if proper cloud security measures are not taken as all it takes is a disgruntled employee or any negligent personnel to breach the data, causing mistakes that lead to data loss, which can make or break the future of the company. But it cannot be denied that Cloud features have presented far more opportunities that help the employee work with data outside the office as well without being scared of data breaches in case proper measures are taken.
Common Mistakes that Lead to Data Loss Incidences
- BYOD Peril over Critical Cloud Data: Nowadays, to reduce the company costs, most organizations have started the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) work concept, where employees use their personal device to work and gain access to data stored in the cloud. This helps users as they can access data from literally anywhere and work on it. But this causes a number of security problems and causes the need for security software on top of services as it is prone to malware attacks, phishing attacks, etc. The solution to prevent this is by using Data Loss Prevention (DLP) techniques on BYOD devices and can make it less threatening. Proper measures like strong passwords, avoiding suspicious websites, and staying away from the dark web ensure BYOD devices do not cause data breaches.
- Sharing of Critical Cloud Data with Unauthorized Persons: To share large files of data, a small shareable link is enough and that can cause the data dump to be in hands of vendors, partners, or even hackers, who should not be seeing this data without proper access; thus inviting mistakes that lead to data loss. To avoid this, the sharing of links through emails should be done rather than through individual identities. Security measures can be taken to prevent data from being misused by unauthorized personnel.
- Sensitive Data from Cloud to Third Parties Thus Drifting into High-Risk Zones: With the advent of cloud and cloud services, it has become easier for sharing data within the company and employees can upload it to other websites, forums, etc, Measures like application control, access control on apps and websites people commonly use must be taken to protect data along with the use of DLP tools to check unauthorized third-party access. DLP helps in negating the chances of mistakes that lead to data loss incidences and breaches owing to unauthorized data transfers.
- Uploading of Crucial Data over to the Cloud: Sometimes, the high valued data of the company becomes public due to the carelessness of a single employee when he fails to make uploaded content private. Sharing of confidential can put any company at risk as this is the era of data. All companies have to establish compliance with several regulations like HIPAA, PCI, GDPR, GLBA, etc., and would prefer to have their data within their network. DLP solutions help maintain data security by scanning content based on name, keyword, and file type and block the transfer of these contents without proper permission or clearance ensuring complete protection to the precious data.
- Network Security Remotely: For flexible work time and place for employees to be provided, some devices which never come in contact with the IT department of the company has to be allowed and these present a data security problem as they do not have DLP security measures. For devices like these, which run on remote network connections, CASB solutions are required to avoid common causes of data loss. These solutions are provided by Cloud Access Security Brokers. They work up by allowing/blocking/reporting access to the cloud and enforce security policies for unmanaged devices on remote networks.
Having said that, in the current corporate milieu, cloud data loss incidents become a major concern of many companies; so to ensure data security, companies must work with cloud service providers and implement DLP techniques using CASB solutions.