The Impact of Cloud Computing on Corporate Security

With the number of organizations incorporating cloud coming increasing on a daily basis, it is now at a point where it is considered to be better than having on-premise systems. Moving so many business applications to the cloud make it easier on business workflow, however, it is a double-edged sword. Having all this data online makes it easier for hackers to get the critical information.

Whether it is a targeted attack or simply an act of terror, data breaches are detrimental to any organization. A lot of times, the information taken will not be intended for public release, such as personal health records, financial information, personal identity information or intellectual property. Another threat is the accidental loss of data, from reasons other than malicious attacks. There may be instances where the cloud service provider may accidentally delete data or even natural disasters that affect the provider’s server locations, which might result in permanent data loss. Even malicious insiders like system administrator can wreak havoc with data as they often have high levels of clearance to critical business systems.

Most companies today operate under regulatory controls, to better protect themselves. Under these regulations, organizations have to know the location of their data, how it is being protected and which individuals have access to it. But as many companies now incorporate Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) policies, they often violate these regulatory controls, which can have serious repercussions for the organizations as they will be in a position of non-compliance.