How Small Businesses Can Protect Themselves With Cloud Security
Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) increasingly manage their digital assets in the cloud. With the increasing availability of cloud-based applications and infrastructure services, SMBs can realize increased flexibility, scalability, and cost savings in the cloud, just like their enterprise-level counterparts. Using a cloud service provider’s (CSP) compute and storage infrastructure on an as-needed basis means the business can reduce the need for costly expenses for servers, data storage, and networks while taking advantage of the CSP’s ability to offer enhanced performance. Developers can take advantage of cloud computing to facilitate rapid prototyping and collaboration. To make it easier for SMBs to use cloud services, many CSPs are simplifying interfaces and procedures.
Cloud computing simply means that the organization is doing at least a portion of its processing over the Internet. Cloud computing was already on a steady increase when the pandemic hit. The shift towards remote work created a sharp increase in demand that has not slowed down since. As of Q1 2024, 94% of companies worldwide use some form of cloud computing in their business. By 2025, 30% of SMBs will shift half of their key workloads to the cloud. On the applications side, many business applications have even moved to cloud-only offerings.
As cloud usage has increased, so has the increase in frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks. In 2023, the average cost of a data breach for companies with less than 500 employees was $3.31 million. As SMBs move their processing to the cloud, they need to ensure that they’re taking the steps necessary to protect their applications, data, and networks from attack.
The State of Cloud Security for Small Businesses Today
Your first thought might be that if you are using a CSP’s infrastructure and services, the CSP is solely responsible for security. But you would be wrong. Security in the cloud is a shared responsibility model. Yes, you can take advantage of the strong security controls deployed at the CSP. But you have security responsibilities as well.
The extent of your security responsibilities depends on which cloud service model you’re using. Overall, the most prevalent security vulnerabilities are misconfiguration of applications and resources, insecure interfaces, and application programming interfaces (APIs), and insecure accounts. Misconfigurations can leave the cloud environment open to attack. Over 70% of organizations surveyed have experienced a data breach due to misconfigured services. Yet 99% of cloud misconfigurations go unnoticed by the organization.
APIs allow applications and components to communicate and share data. Insecure APIs, which are those lacking proper authentication or authorization, provide hackers with easy entry into an otherwise secure system. And insecure accounts lacking proper authentication or authorization are a security problem whether you’re operating in the cloud or not.
How Secure is the Cloud for Business?
Cloud computing is as safe or safer than other forms of computing by any organization, SMB, or enterprise that has access to the internet. There will always be threats from cyberattackers—but the threats that your organization faces depend on the nature of your business and how you are operating in the cloud. Here are some typical cloud-related threats.
- Data breaches and leaks: A major risk for any business is unauthorized access to data. Information accessibility over the internet makes it the perfect target for hackers. A breach can lead to sensitive information being accessed, stolen, or exposed.
- Less control over data: Storing data in the cloud means that the CSP has control of and responsibility for your data—and that you have less control over how your data is managed and protected. You need to understand your CSP’s data processing and protection practices and ensure that they align with your security needs.
- Vulnerability to cyberattacks: CSPs have strong security controls in place but they’re not invulnerable to attack. Hackers are constantly evolving their attack methods. You should know how your CSP is responding to evolving threats.
- Dependency on Internet connection: Cloud services depend on Internet connectivity. Without a stable internet connection, you could lose access to data and services, thereby disrupting your business operation.
What Are the Four Areas of Cloud Security for Small Businesses?
Cloud security can be categorized in several different ways. One popular categorization breaks cloud security into the following solutions: cloud data visibility, control over cloud data, access to cloud data and applications, and compliance.
- Visibility – Cloud data visibility refers to controls that allow only authorized users to view and directly monitor data stored in a cloud environment, with alerting systems used to facilitate mitigation of compromising events.
- Control – Control over cloud data pertains to data classification, data loss prevention, collaboration controls and encryption processes to safeguard data.
- Access – Access to cloud data and applications is the implementation of user access control systems, device access control systems, abnormal behavior identification systems, malware prevention measures, and privileged access control.
- Compliance – Compliance refers to the set of requirements in place covering data and applications in cloud environments, such as risk and compliance assessment, in accordance with regulatory rules and guidelines.
Cloud Security for Small Businesses in 5 Essential Steps
Cloud security for small businesses is a set of strategies, technologies, and policies that the organization deploys to protect the infrastructure, data, and applications of its cloud computing. The steps that you take to protect your organization will depend on the nature of your business and the data that you hold and process, in addition to your usage of cloud services. Here are five steps you should take to ensure that your cloud operation is as secure as possible.
1. Understand Your Cloud Environment
The CSP you choose has a major influence on security. Define your security needs and identify cloud providers that offer the services and security you require. Understand the shared responsibility model and determine which security controls are your responsibility.
2. Prioritize Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Implementation
Strong authentication is essential. Even in today’s environment of heightened security and what sometimes seems like daily data breach notifications, the most common passwords are “123456” and “Password1”. You need to enforce strong password requirements—but even that’s not enough. Security experts recommend using multi-factor authentication (MFA). With MFA, the user must enter a second form of identification, such as a code sent by the server, or an answer to a security question, as well as a username and password.
3. Start Secure and Remain Secure
Today’s agile development and CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous deployment) processes facilitate rapid development and deployment of applications. Security needs to be built into the product from day one. Applications need to be thoroughly tested for potential vulnerabilities during development and before deployment. And don’t forget about security post-deployment. Updates and changes need to be thoroughly tested as well. Stay vigilant regarding developing threats and deploy security patches as soon as they are available.
4. Leverage Cloud Provider Security Features
Major CSPs offer an array of built-in security services that can help you enable and maintain a strong cloud security posture, minimizing the need to invest in in-house programs and services. A few such services are Identity Access Management (IAM), firewalls, activity logging, and encryption. Determine which services your CSP offers and how they fit into your security requirements.
5. Push for Consistent Security Across the Business Environment
You have deployed effective security controls. But no business, SMB or enterprise, operates entirely on its own. You need to insist that your vendors and third parties use strong authentication and data encryption and follow the best practices for cloud security for small businesses. If appropriate, ensure that they are complying with applicable security frameworks and regulations such as SOC2, ISO 27001, NIST, etc.
The Bottom Line
Ten years ago cloud computing was mostly an enterprise-level operation. But today, it’s easier and more cost-effective for SMBs to enjoy the benefits of moving operations to the cloud. You can improve the scalability and flexibility of resources while reducing equipment and operational costs. You can take advantage of the CSP’s enterprise-level technology and security controls. However you need to understand the potential threats and know your responsibilities for securing your data and operations. By investing in cloud computing and cloud security, SMBs can improve performance and productivity while protecting business operations and avoiding financial and reputational damage from security incidents.
Visit our Cybersecurity 101 to explore c loud security further.
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