Did you know that the global cloud computing industry is projected to reach a whopping US$1.6 trillion market valuation by 2030 according to G2? This is not surprising at all; organisations worldwide are embracing cloud-based technologies for their advantages: functionality, scalability and storage capacity.

To keep up with the ever-growing digital landscape, cloud-based services have also evolved to equip businesses with more advanced tech at a much lower cost.

Unfortunately, the dangers in the digital space are growing more rampant. Data breaches, malware, zero-day attacks, human error—you name it. This is why understanding the role of cloud security in protecting your data is a responsibility.

Because even if you use the most secure cloud storage provider, your cloud infrastructure is vulnerable to attacks if you don’t implement cloud security practices. Put your defences down for a mere second, and malicious actors will find the smallest security gap to reel themselves in.

Let’s get started. 

Getting Started: What Is Cloud Storage?

Cloud storage is a mode of computer data storage where digital information is kept on servers located off-site. These servers are managed by third-party companies that host and protect stored data on their infrastructure. 

When you seek out the cloud-based services of providers, they ensure that the data on their servers can always be accessed through public or private internet connections.

By leveraging cloud storage, organisations can store, retrieve and oversee data on their own. This removes the need for building and running data centres, reducing expenses from a capital expenditure model to an operational one. 

Moreover, the cloud allows employees to collaborate with each other and work remotely. By granting the right employees easy access to files, they can edit documents together and achieve greater efficiency.

Cloud storage comes in different types, including:

• Private cloud storage is also called internal cloud storage or enterprise. The data is safeguarded by the company’s firewall, enhancing security and privacy. Its most known advantage is it grants the user complete control over their data. 

• Public cloud storage allows minimal administrative controls and online access to both users and authorised individuals. Since solution providers like AWS host public cloud storage, organisations don’t have to maintain the system themselves. 

 

What Is Cloud Security?

Cloud security refers to the set of procedures, protocols and technologies that protect cloud-based data, infrastructures and applications from cyber-attacks. It establishes multi-layered protective measures like tokenisation, access control, firewalls and virtual private networks (VPN), among others.

 

How Does Cloud Security Work?

Since cloud computing security contains a diverse range of protocols and tools, there’s no single explanation for how it operates. However, each cloud security measure has a similar function: make sure that only approved users have access to data stored in the cloud.

Here are some aspects of how cloud security works:

• Network and Device Security

In cloud computing, network security protects both users and cloud service providers. It mainly aims to prevent the manipulation of communication channels and unwanted access from outsiders.

It also uses tools and techniques to put barriers between access and exposure of data. This includes virtual private cloud (VPC), VPNs, network access control lists (NACL) and security groups acting as a firewall.

• Identity and Access Management (IAM)

IAM grants the right people in your organisation certain access privileges to data and resources. The objective of AIM systems is to give each user one digital identity that should be maintained and monitored throughout their access lifecycle.

Some AIM techniques are multi-factor authentication (MFA), password management, single sign-on (SSO) and just-in-time access.

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

With business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR), companies that encounter a technical disaster or interruption can continue their operations. They help you set measures to lessen the impact and increase the chances of recovery.

Organisations must ensure that they adhere to data redundancy tactics like data backups, failover and building frameworks to verify the validity of said backups.

 

Why Cloud Security Is Important

Before the meteoric rise of the Internet, business and personal data along with security lived locally. People would either store their data on personal computers at home or enterprise servers if they work for an organisation. 

Things drastically changed when cloud technology was introduced, forcing companies to explore cloud security. There’s always a chance that your data and applications are internet-accessible—moving between local and remote servers. 

This is why implementing cloud security is more important than ever. Regardless of your organisation’s size, it should be an integral part of your cybersecurity policies. Let’s discuss some of its benefits below:

Protection Against DDoS

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a cybercrime where a server is flooded with too much Internet traffic to disrupt its operations. Your website will be useless for hours, days and even weeks, leading to revenue loss and diminished brand authority.

Think of your web servers like a highway: when an unexpected traffic jam clogs up the road, people won’t arrive at their destinations on time, much less move. 

Fortunately, cloud security protects your web servers by monitoring and dispersing DDoS attacks. For instance, a secure cloud storage provider inspects incoming traffic by applying anomaly algorithms and traffic signatures. These techniques help them detect if malicious activity is happening.

High Availability And Support

Cloud-computing-based services come with high availability and support. They have built-in redundancies to keep business systems operational even if some components fail. 

With cloud computing security, you can quickly take action and address potential threats since access to your cloud applications is always available. They are backed with failover protocols, geo-redundancy and 24/7 monitoring to provide solutions in real time. 

Data Security

One of the best advantages of cloud security is that they protect your data with robust access controls and data encryption so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. 

Cloud providers also ensure that they provide the highest standards of security against data breaches. For example, Azure uses behavioural analytics, machine learning and application-based intelligence to detect risks. It examines vast data sources like 18 billion Bing web pages, 400 billion emails and many more.

Google Cloud, on the other hand, provides a ‘secure-by-design infrastructure’ with built-in safeguards and default encryption for improved security.

Regulatory Compliance

Industries like e-commerce and financial services are required to meet strict industry and governmental regulations. These regulations, however, are ever-changing. Keeping up with them can sound like another full-time job you have to attend to.

The good news is, cloud security allows you to automate regulatory compliance. You can integrate compliance measures into an application’s code, saving you valuable time from manually making changes. 

It enables companies to prioritise their core tasks while they operate within the established boundaries set by their industries. 

Best Practices To Protect Your Cloud Storage From Threats

Now that you know about the common challenges and risks in the cloud, it’s time to learn cloud security best practices. We’ve summarised the most effective and efficient strategies for protecting your cloud infrastructure from threats to keep you guided.

 

Understand The Shared Responsibility Model

Every cloud service provider follows a shared responsibility model to strengthen cloud security. Remember that even the most secure cloud storage provider won’t ever accept full responsibility or accountability when securing your data. 

You have to be clear about the security responsibilities you hand over to your cloud provider, and the ones you manage internally. It helps prevent miscommunication that can lead to security incidents. 

In cloud computing security, it takes two to tango. 

Depending on your company’s needs, you can always negotiate the contract with your provider to gain more or less control. For instance, you might just handle non-complex tasks like access management and data storage, to name a few. 

However, having more responsibilities grants you greater control over security measures, giving you more advantages. 

Secure Access To The Cloud

While most cloud providers have measures in place to protect their clients’ infrastructure, you’re still responsible for securing your organisation’s cloud user accounts and sensitive information.

To help you mitigate risks, enhance password management by including password policies in the cybersecurity program. 

Require employees to set different and complex passwords for each account. Make sure that they follow regular password rotation to avoid password-based attacks and exploits. For extra security, you can also implement a centralised password management solution to lessen the chances of unauthorised access. 

Additionally, ensure that you block downloads to unauthorised devices like personal computers or phones. Set a device security verification protocol for an additional layer of data security.

Conduct Regular Audits

Whether an organisation works with an external security firm or handles security internally, experts recommend conducting two important activities: penetration tests and vulnerability scans.

Penetration tests help you evaluate if your cloud security efforts are strong enough to protect data and confidential information. Meanwhile, vulnerability scans check for misconfigurations and weaknesses that hackers could potentially exploit.

Aside from that, you should conduct regular audits. It ensures that the cloud providers you’re working with meet the agreed-upon security standards. Reviewing access logs will also ensure that only approved staff with the right permissions can access sensitive data and applications in the cloud.

4 Most Secure Cloud Storage Providers in 2023

Not all cloud storage providers are created equal, especially regarding security. If you make the mistake of choosing the wrong platform, you run the risk of exposing your data to cyberattacks, threats and data loss. 

Luckily, we have found the most secure cloud providers that offer top-notch convenience and benefits without privacy invasion! Check them out below:

Ways To Buy Wasabi	Capacity Ranges	Contract Terms	Payment Terms	Support Plan	Price
Pay-as-You-Go	1 TB to no limit	Credit Card	Payment every 30 days	Basic	$6.99 per month
Reserved Capacity Storage	25 TB to no limit	1, 3 or 5-year invoice	Payment upfront	Premium	The amount of money deducted from the pay-as-you-go plan depends on terms and capacity.

 

 

Founded in 2017, Wasabi’s main attraction is that it cuts the cost of cloud data storage by up to 80%. It has become one of the best options for small (SMB) to large-sized businesses, allowing them to enjoy cloud technology at a much lower cost. You can even calculate your monthly storage bill through their Cost Calculator Comparison tool.

Wasabi’s S3-compatible API is also designed to integrate with your current data solutions, ensuring that your cloud strategy remains future-proof. 

And in terms of security, Wasabi stores data in hardened data centres to prevent physical and virtual attacks. These data centres have received the highest rating (tier four) from the Uptime Institute, ensuring a 99.9 percent uptime. 

To further enhance security, there are 24/7 security patrols and CCTV surveillance in place. Thanks to biometric scanners, trespassers don’t have the slightest chance to enter the premises undetected. 

Wasabi encrypts your data while it’s stored in their cloud, even if you haven’t encrypted it through your online backup software. HTTPS is also used to secure the transmission of data during uploads and downloads, protecting against man-in-the-middle attacks. 

Their most popular features include:

• Ransomware prevention
• S3 Object Lock
• Bucket Replication
• Compliance
• Sustainability

AWS

AWS Cloud Storage Solutions	Amount of Data	Pricing
Amazon S3 Standard	First 50 TB / Month	$0.025 per GB
	Next 450 TB / Month	$0.024 per GB
	Over 500 TB / Month	$0.023 per GB
S3 Intelligent – Tiering	Frequent Access Tier, First 50 TB / Month	$0.025 per GB
	Frequent Access Tier, Next 450 TB / Month	$0.024 per GB
	Frequent Access Tier, Over 500 TB / Month	$0.023 per GB
	Infrequent Access Tier, All Storage / Month	$0.0138 per GB
	Archive Instant Access Tier, All Storage / Month	$0.005 per GB
S3 Standard – Infrequent Access	All Storage / Month	$0.0138 per GB
S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval	All Storage / Month	$0.005 per GB
S3 Glacier Deep Archive	All Storage / Month	$0.002 per GB

 

A subsidiary of Amazon, Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers over 200 featured services from data centres all over the world. This includes storage, networking, servers, email, remote computing, mobile development and security. 

It has become a giant component in the computing industry that it has outpaced its competitors. AWS has established the most dynamic and largest community of cloud users, ranging from startups to public sector organisations and enterprises.

One of the biggest advantages of using AWS is they’re known for being a cost-effective service as it doesn’t require long-term commitments upon purchase. They also offer a user-friendly programming model, database, architecture and operating system widely recognised by employers.

AWS also eliminates the need for additional expenses on running dedicated data servers.

GCP

GCP Type Of Storage	Pricing
Standard storage (per GB per Month)	$0.020
Nearline storage (per GB per Month)	$0.010
Coldline storage (per GB per Month)	$0.005
Archive storage (per GB per Month)	$0.0015

 

Like AWS and Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a public cloud vendor that allows users to use computer resources located in Google’s global data centres either for free or through a pay-per-use model.

It offers a variety of services, such as:

• Machine learning and AI
• Big data processing
• Network
• Compute

One reason why GCP gained popularity is because of its speed. It provides its Google Cloud and Google App users network speeds of up to 10TBs. And thanks to its low-latency network, it can process data in less time which leads to faster response times and quicker access to services.

 

For big organisations that require lots of permissions for their projects, GCP is known for their excellent organisational hierarchy. You can allow administrators to set policies at the top level, enabling departments to work efficiently within the bounds of established rules. 

And once the project is deleted, all resources are removed from the platform. This streamlined resource management helps organisations maintain cost efficiency and prevent resource clutter.

Microsoft Azure

Data storage prices pay-as-you-go	Premium	Hot	Cool	Cold (preview)	Archive
First 50 TB / month	$0.15 per GB	$0.018 per GB	$0.01 per GB	$0.0036 per GB	$0.00099 per GB
Next 450 TB / month	$0.15 per GB	$0.0173 per GB	$0.01 per GB	$0.0036 per GB	$0.00099 per GB
Over 500 TB / month	$0.15 per GB	$0.0166 per GB	$0.01 per GB	$0.0036 per GB	$0.00099 per GB

 

Launched on February 2010, Microsoft Azure is a popular choice in the enterprise space. Microsoft claims that approximately 95% of Fortune 500 companies use their services. This can be attributed to the company leveraging its legacy within organisations to facilitate the transition to the cloud.

Azure offers a range of services and use cases that can benefit various aspects of hosting and application development. This includes:

• Metrics collection and storage – Azure allows you to collect and store metrics related to your applications and services. You can use the data for analysis, monitoring performance and making informed decisions based on insights.

• Virtual hard drives – These virtual hard drives are extensions of virtual machines, providing ample storage capacity for data.

• Application hosting – You can deploy your applications to Azure and take advantage of its infrastructure for scalability, security and reliability.

Due to its advanced site recovery, flexibility and built-in integration, Azure is also an excellent tool for backup and disaster recovery. It also supports different OS, locations and programming languages while allowing users to define the frequency and extent of their backup schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

Final Thoughts

Your cloud system doesn’t have to be an open field for cyber attackers and malicious activities. You always have control over access to your perimeter, granting rights to authorised users and enhancing data protection. The power is in your hands.

Remember that no one-size-fits-all cloud security solution will safeguard your cloud environment. This is why you need to study what your organisation needs to determine the best practices and strategies when it comes to your cloud storage.

So, if you’re ready to take the next step, D-Ron is here to guide you all the way to unparalleled cloud security solutions. Get in touch with us today—we’re ready to listen.

 

FAQs