Top three cloud security practices your business needs to adopt

In South Africa, business leaders already take security seriously. From CCTV to patrolling security guards, most offices have a high level of physical security in place. While these measures are essential, many businesses overlook the fact that cyber security is just as important as physical security.

In some instances, cyber security may even be more integral to business performance and success – a fact that is overlooked by many organisations. Interpol's African Cyber Threat Assessment report indicates that 90% of African businesses are operating with substandard cyber security protocols. To address this, business leaders are looking to the cloud to secure their digital assets.

Cloud security is an affordable way to protect business networks, but it can also come with some risks. To mitigate these potential problems, enterprises need to take certain steps to ensure that their business has effective cloud security in place. Here are three recommendations for improving an organisation's cloud security to protect against cyber attacks:

1. Adopt best practices when it comes to cloud security

Cloud security is a complex area so it's essential for companies to implement best practices. While it's certainly possible to create security protocol practices from scratch, there are several cloud adoption frameworks available which organisations can adopt and modify for their own unique requirements.

Microsoft Azure has a comprehensive guide to best security practices which encompasses people, process, technology and architecture. Microsoft recommends engaging staff on the cloud security journey, educating teams on best practices. There are a number of resources available to help develop skills in security, compliance, protocols and security risks.

Accelerated cloud migration requires companies to close any skills gaps. As more businesses move to the cloud, they need to ensure they have the right understanding of the skills required to deal with the complexities of the cloud environment. This is particularly the case with hybrid or multi-cloud environments where the architecture is that much more complex.

2. Remove blind spots by boosting the visibility cloud environments

A recent report revealed that companies do not spend enough time ensuring their cloud resources are secure; 69% of respondents admitted that they spend less than an hour per week on cloud security. Consistent cloud security enforcement is essential to remain 100% secure. Without good visibility and consistency, cloud security is compromised.

Removing blind spots has a number of key benefits. Visibility allows teams to reduce risks. Cyber security is boosted because teams can take a proactive approach to threats. Teams do not just react to issues as they emerge but can preemptively address any gaps in the security system. Improved visibility allows any abnormal behaviour in the network to be detected and contained, which allows for faster reaction times. Improving visibility also ensures that teams can manage complex cloud environments more easily and effectively.

3. Use SIEM to analyse and manage cyber security risks

One of the most important aspects of cloud security is having the right software solutions in place. A security information and event management (SIEM) tool helps to analyse and manage cyber security risks. It is aligned with cloud security best practises and helps to remove those security blind spots.

SIEM is a system that collects, analyses and correlates events and alerts. This tool helps organisations to manage security incidents by providing detailed analysis of the event data so that they can take action based on the severity of each incident. This will help prevent cyber attacks by identifying potential vulnerabilities before they happen or after they occur.

These three cloud security practices will ensure that any enterprise or business in South Africa can take full advantage of technology. Cloud security is a robust and affordable solution to ever-changing cyber threats. For more information or to get a quote for our various security services, email us at marketing@seacom.com or leave us a message.

Seacom owns Africa’s most extensive network of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, including subsea cables and secure internet connections. We offer a diverse range of flexible, scalable and high-quality solutions for businesses that meet world-class standards for connectivity.

Seacom is privately owned and operated, making it agile and adaptable to the needs of the customer. This makes us the preferred ICT and internet connectivity partner for African businesses and peripheral service providers. We can guarantee high-speed, low-latency and secure internet connections to corporates and small enterprises.

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