Moving your enterprise data to cloud is a business decision now. You can’t avoid adopting cloud computing or else, you will lose ground to your competitors. Even with many technical heads expressing their concern over cloud security, adoption rates are still quite high. Nonetheless, increased exposure also means increased risk.
Since all your services and data are now hosted in single platform, it’s easier for cyber criminals to target this one interface to disrupt your operations. 2013 is going to see a paradigm shift in cloud computing consulting services as improved data security in virtual environments becomes the prime focus of the industry. Additionally the cloud security market is an emerging industry which is expected to grow by $6 billion in 2016. Below, we’ve discussed the security trends that are expected to rule the cloud security market in the coming years.
- Multi-factor authentication: Companies, especially ones with global presence, often face issues regarding compliance with government privacy laws. Data security and privacy regulations vary from nation to nation, and no single-standard can satisfy them all. As a result, more companies are inclining towards multi-factor authentication. It is increasingly becoming a norm to protect your data against highly sophisticated social engineering and spear phishing attacks.
- Private cloud: Companies that want to enjoy the advantages of cloud computing, and at the same time wish to retain control over data, are increasingly adopting private cloud based service model. Private clouds offer the benefit of cloud computing within the secured location of in-house servers. It allows the firm to put added layers of security, which isn’t possible in a multi-tenant public cloud environment.
- Virtual firewall: The demand for virtual firewall systems is likely to grow beyond its initial market of data centers This is likely to offer firewall security to organizations that have their data hosted in public cloud environment. The virtual firewall is deployed through Hypervisor and virtual switch.
- Increased visibility: One can improve data security on the virtualized environment by improving visibility of data and continuously monitoring its behavior in the network. Improved visibility will make it easier to monitor what’s happening in the virtual space, as well as see how the data is modified. Enterprises can also set specification regarding who can see and access their data on the cloud. Any violation or security breach will immediately be brought to the organization’s attention.
To tell the truth, cloud based technology does have security issues, but they aren’t as serious as they seem. Moreover, malicious attacks have affected even the secured server locations of companies. Therefore, cloud environment aren’t more vulnerable than protected in-house server locations. As per the predictions of market experts, acceptance of the cloud will continue to grow, and more companies will embrace the hosted service model. This will also lead to the expansion of the cloud security market.
Where do I go from here?
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