A Comprehensive Guide to Privacy in Cloud Computing

Introduction

Cloud computing has opened up a new vista in business and organisational operations. When the Pandemic hit hard on all kinds of brick and mortar business centres and organisational operations, cloud solution providers manifested themselves as the new superheroes of the new normal. The latest adage doing rounds in professional circles is ‘why to work from a cubicle when you can work on the cloud.

However, this fairytale of cloud computing has its own pitfalls and the most pertinent one is concerns over privacy and security.

What to Ask Before Opting for a Cloud Solution Provider

There are 2,200 cyberattacks each day which comes down to one cyber attack every 39 seconds. What’s worse, 95% of these attacks result from human error. With spywares like Pegasus and umpteen new threats popping up everyday data security has become a huge challenge. Even before the system security or an IT expert can determine the nature of the threat, your data is gone.

So while choosing a cloud solution provider, privacy should be the foremost condition. Reputed cloud services understand the necessity of data security and devise solutions that cover your major privacy concerns. Even giants like Microsoft cloud services, Dropbox and Amazon have experienced cloud service outages.

Here are some of the most eminent privacy challenges that cloud solution providers may face:

Imminent Privacy Issues:

● Data Privacy

While outsourcing sensitive data to an external cloud solution provider, one must look into the confidentiality issues. Access to data must be denied without proper authorisation. To restrict access, CSPs must use severe access control policies.

● Loss of Data

Earning the trust of the client is crucial for a cloud service provider. Any reported incident of data loss or theft in the past may negatively influence around 60% of the users to decline a cloud service provider. If a single unit is compromised, it becomes easier for the attacker access multiple units.

● Geographical Concerns

The cloud infrastructure sprawls worldwide. This means the user’s data can be stored outside their local legal jurisdiction. This spatial distance can raise an alarm about the legal accessibility of local law enforcement and regulations on data stored outside their region. Trans-border data transmission is further complicated by the user reservations about the local law violations due to the volatile nature of the cloud.

● Multi-tenancy Security

One cloud service provider offers residence to multiple users, sharing computational resources, applications, data storage and other services to different users. By providing services to multiple users from the same premise, the CSP can optimise profits, however, the co-tenants may be at risk of a data breach. Attackers can take advantage of multi-residence opportunities and attack the co-tenant’s data.

A cloud solution provider must take this privacy concern into account before launching multi-residence services.

● Transparency Issues

When it comes to putting their trust in the cloud service providers, the user expects complete transparency about the security and privacy policies. The user must have a clear view of how reachable security readiness data and information are.

● Hypervisor Related Risks

In the era of widespread virtualisation, hypervisor technology is a blessing. Also known as VVM (virtual machine monitor), this technology creates and operates virtual machines (VMs). One host computer supports multiple guest VMs by virtual sharing of resources like memory and processing.

Unlike independent physical devices, virtual devices in the cloud reside in one system managed by the hypervisor. Hence, the user is at risk of attacks from multiple VMs. The novelty of the hypervisor technology with features like isolation, security hardening, access control, etc., make it more vulnerable to cyber threats.

What’s more

You may have umpteen technical solutions to a problem, but the mismanagement in implementation may make your CSP vulnerable. A few instances are:

The lack of control.
Lacunas in security and privacy management for virtual operations.
Developing service level agreements. Besides all these technical aspects, some non-technical management issues may expose CSPs to privacy breach threats.

Conclusion

To safeguard users’ privacy, the CSP must consider all these big and small factors for a secured cloud computing system. CSPs like 365Solutions have some unique products and services to safeguard your data. The Acronis cloud storage and backup services and Enterprise Mobility Suite keep every byte of user data protected and prevent data loss.

For completely safe and secure cloud computing services reach us at +44 20 3880 1220 or mail us at sales@365solutions.com.

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