Hackers may have been hiding in Equifax’s computer network for quite some time now. When they struck, and they struck hard, they stole the personal data of over 143 million people. It is almost half the size of the population of the USA. It was so easy for them to grab and run with their personal information that it left the rest of the world out of words.
With at least one major data breach happening each year, people are becoming more concerned about the safety and security of cloud services NYC. We are hearing a lot of rumors, fears, and assumptions about cloud service providers in the city. It prompted us to compile the myths vs. facts about CSPs and seek out the reality of all compliance concerns that are wracking people right now.
Myth: Cloud storages are less secure than physical storage
Well, let’s just start by saying that is as far from the truth as possible.
Quentin Hardy, the NY Times deputy tech editor, said that cloud data is protected by a higher degree of technology. The security is undoubtedly better than physical storage devices and traditional data center settings. Almost all the exceptional brains of the world are trying to make cloud a safer place for data. Much thought is currently going into optimizing cloud storage in terms of security and backup. Solid state storage and hard disk technologies have not been receiving much attention for quite some time now. It is true for physical data centers in the country as well. Cloud ecosystems surely have better security and verification procedures. Clouds are built with cutting-edge technology and tools that are incredibly compliance ready.
Myth: Regulators disapprove of cloud
The federal governments and standard bodies are quite accepting of the age of the cloud. Even the PCI security standards council has Cloud Computing Guidelines.
In fact, the most recent Guidance on HIPAA & Cloud Computing from the Department of Health and Human Services shows their support for transition into the realm of cloud services. It is relevant for the healthcare organizations and their service partners who handle and record electronic protected health information or ePHI. It makes sure that the cloud obeys the strict privacy requirements and security needs of the federal law.
According to the HHS, clouds are acceptable ways to protect legal data that is both sensitive and secretive, as long as the cloud service provider or CSP has signed a business agreement with the HHS. In fact, public, private and hybrid clouds are equally acceptable methods as long as they meet all HIPAA compliance standards.
Myth: Virtualization and compliance can never be friends
Clouds are virtual. That is true. However, we keep forgetting that clouds can also come to life in the legacy environment. It means, your cloud can be fully compliant with HIPAA guidelines or PCS DSS Virtualization Guidelines while providing necessary cloud services.
Compliance is necessary for the security of the data and the people whose data are in the cloud. Therefore, any CSP should provide extra attention to the hypervisor. That is one place that can show potential weakness and it is unique to the virtual environment. If a physical setup can meet the standards and regulations, so can a cloud environment.
Myth: Compliance is a piece of cake
That is untrue. Compliance is complex. Possible more complex for cloud than it is for physical systems since it involves optimizing a lot of unseen parameters and defining new parameters for the data storage and organization.
All CSPs need to ensure that necessary safeguards are intact. It includes virtual firewalls, multi-authentication login, layers of 128-bit encryption and regular backup of the data. Compliance and cloud have no truck between them. Your business just needs a company that understands your requirements, the principles of compliance and has experience in handling classified data.
Any company that does not switch to the cloud should prepare to fall behind in the business race. Cloud storage is undoubtedly more secure, and in the future, data on the cloud will be the safest. Hackers still need considerable time to sharpen their tools to crack the top cloud storage services. Cloud may be virtualization, but it is a reality all aspiring businessmen need to embrace now.
Lucy Jones is a cloud computing expert. Her work with https://americantechpros.com/ on the development of a compliant cloud storage infrastructure has fetched her many awards and accolades all over the country.