Nowadays, organizations can feel like trying to establish effective cybersecurity is a total gamble. Will this work? Will that work? How bad will it be when a data breach occurs? How soon before someone slips up and exposes the network through a phishing attempt? How long will the downtime be before normal operations can resume?
The only sure thing in any industry seems to be that cyber-attacks are going to hit sooner or later. And any organization can bet on the fact that its network will be targeted at some point—however effectively the breach attempts are.
Growing risk in the cloud
The risk has risen as organizations have adopted cloud environments for data storage, processing, and management. The increased use of cloud, endpoint devices, and an expanding virtual threat landscape has provided more vulnerable inroads for cyber-attackers to take advantage of. Organizational data is a valuable target that is being stored increasingly off-premises, and businesses often don’t realize that as they rely on cloud-based vendor services, the responsibility for protecting their data remains primarily (if not exclusively) their responsibility.
Hybrid cloud solutions heighten security
So data isn’t safe when stored solely via on-premises network, nor is it entirely safe when stored in the cloud. As organizations recognize an “either-or” scenario isn’t optimal, they’re turning to hybrid cloud environments, spreading data across both on-premises and cloud-based platforms to put the odds more in their favor.
At the same time, organizations are taking security concerns more seriously because the threats are escalating. Cyber-criminals are not only expanding the scope of their attacks but are trying to milk successful breaches for more profit. For example, one attack can result in multiple ransomware demands or one exposed network can provide an opportunity for attackers to jump to customer or vendor networks and cause even more widespread damage.
Increased threat means increased awareness
A good side effect of the growing amount of ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity threats is that they can’t simply be ignored or handled with crossed fingers and wishing for best-case outcomes in emergencies. Everyone is taking notice and starting to take more action. From IT admins to executives on the board, employees and whole teams are adopting stronger stances toward cybersecurity. This involves proactively analyzing existing security policies and strategies and determining whether current solutions are effective enough or need to be upgraded or replaced entirely to handle future threats and emergencies.
The investment will pay off for the organization that audits its network and takes necessary steps to fill in any security gaps or shore up vulnerabilities.
Establishing zero-tolerance for greater trust
Aside from the data itself, customer trust is one of the most valuable currencies an organization must invest in. To optimize that trust, security measures must be upfront and effective—and a business must quickly adopt a zero-trust strategy for data access. Because one compromised device or user can expose a whole organizational network to permanent damage, the business must take every single user relationship into account and scrutinize it as a potential threat.
A zero-trust approach is essential for organizations that want to reduce risk across the board while still enabling infrastructure expansion and scalable growth via cloud-based apps and modernized systems.
So take heart that real answers and solutions exist to take on the challenge of cybersecurity across all fronts. Security doesn’t have to be a gamble, and the hybrid cloud approach offers a proven and reliable investment that will pay off in both the short and long-term.
Would you like to discover more about how hybrid cloud strategies and solutions can improve your business? Touch base with Taos today and speak with one of our cloud experts.