Major Challenges of Setting up a Secured Cloud Computing Environment (And it’s Solutions)

The twenty-first century brought with itself great advances in computing and technology. Of these, Cloud Computing has been one of the most dominant ones. By offering pooling of resources, a wide network access, on-demand self-service, measured service, and flexibility, it has emerged as a preferred alternative for storing information and utilizing assets across a network. Further, it is available to users in various models like PaaS or Platform as a Service, IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service, and SaaS or Software as a Service. Today, we will explore the major challenges of setting up a secure cloud computing environment and offer some workable solutions around them.

Security-Related Challenges while setting up a Cloud Computing Environment

• The possibility of a data breach
• Vulnerability to DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack
• The need to ensure that information flows across the entire network in a secured manner
• Management of vulnerabilities or bugs in the system
• User account getting hijacked
• Presence of APT parasites
• Factors leading to the loss of data
• Risks associated with multiple tenants of the cloud
• Interfaces or APIs getting hacked

If we were to sum it up, then ensuring a secure Cloud Computing network would involve taking all the security measures for an on-site server in addition to Cloud-related security measures. Let’s look at some ways in which you can manage the security challenges.

1. A written document about the Security Policies

Before availing the services of a Cloud provider, make sure that you ask him to share a written document which details the policies and plan pertaining to the security of the Cloud. This will help you understand the approach towards security and offer an assurance about the priority assigned by the provider to the security of his services.

2. Introduce Multi-factor authentication

While all user accounts have a password, it is usually not enough to secure their accounts. Hence, it is necessary to have multi-factor authentication set up to keep hijacking at bay. Apart from the password, the users must input an OTP as an added layer of security.

3. Encryption and Security Tools

This is a no-brainer. Use the latest available encryption technology, antivirus, and antimalware tools. You can also introduce a firewall if necessary.

4. Regular Backups

Backups are the fall-back option in case of any disaster. While most cloud providers offer a backup option as a part of their services, it is important to regularly take your own backup too. If you are making a lot of changes to the system every day, then you must back up on a daily basis too. And remember, your backups need encryption as well.

5. Choice of the Cloud model

There are many types of Cloud models available today like private clouds, public clouds, multi-cloud systems, and hybrid clouds. You must choose the model which is best suited to your activities. For example, if your cloud computing system would deal with a lot of critical and confidential information and low volumes, then a private cloud would be ideal for you. On the other hand, if the data is not so confidential and the volumes are very high, then you might want to opt for a public cloud. A hybrid cloud and multi-cloud systems offer you the flexibility to create a computing environment tailored to your needs.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is used in an array of services like Cloud storage platforms, Cloud Hosting services, Cloud communication systems, etc. In many cases, the entire organisation’s data relies on the security of the Cloud environment. Follow these tips and ensure that your cloud computing environment is secure. Do let us know about the tools that you use to keep your Cloud environment secure in the comments section below.