BENGALURU: Every year, April 3 is observed as World Cloud Security Day to remind businesses as well as individuals to review, re-evaluate, and strengthen their digital defences to protect data.
With business working in an always-connected environment, almost every data input gets stored on, and synced to, cloud servers. So, no amount of additional layers of security for working in the cloud computing environment will be excess. Companies are now seriously evaluating cloud security in light of recent increase in threats, and are also moving towards a digital transformation strategy.
“With cyber threats growing in sophistication and frequency, the need for organisations to prioritise cloud security has reached a critical juncture. As businesses lean more heavily on cloud services to drive innovation and efficiency, the importance of fortifying cloud environments against potential breaches and attacks cannot be overlooked,” says Vaibhav Tare, vice-president and chief information security officer at Fulcrum Digital.
From individual communications to large-scale business operations, data serves as the lifeblood. However, this growing dependence also brings forth an urgent need for robust data security measures.
“As we entrust more of our information to cloud platforms and online services, the risk of unauthorised access, data breaches, and cyberattacks looms larger than ever. To combat these risks, authentication methods and encryption technologies stand as essential safeguards, ensuring that sensitive information remains shielded from malicious actors,” says Geetha Ramanna, director—software development and network security at Sophos. As we confront the realities of our data-driven world, it’s imperative to prioritise data security as a cornerstone of our digital transformation efforts, Ramanna adds. According to market research platform MarketsandMarkets, the global cloud security market will grow from $40.7 billion in 2023 to $62.9 billion by 2028.
It says the increasing adoption of multi-cloud environments, growth of DevSecOps, increasing use of AI, and ML for cloud security are key factors that drive growth.
Jo Debecker, managing partner and global head of Wipro FullStride Cloud, says cloud is essential for companies seeking to enhance their competitiveness by fostering growth and innovation. Many organisations have begun adopting a ‘multi-cloud’ approach without implementing the necessary architecture and solutions to ensure seamless interoperability between different clouds, all while safeguarding the security of their data. Ensuring data protection in a multi-cloud environment requires careful planning and implementation of security measures to protect data as it is moved from one environment to another.
Debecker stresses on adoption of various measures including data encryption. “Data must be encrypted both in transit and at “rest” to protect it from unauthorised access. This includes encrypting data as it flows between different service providers and within each cloud environment. Strong identity and access management policies, such as multi-factor authentication, are required to ensure that only authorised users have access to data, he says.