Is the Cloud Secure?

This is a question we get asked a lot.

As cloud accountants, we always push the idea of the cloud, simply because we find it is the best way to do business.

So is it secure?

The truth is that there will be threats of insecurity in whatever software you decide to use, whether it is in the cloud or not.

Cloud security involves a broad set of policies, technologies and controls deployed to protect data in the cloud.

The risks when using the cloud to store data are linked to weak cloud security measures, for example software without controls like encryption, or a lack of multi-factor authentication to access the service.

The cloud is, in our view, the best place to do business. If you are considering using the cloud to store your financial data, identify the top security threats to minimize risk.

The top risk is, of course, data breaches. Although cloud organisations face a lot of the same risks as the traditional organisations, the abundance of data stored in the cloud makes it more attractive to cyber criminals.

Good cloud providers deploy security controls to protect the organisations, however it is argued that organisations must take responsibility for protecting their own data. The way to do this is by using strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and encryption that will protect them against data breaches. They should also remove user access from those no longer apart of the business – this may seem obvious but a lot of organisations simply forget to do this.

We highly recommend using the cloud, however if you are concerned about security, we advise you to conduct your own research – we have found that the risks involved with using the cloud is not massively different from using traditional software, however with the cloud brings many advantages, such as lower costs, increased employee productivity and allows for instant access to data.

If you would like to discuss this further, contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible with some helpful information.

Disclaimer – this information is correct at the time of publication and is provided as general information not to be relied upon without a discussion with a suitably qualified professional