Expanding legislation and requirements around data security means many organisations have security at the top of their priority list at the moment. Unfortunately, due to a misperception regarding data sovereignty, many of these organisations are missing out on the benefits of leveraging cloud services to improve their cybersecurity.
Many organisations believe they aren’t allowed to store their data in the cloud but that’s not necessarily correct. It’s only certain government departments and regulated institutions that need to be careful about where they store data. However, in general, companies just have to take reasonable steps to ensure privacy principles aren’t breached.
Rather than taking a strict “no cloud” approach, organisations concerned about data privacy simply need to take a risk management approach. This means applying a cautious and measured approach, being aware of the risks, and acting reasonably to mitigate them.
With so many businesses using cloud for business purposes, and so many attackers using cloud to mount their attacks, it makes sense for businesses to take advantage of cloud services for cybersecurity.
Using the cloud for security lets businesses share issues more easily and reduce the costs associated with on-premise installations and maintenance of security technology. Cloud models also let businesses change their providers quickly if necessary. There are numerous cloud-based security solutions that let customers leverage the flexibility and value of the cloud.
For example, customers could choose a cloud-based offering that lets them collect rich log data from multiple platform products deployed in various locations across their networks without needing to plan for compute and storage needs. As a cloud-based solution, it means customers aren’t limited by hardware availability or how quickly log collectors can be deployed.
Once the logs are in the cloud, customers can leverage cloud-based applications like user behaviour analytics that identify user and device patterns across the network, then use that benchmark information to accurately detect anomalies.
There are also cloud services that delivers next-generation security infrastructure to customers with cloud storage and preventive capabilities including safe enablement of applications, threat prevention, URL filtering, and threat analysis. This secures remote networks and mobile users, helping businesses reduce the management complexity of costly, time-consuming cloud deployments.
With a flexible, on-demand security service, companies have scalable options to accommodate growth demands and achieve consistent security throughout their environments, regardless of users’ locations or devices. This means there is no reason for organisations to avoid or limit their use of the cloud but, instead, can securely leverage the benefits of the cloud without incurring undue risk.
Mauricio Sabena, Systems Engineer Manager – ANZ, Palo Alto Networks
