Common Myths About Cloud Security

The cloud feels like a magic bank vault in the sky.  

Your ultra-important data goes in for safekeeping, and you no longer need to fret over a future burglary.  

Except that’s not exactly how it works.  

Now that more small and medium-sized businesses are moving their data to the cloud, we’ve encountered some common misconceptions about what that means for their IT security.  

Myth No. 1: “Now that we’re in the cloud, we don’t need to worry about security anymore.”  

Just because your data is stored in the cloud doesn’t mean you can forget about IT. While the cloud can provide your company with a high level of security, you still need an effective and reliable IT infrastructure.  

Consider all the ways your company might experience a data breach, even with the cloud: non-secure passwords, a lack of two-factor authentication, or a lack of awareness about how many devices have access to the cloud, who’s using them, and what level of access each user has. Would your company notice if a user from Italy was accessing private files?  

And those are just base-level security measures. Start adding all the applications your company uses into the mix, and additional security gaps pop up all over. Say your company uses QuickBooks Online, then you decide to start using HubSpot, too. You find a connector that enables HubSpot and QuickBooks to effortlessly exchange information, which makes dealing with customer info so much easier. Yay! But if those applications weren’t connected correctly, you’ve weakened your security.  

In a nutshell, if you’re extending applications, you need to extend your security.  

Myth No. 2: “If we get hacked, the cloud service provider is responsible.”

You buy cloud service and expect it to be secure, right? It’s somewhat true, but if your data IS hacked, you won’t have much recourse. The service provider won’t be responsible. For small and medium-sized companies, it’s “buyer beware.”  

The cloud can have many benefits for your business: accessibility from any location, which supports remote work; relatively affordable and predictable initial pricing; maintenance is simple as upgrades and compatibility issues are resolved by the cloud software service provider; and security policies and default configurations tend to be higher than typical on-premises installations.  

But cloud service providers still get hacked.  

Curious whether your company’s technology should be in the cloud?  

Read more from our CTO, Brian Gagnon: Is the Cloud Right for Your Business?