Keeping your data safe in cloud-based solutions

As your business grows, you’ll be responsible for managing more and more business information and customer data. Even though growth is positive, keeping up with data as it’s shared between platforms while maintaining it safely can feel overwhelming.  

If you’re worried about how to keep your data safe while scaling your business, cloud-based automation is a worthwhile solution to look into. While improving safety by switching to cloud-based solution might seem counterintuitive, it is actually one of the safest and most reliable ways to stay on top of your data. 

Cloud-based software will keep your data secure while adding efficiencies to your financial processes. Keep reading to learn more about cloud-based solutions and what they can do for your business. 

What is cloud security?  

Cloud-based providers store your data on an external server instead of a local device, meaning you can access it anywhere with internet. Examples of common cloud-based providers include Google and Microsoft suites. 

Because of this, extra precautions should be in place like: password management solutions such as 1Password and Bitwarden; and anti-virus software like Norton, McAfee, and G Data. 

Cloud security relies on a set of measures to ensure data is safe from unauthorized access. These measures can include security policies and controls, user authentication, and data loss prevention tools. Cloud security is advantageous for data security because providers must maintain safety guidelines in alignment with regulatory compliance, while following best practices to secure the data.  

How does cloud security work and why is it important for businesses?  

Securing your data should be a top concern for your business, as data breaches can have drastic consequences, both legally and for your reputation. Cloud-based security might help you be compliant with regulations and maintain trust with customers, especially in industries with heavy data regulations, like healthcare and finance.  

By using cloud-based security, you take advantage of the robust protections offered by service providers. Cloud security can store your data in three different ways: 

• Public: Stores data on an external platform where the user has their own “cloud” in the shared infrastructure of a provider. 
• Private: Stores your data in a cloud built in your own system using hardware/software. This creates exclusive access but is more expensive. 
• Hybrid: A mix of private and public storage. Will have some IT in house that manages some part of it, while other data is stored offsite. Good for businesses who want (or need) to have sensitive data in-house, but want to store less-sensitive information with a third-party. 
   

Another benefit of digitally storing your data and pairing it with automation is ridding your processes of manual tasks that are often exploited by criminals. Automated processes enable standardized fraud prevention and detection, making it easier to protect your data and business from fraud.   

How do cloud-based solutions protect data?  

Cloud-based security is often safer because the platforms are constantly testing to improve their security.  

Cloud-based security providers protect your data by: 

• Storing data on secure, remote servers. 
• Consistently making security updates. 
• Maintaining built-in firewalls, which makes it more difficult for hackers to access your information.
• Using AI tools, auto-patching, and algorithms to find vulnerabilities in their systems. 
• Instilling redundancy by having your data backed up in case of tech failures or larger outages. 
• Hiring third-parties to do security testing. 
• Maintaining compliance with data regulations.  

How to keep your data secure in cloud-based solutions  

When you’re responsible for customer data, it’s important you set up practices to keep it safe. Here are some practices you should consider to ensure you keep data secure:  

Practice password hygiene and set up two-factor authentication 

You should elect, manage, and maintain strong passwords for your accounts and systems. Consider policies that require complex passwords, two-factor authenticator, and regular password changes.
 

Download anti-virus software and have a VPN 

Anti-virus software like Norton, Malwarebytes, McAfee, and G Data detect and remove viruses from your device, which helps keep your information secure.  

VPN services like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or SurfShark can maintain privacy and security for your business by encrypting your information while using a network, which stops hackers from accessing your communications.  

Create data policies and remain compliant 

Create policies surrounding who can access sensitive data and when, as this minimizes data being shared to people who don’t need it. To create your own policies for data security, check out this template by Purplesec. 

Remaining compliant to regulations around data, especially in industries where regulations are toughest, can help to guide you in how you secure your data.
 

Back up your data 

Backing up your data ensures you won’t lose any important information in case of a primary data failure. A failure could be the result of software failure, data corruption, an accidental deletion of data, or a human-caused event like a malware attack. 

Cloud backup works by replicating data on the cloud-based servers by: 

• Continuous replication: Occurs when cloud provider duplicates your data in the server as it changes. 
• Scheduled replication: Occurs when the cloud provider copies your data on a schedule.   

The cloud provider can offer two ways for you to back up your data: 

• Backup-as-a-service: The cloud provider does the backups for you. 
• Platform-as-a-service: The cloud provider gives you a platform you use to manage your data backups.   

Perform risk assessments  

Performing risk assessments of your technology systems helps you identify the vulnerabilities and threats that face your data. You should conduct risk assessments regularly and whenever major changes occur in your business. 

How cloud-based solutions can add efficiency to your payment processes  

While manual payment processes make your payment processes more vulnerable to attacks, cloud-based solutions can add efficiency and security to your payment process through automation. 

By moving your process to a cloud-based system, you can not only automate your process, but also centralize your data, reduce human error, and manage access permissions – all while making it more secure. 

Plooto helps to make your payment process secure by storing your data in a secure, encrypted cloud while offering payment automation to control your cash and speed up your payment process.