10/08/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/08/2021 06:22
Key Points:
Cloud computing - the delivery of services and resources such as servers, storage, databases, networking, software and analytics over the internet - has taken center stage. Organizations of all sizes have increased their adoption of on-demand applications and infrastructure.[1] The benefits are clear: the cloud offers companies a foundation for improving efficiencies and remote access to networks and services. The cloud can also help deliver value quickly by enabling organizations to respond to changing market conditions with more agility while cutting costs and reducing maintenance concerns.[2],[3]
When a company relies on its computing services to be "off premises" or in the cloud, ensuring data security is critical. Last year, 36 billion records were exposed through nearly 3,000 publicly reported data breaches, and "most data breaches occurred due to hacking, with 77.5% of events originating outside of the victim organization."[4] To help solve this security challenge, cloud encryption technology, which encodes data traveling to and from the cloud, can provide effective protection for organizations. Indeed, when dealing with cloud storage, encryption is essential.
What Is Cloud Encryption?
Cloud encryption is one of the strongest forms of protection for companies using cloud services. Put simply, cloud encryption is the process of encoding or transforming data before it is transferred to cloud storage. Mathematical algorithms turn the data from plaintext into an indecipherable format that can only be unlocked with an encryption key, thereby preventing it from being read by unauthorized users.[5]
Because most organizations cannot easily separate their most valuable or sensitive data when using cloud resources,[6] one benefit of cloud encryption is its ability to protect all of the data in transit to the cloud. It's one of the most straightforward methods of data protection - and helps ensure that the data cannot be breached by bad actors. In fact, all of the major cloud storage providers today offer some form of cloud storage encryption services for their customers.
How Does Cloud Encryption Work?
Cloud storage providers offer their customers cloud storage encryption as a service. In addition, customers who take advantage of cloud applications and infrastructure may opt for additional encryption protection. In either case, an encryption platform takes the customers data (which exists as plaintext) and transforms it into what's called ciphertext. This ciphertext cannot be read unless converted back into plaintext with an encryption key (and an algorithm then transforms the encoded text back into its original form).[7]
A cloud encryption platform can encrypt the data whenever it is sent to or from a cloud-based application, storage, or to the system's authorized remote users. The data then exists in an encrypted format on the cloud servers. In this way, cloud encryption prevents any unauthorized individuals or bots from reading the data or files.
Authorized individuals can read the data in its original form only if they have the encryption key. Many of the large cloud storage providers offer services that handle all of the cloud storage encryption processes (encryption, key exchange, decryption) in the background when an individual logs in using their authentication and access protocols.[8]
What are the Types of Cloud Encryption?
When working with a cloud provider, an organization must decide which level and type of cloud encryption they wish to use. These are the three main types of cloud data encryption:
Benefits of Cloud Encryption
Technology and cybersecurity experts consider encryption one of the most effective approaches to secure data - whether organizations are using the cloud or not. Among the key benefits of cloud data encryption are:
Challenges of Cloud Encryption
While earlier implementations of cloud data encryption could be cumbersome for users, most modern cloud encryption services are streamlined, easy-to-use and (in many cases) virtually invisible to the end user. However, there remain some common cloud encryption challenges that organizations should understand.[10]
Best Practices for Cloud Encryption
If your company has used any form of encryption in the past, cloud encryption is likely very similar. The biggest difference is that the cloud provider, in many cases, is responsible for the cloud storage encryption. As a result, organizations must do their due diligence to ensure that the cloud encryption offered meets their security needs. Here are steps your organization should take when exploring and implementing cloud encryption:
The Bottom Line
As more organizations embrace the cloud, data encryption can provide the level of security required to protect sensitive information and meet regulatory requirements. Companies that take time to understand their own cloud encryption needs, research cloud provider approaches and securely maintain their encryption keys can take full advantage of the benefits of the cloud while mitigating the risks of data breaches.
[1] "Gartner Says Four Trends Are Shaping the Future of Public Cloud," Gartner
[2]"Top cloud trends for 2021: Forrester predicts spike in cloud-native tech, public cloud and more," TechRepublic
[3] "The 7 Major Benefits of Cloud Computing for Small Businesses," The Blueprint
[4] "36 Bn Records Exposed in Data Breaches in 2020," CISO Mag
[5]"Definition: cloud encryption," Search Storage
[6] "Lessons from Forrester's 'Best Practices: Cloud Data Encryption' Report,'" Fortanix blog
[7]"Definition: ciphertext," WhatIs.com
[8]"Definition: cloud encryption," Search Storage
[9] "Which Data Encryption Mechanism Should You Use?" BuiltIn Expert Contributor Network
[10]"Definition: cloud encryption," Search Storage
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