How to Ensure Your Data Is Secure at All Times

Data security is a global issue and one which affects almost every aspect of your life, even if you are not aware of its looming presence.

The main issue is that data has become a vitally important and inconceivably valuable type of currency in our increasingly digitized world.

It can be used in a relatively benign manner by advertisers to target promotions at specific individuals based on their hobbies and habits, or it can be exploited by criminals to aid in the perpetration of fraudulent acts.

From the point of view of businesses, data security is essential if a firm is to maintain its reputation and avoid costly events in which the loss or theft of private information results in punitive action from regulators and long-term financial consequences.

But are there any ways to ensure that your data is secure at all times and can we really use such absolute terms when talking about this topic?

One route that many businesses are taking is to take the burden of security away from an internal system and instead place responsibility for protecting information with a third-party provider.

Cloud computing is allowing companies and individuals to enjoy the comprehensive data centre infrastructure normally reserved for major corporations, but on a much more affordable and sustainable level.

Investing in various cloud services, or pseudo-cloud platforms such as collocation hosting, makes it easy for businesses to experience the economies of scale that such solutions represent.

Not only will security be ensured digitally through firewalls and persistent intrusion monitoring, but the physical integrity of the hardware upon which data is stored will also be in much better shape. This is because cloud datacenters are staffed around the clock to ensure that access is granted only to those with the right permissions.

The biggest benefit of the cloud is that most businesses could not hope to match it in terms of security because it is simply not practical for individual companies to invest in the same protective solutions on their own premises.

The cloud is not without its detractors and various studies have shown that there is a reluctance among some businesses when it comes to adoption of this type of IT platform for the storage and handling of critical data.

It is likely that any concerns stem from an unwillingness to relinquish the responsibility for security and entrust an outside provider with it instead. This is understandable, although hopefully it is also misconception that will gradually disappear as cloud providers prove that they are able to exceed expectations when it comes to data security.

It is impossible to guarantee complete data security and indeed unwise to think that this is attainable, since it might lead to dangerous complacency. Instead, businesses need to harness modern services such as cloud computing to get one step closer to this ideal.

Cameron White is a journalist and blogger who has many years of experience covering a variety of fields within the wider IT market. He is convinced that the data center infrastructure implemented by most cloud providers is actually more resilient and secure than many skeptics believe it to be.

How to Ensure Your Data Is Secure at All Times