How to Prevent Data Loss in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has disrupted the traditional data storage and retrieval method, offering unparalleled convenience and accessibility to critical information and data assets. However, the rise of this technology also presents a growing challenge of potential data loss in the cloud. According to the
Thales Cloud Security Study, in 2022, 45% of businesses have experienced data loss in the cloud. To protect your valuable and sensitive data stored on a cloud, it is vital to take some strategic initiatives to prevent data loss in cloud computing.

This blog post will help you discover some of the most effective strategies organizations must consider in 2023 to protect their sensitive information and prevent data loss in the cloud. Let’s discuss this in detail.

Risks Associated with Cloud Computing

Data loss in cloud computing is associated with several factors, including human error, natural disasters, security breaches, etc. In such unfortunate events, client organizations may face severe financial losses, reputation damage, compliance violations, legislative consequences, and loss of critical information. Below are some common data security risks associated with cloud computing.

• Human Error & Misconfigurations – One of the leading causes of data loss in cloud computing includes mistakes such as accidentally deleting important files, misconfiguring settings, or failing to back up correctly or version data. Therefore, employee training and strict data governance policies are necessary to avoid mishaps.
• Cybercrimes – Cybercrimes and cloud intrusions are another leading cause of data loss in cloud computing. According to IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Report 2022, compromised credentials are the leading cause of a data breach in the cloud. With the increased dependence of businesses on cloud computing, cloud resources have become a primary target of cybercriminals. Crackers can use various techniques to gain access to data, such as phishing, malware, and social engineering.
• Natural Disasters – Unfortunate natural events like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes can also cause data loss in cloud computing by disrupting data centers and damaging hardware. It leads to a loss in data stored in ill-fated data centers. Therefore, it is critical to have an effective disaster recovery plan in place to limit and curb the impact of such events.
• Vulnerable APIs – Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are vital in facilitating communication between various applications and the cloud. But poor implementation of APIs can result in data breaches caused by exploiting vulnerable API data for unauthorized access to cloud resources.

6 Best Practices to Prevent Data Loss in Cloud Computing

The widely recognized and adapted practices to prevent data loss in the cloud include regular backups, encryption, access controls, and disaster recovery plans. Let’s discuss these best practices to prevent data loss in the cloud.

1. Regular Data Backups

Regular Data Backups are also part of disaster recovery planning. Keeping data backups outside usually and frequently accessed cloud resources is mandatory. The practice is essential for highly sensitive information and valuable data assets. There are different types of data backup methodologies full, incremental, and differential data backups.

• A full backup involves copying all the data resources stored on a cloud. It regularly captures all files, documents, and system settings, such as weekly or monthly. Full backups require more resources and take much more time to complete, but they provide the most robust protection for your cloud-native data.
• A full backup involves copying all the data resources stored on a cloud. It regularly captures all files, documents, and system settings, such as weekly or monthly. Full backups require more resources and take much more time to complete, but they provide the most robust protection for your cloud-native data.
• An incremental backup only captures the data that has changed since the last backup. It includes updated, deleted, or newly stored files or folders.
• A differential backup captures and stores all the data that has been updated after the last full backup, irrespective of how many incremental backups have been done earlier.
• Change Data Capture (CDC) replication is another advanced backup technique that focuses on tracking and capturing changes made to a database or cloud-native system. It records and replicates only modified data, minimizing backup time and resource usage while maintaining up-to-date backups.

2. Disaster Recovery Planning

Disaster recovery (DR) planning is essential to prevent data loss in the cloud. It involves formulating a strategic initiative to restore data efficiently in the event of any natural disaster or cyber attack. A well-structured disaster recovery plan involves risk assessment, a business continuity plan, data backup, versioning & snapshots, penetration testing, revising data governance policies, etc.

By implementing a robust disaster recovery plan, businesses can significantly dilute the impact of potential disasters and ensure the continuity of operations with minimal disruption. Revising and updating disaster recovery plans regularly is crucial to stay ahead of hackers and evolving threats.

3. Training Employees

The most common reason behind data loss in the cloud is to trick somebody into providing their access credentials. Ensure all your cloud users refrain from clicking on untrustworthy links in emails. Most phishing attempts appear as authentic emails. One way to reduce the likelihood of any data breach by phishing is to set two-step verification for your employees. It can significantly reduce the chances of any mishap with a cloud.

4. Versioning and Snapshots

Versioning and snapshots must be integral to organizations’ disaster recovery planning. These two are the most potent methodologies that can be used to prevent data loss in the cloud.

• Versioning keeps multiple file versions, so you can revert to a previous version if necessary. The approach is particularly helpful when multiple remote teams access and edit the same file. Versioning also allows you to recover accidentally deleted files or revert wrong changes made to a file.
• Snapshots are point-in-time copies of the data. It’s mainly valuable for disaster recovery, penetration testing, and data backup. You can take a snapshot of a specific instance or state of your programs, data records, and resources to capture their current state. It also helps quickly restore a previous data version if something goes wrong.

Together, versioning and snapshots provide an effective way to validate that your data will remain secure, even during a disaster, data loss, or cyber attack. They also allow for saving cloud storage and reducing the expenditure required to maintain multiple backups.

5. Data Encryption

Encryption is intended to avoid sending sensitive data in a clear context or interpretation by converting meaningful data into ciphertext or encoded format. It allows remote employees to access vital resources and valuable data from anywhere safely.

It restricts unauthorized individuals from reading or interpreting critical data and information without the decryption key. It also provides an additional security layer to prevent data loss during breaches or intrusions by making data unreadable despite being accessible by fraudulent entities.

6. Choosing a Reputable Cloud Provider

Choosing a reputable cloud provider is vital to ensure the security and protection of your data in the cloud. There are different cloud services with varying degrees of security, such as:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS),
• Software as a Service (SaaS),
• Platform as a Service (PaaS).

IaaS providers typically offer maximum control over data security and protection, whereas PaaS and SaaS providers may have less control but offer more convenience and ease of use. Choosing a suitable cloud service is subjective and depends on your use case and objectives.

Additionally, it is important to ensure that your cloud vendor has the necessary certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001/27002, CIS, FISMA, and PCI DSS to comply with industry regulations and standards. By choosing an authentic, recognized, and secure cloud provider, you can ensure that your data is protected and secure as per the compliances set by industry regulations.

Safeguard your Valuable Data with V2 Cloud

To prevent data loss in cloud computing, implement the best practices discussed above that allow organizations to safeguard their valuable data and sensitive information. While choosing a cloud service, ensure that your cloud vendor meets industry compliances and offers all the aforementioned security checks to protect against data loss in the cloud. V2 Cloud is Desktop-as-a-Service(DaaS) provider and known for offering the industry’s best practices and utilities like the latest hypervisor updates, Uncomplicated (UFW) firewall, isolated private networks for virtual machines, Secured Socket Layer (SSL) encryptions, regular data backups, versioning, and snapshots. Choose the V2 cloud and safely deliver virtual desktops to your employees anywhere or anytime.

Written By: Haziqa Sajid