How safe is your customer data across various cloud platforms?
Though the ‘cloud’ has been around for a while now and have gained tremendous momentum, there are still some companies that are still hesitant of the risks whilst others are revelling and basking with the opportunities the cloud presents.
For those companies who are still at cross roads, it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves in a position where the cloud is the only option – be it private cloud or public cloud.
But what are some of the risks this opportunity brings with it?
Let’s not forget, whatever option a company uses, there will always be risks. It’s just a matter of the size of that company’s risks appetite.
What are some of the controls you can harness to support the protection of data?
Build Platforms With Security in Mind
We use third parties who specialize in securing data because they know way more about it than we ever could. We do what we do well, and we let them focus on what they do well. We also try to design our platforms with data security in mind from the beginning. If the architecture is full of holes from the start, no amount of security is going to help.
Use SSL Certification, Malware Scans, VeriSign
Our website is scanned on a regular basis for malware and other security risks, and we also possess an SSL digital certificate so our customers know our webpages are safe. Our website is also SSL encrypted. Lastly, our website displays the VeriSign seal, which is another way our customers know they can use our website without risk.
Choose Partners Carefully
As a scrappy startup, it’s very easy to find low-cost providers of analytics or customer relationship management (CRM) software. We choose to work closely with name-brand partners. We research the security of those firms and trust them implicitly, given that a lot of the “big guys” — large companies with a lot more to lose — choose them. Invest in security from day one to ensure customer trust.
Plan, Then Create a Backup Plan
Take the most obvious steps in order to ensure the safety of your customers’ data — this includes ensuring all firmware/software is up-to-date, utilizing SSL certificates to encrypt important data transmission and focusing on code security to eliminate potential database and XSS vulnerabilities. Then, create a backup plan in case that fails. Store critical customer data in encrypted formats!
Eliminate Possible Security Problems With Beyond Security
Our e-commerce site accepts large credit card payments daily for big-ticket items, so we understand the importance of protecting our customers’ data. For this imperative task, we use Beyond Security (beyondsecurity.com), a service that performs daily testing on our website to eliminate the possibility of website security problems, like malware, SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
