Member Article

Safety and security in the cloud

Andrew Robson is CEO of Perfect Image, a North East-based IT services company delivering tailored solutions and services to organisations across the UK, helping them to improve their businesses through the effective use of IT.

In this article he discusses the safety and security of true cloud computing, and why if it’s good enough for The Pentagon, your business is sure to benefit too.

The question of cloud security is never too far from the forefront of people’s minds and is often a hotly debated topic in the media. In September, iCloud suffered a huge security breach, with third-party software systems allegedly gaining access to – and then distributing – intimate images of well-known celebrities.

The leaked pictures resulted in a renewed fear and distrust of cloud computing, when in fact, true cloud solutions through providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) are some of the most secure platforms in the world.

Of course, IT security – whether in the cloud or a traditional data centre - is incredibly important but it also needs to be put in to context. For example, there’s a world of difference between a small service business and some of the world’s biggest corporations, and so business owners need to complete a proper assessment to define their level of risk.

There is a perception that hosting your IT infrastructure in the cloud increases the possibility of security breaches. With AWS, this is categorically not the case. Amazon operates a best practice security model and uses several protocols and compliance measurements; there are more mandatory controls and checks in place than any other cloud provider.

Also, AWS is the biggest cloud provider in the world, powering and keeping secure the biggest online retailer in the world - Amazon. To keep these operations running securely, it takes a huge amount of know-how and skill, and AWS boasts some of the best brains in the business, with highly-trained IT experts making sure all systems remain as safe as possible from any risks.

In fact, cloud computing has come so far, even The Pentagon is using true cloud services, and is working with AWS for many of its solutions. Keeping business operations safe from harm is also easier with a true cloud-based IT solution. The AWS infrastructure has been designed to provide optimum availability while ensuring complete privacy and segregation, making it a safe environment for a user’s cloud platform. Whether users need secure access, data encryption, private subnets or multi-factor authentication, it’s all possible with AWS.

You may have heard of AWS using a security model called ‘Shared Responsibility’. This means AWS takes care of your underlying infrastructure but you must secure anything you put on the infrastructure or connect to it. At Perfect Image, we work closely with AWS to ensure that the Shared Responsibility model is a success for our clients – the AWS team looks after your underlying infrastructure, and for everything else, our professionals put the relevant security measures in place to protect your systems.

If you’d like to find out more about security in a true cloud setting and how we can help keep your business safe from harm, visit: www.perfect-image.co.uk/managed-services-support/amazon-web-services

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Perfect Image .