How secure is your cloud-based data?

With the varying needs of businesses today, and the amount of data being processed daily, many organizations are using cloud-based applications that use data centers, or even looking to data centers as an extension of their business for their IT requirements. 

What is a data center?
Data centers are locations that store, organize, process and keep databases secure and online for organizations. If you use Dropbox, have a Yahoo! email account or have watched a movie on Netflix, then you’ve used a cloud-based app with a data center. MCE is also a cloud-based application that uses a data center to store data and information.

Because a data center’s sole purpose is to store and keep client data safe, it requires sophisticated technology to host, manage and ensure that your data is accessible to you 24/7/365, regardless of weather, fire or other emergencies. With more cloud-based applications being used by businesses, data centers are a way to keep costs and overhead low (since they would otherwise have to develop their own centralized networks and servers to manage the data).  Considering storage, security and day-to-day operations, it’s a lot to manage; particularly for a small or medium-sized business. 

How secure is a third-party data center?
When a third party is hosting your data, security can be a major concern.  One cloud-storage myth is that third-party data centers are less secure than storing data in your own server room on your own servers. This is largely due to the feeling of lack of control over your own data.  While it may seem like you have less control when it’s managed in the cloud, what we’ve seen of late is that it’s not necessarily the location of your data that keeps it safe, it’s how vulnerable it may be to threats and disasters. Viewing it from that perspective, the same is true for traditional network systems.

Although it may feel risky, services like data management, storage, backup and recovery are well-planned and executed with the latest technology and industry best practices.  Being responsible for securing proprietary information means third-party data center locations are both physically and digitally secured to protect your data from external threats and cyberattacks before they happen. Here are a few of the practices upstanding data centers follow:

• Multiple power sources
• Environmental controls
• Cooling criteria
• Maintenance procedures
• Ability to withstand faults
• Measurements of fault tolerance (uptime standards)

Facility Protection

Unlike your own business, most data centers offer 24/7 physical security, restricted entry and only authorized personnel and visitors are authorized to enter certain areas of the facility.  With round-the-clock staff presence and video surveillance in place, you can be assured that physical access to your data by unauthorized individuals is unlikely.

Awareness and education are key
A data center that has controls in place for accessibility is more important than where the data is actually stored.  Vulnerability testing is imperative to ensure that threats can be detected before they hit and define any requirements up front so both you and your data center source have a clear understanding.

To learn more about MCE and how your data and information would be stored in our data center, please contact us.