Data security in the age of hybrid cloud (Guest blog from NetApp)

Author: Andy Wood, Technology Strategist, Cybersecurity at NetApp  

It’s difficult to overstate the scale of the cybersecurity challenge today. We don’t need to look far; in September alone the hacking of a major police force in the UK saw the personal details of thousands of officers compromised. Similarly, according to the Cyber Breaches Survey 2022, nearly 40% of businesses experienced a cyber-attack in the past year, with 26% of these identified as more sophisticated forms like malware or ransomware. 

The threatscape becomes more complex each year – new actors, new attacks and new vectors. Luckily, the cloud infrastructure environments that many organisations rely on to store their vast amounts of data are evolving alongside the threats. That said, the exponential growth of data means that there is an even greater urgency for hybrid clouds solutions to be especially robust.  

Growing vulnerabilities 

Today, organisations create data in a plethora of places – from on-premises, to the edge, and in the cloud itself. According to IDC estimates, nearly half of new enterprise IT infrastructure will be located at the edge by the end of the year. In turn, this does not leave a lot of time for IT administrators and security experts to fully understand the data landscape and the associated risks. A common data management framework is often missing, which hinders effective control and security measures. 

Another challenge is that today’s enterprise networks frequently incorporate numerous Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which not only diminishes visibility over data – but control over it too. This means that security efforts become more complex as the data to secure is distributed across more endpoints.  

A shield to protect data 

Cloud applications and storage services are robust, but they often lack data protection in their service availability. Ultimately, the responsibility for safeguarding data against threats like corruption, viruses, and accidental deletion falls on the organisation. 

This is why implementing a hybrid cloud data protection shield is crucial. It ensures data security and rapid recovery in the event of a disaster, potentially resulting in cost savings by moving disaster recovery operations to the cloud, freeing up data centre space and storage infrastructure for other investments. 

This protective shield aligns data protection across on-premises data centers and public cloud infrastructures, making data protection as flexible as modern data storage. Data protection should be a cornerstone for every form of data infrastructure. It allows for rapid recovery of data regardless of where it is stored, whether on-premises or in the cloud. Most importantly, this successful data protection shield matches the flexibility and agility of the hybrid cloud. 

The promise of Zero Trust models 

By now, many organisations are realising that their digital assets are often their most valuable assets. As a result, implementing user access controls is vital to protect data, allowing employees to access only to the data that’s necessary for their roles.  

In addition, data protection requires multiple recovery endpoints to make data immutable and indelible, ensuring data recovery even in the face of unauthorized access. On this front, following the 3-2-1-1-0 rule is the best practice. Having multiple copies of the data, stored across different formats such as on on-premises hard drives and in the cloud, can ensure secure backups are available in the event of a breach. 

Similarly, multi-factor authentication can provide an additional layer of security, preventing unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems in the event of credential compromise. Organisations must also consider the potential threats from within, while also strengthening the admin verification processes to prevent insider threats and rogue admin actions alike.  

Getting ahead on ransomware 

To shield their cloud IT infrastructure from the havoc of ransomware, organisations must adopt a zero-trust approach and implement these measures accordingly. Only by doing so, they can confidently wield their hybrid cloud data protection shield, confident in the safety of their data and that of their customers. Now more than ever, proactive steps are essential to minimise the impact of ransomware attacks and secure critical data in an ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.