Data Security Through the Cloud

Is the combination of cloud computing and mobility a perfect storm of security threats?

Actually, yes. And you should prepare for them as if there is a storm coming. As businesses become increasingly mobile, so does sensitive data. In fact, in a recent survey conducted by ESG,

31% of security professionals say that the biggest risk associated with cloud infrastructure services is, “privacy concerns associated with sensitive and/or regulated data stored and/or processed by a cloud infrastructure provider.”

Did you know:

16 billion web requests are inspected every day through Cisco Cloud Web Security

93 billion emails are inspected every day by Cisco’s hosted email solution

200,000 IP addresses are evaluated daily

400,000 malware samples are evaluated daily

33 million endpoint files are evaluated every day by FireAMP

28 million network connects are evaluated every day by FireAMP

With cloud-based services, it is key to have visibility into applications and provide consistent experience across devices accessing the web and cloud applications. More users are leaving the standard PC behind and engaging cloud applications through a mobile device, making application-layer security and user access security critical. Smartphones and tablets are able to connect to applications running anywhere, including public, private and hybrid cloud applications, opening your data to potential attacks. Security professionals need assurances that their cloud security provider will appropriately secure customer data while ensuring availability and uptime.

There are many different approaches to – and definitions of – cloud security. The Cisco Annual Security Report notes that the primary security challenges for 2014 are a greater attack surface area, the proliferation and sophistication of the attack model as well as the complexity of threats and solutions. Our approach is threat-centric; this approach encompasses and utilizes the key tenets of the Internet of Everything – people, processes, data and things – to secure the extended network.

The conversation is no longer if you’ll be attacked, but when. And will you be prepared?

http://www.slideshare.net/CiscoBusinessInsights/cisco-2014-annual-security-report

Find more information about the Annual Security Report, follow @CiscoCloud and use #CiscoCloud to join the conversation!

Cisco Security Grand Challenge: you have until June 17th 2014 to make a submission at CiscoSecurityGrandChallenge.com