Even if you’re taking a “lift and shift” approach to migrating applications and data to the cloud, you can’t take a lift and shift approach to migrating your security strategy to the cloud. The cloud is its own, unique computing environment, and security in the cloud requires crafting a cloud-specific security strategy. As you work to create that strategy, consider these questions:

How sensitive is the data stored in the cloud?

The value and sensitivity of the data in the cloud determines how you prioritize its protection and how much you invest (in terms of both time and money) to keep it safe.

What are the threats facing your data?

Some industries and kinds of data attract more attacks than others. The history of attacks you’ve faced in your data center serves as a baseline for the vulnerabilities you’ll face in the cloud.

What are your regulatory concerns?

Meeting compliance requirements is as important in the cloud as in your data center. Cloud environments that are certified to meet compliance standards give you a head start and can reduce your level of effort.

How much control do you need?

Your cloud provider’s tools will give some insight into your cloud’s security status, but for higher levels of monitoring, you may want to implement third-party products. This is especially true if you use multiple clouds and need to get an integrated view of your clouds and their interactions.

Is management aware of cloud security needs?

Does your business management understand that they need to invest in security in the cloud, or do they believe the cloud provider handles that?

What parts of your current security strategy map to the cloud?

Even though your approach to security will need to change in the cloud, that doesn’t mean you’ll need to throw all your current tools away, nor does it mean you can’t adapt your existing strategy. You’ll need to rethink it, however, to check how tools for identity management and firewalls integrate into the cloud environment and to implement a new process for monitoring logs, among other necessary changes.

How does your training need to be updated?

Employee training is a critical component of an information technology security strategy, and the shift to cloud requires new training to make employees aware of new risks and responsibilities regarding protection of data and other resources in the cloud.

Don’t try to lift and shift your security strategy to the cloud. Prescient Solutions IT consulting and managed services help businesses in the Chicago and Schaumburg areas develop and implement security solutions that protect data in the cloud and in the data center. Contact us to learn more about developing a security strategy that fits your cloud strategy.