Using the cloud to better monitor cyber crime
The number of Cyber attacks against cloud deployments is continuing to climb, with some estimates suggesting a 45% year-on-year increase. The threat intensifies as the amount of data being pushed on-demand rises. However, smart businesses are turning the shift to the cloud to their advantage.
Rather than waiting for hackers to attack their online information, leading-edge organisations are taking a proactive stance. CIOs at these businesses are using the power of cloud-based tools to detect online threats and reduce the danger posed by cyber criminals.
Key tools in the modern IT leadership kitbag are cloud processing and monitoring. These technologies help businesses in the on-demand era to keep better tabs on the cyber criminals who pose a continually evolving threat to data integrity.
The potential risk is significant. Juniper Research suggests the cost of data breaches will reach $2.1 trillion globally by 2019, almost four times the estimated cost of breaches in 2015. Such costs can be catastrophic for businesses, both economically and in terms of reputation.
CIOs, as the enterprise guardians of information technology, must take the cyber threat seriously. The good news, reports Gartner, is that this threat is creating a big boost in IT security spending. The analyst says investment topped $75bn during 2015.
Yet cloud monitoring does not have to be a pricey project. There are a broad range of cloud processing and monitoring technologies available to help CIOs. Some plug-ins for instance, many of which are free or low-cost, can provide analytical diagnostics on business transactions across cloud platforms.
As well as bespoke monitoring tools, the best cloud providers already allow IT managers to keep a watchful eye over key performance indicators on-demand. The crucial element here is an intuitive dashboard that allows users to configure and then plot essential metrics regarding processing.
Microsoft Azure provides a range of monitoring levels (from minimal to verbose), offering IT managers the chance to oversee data processing in finer detail. For businesses that are keen to understand potential cyber security issues, the verbose metrics enable closer analysis of issues that occur during application operations.
The cloud presents new ways for errant individuals to try to read your data. However, a move on-demand also provides access to analytical tools that can help your business monitor data use carefully. As the cyber threat evolves, so smart companies use the cloud to keep an even closer tab on criminal activity.