Cybersecurity is a cloud hanging over C-level execs. We’ve all seen the horror stories about cloud cybersecurity in the news — tragic tales of malware, data breaches, and identify theft. It’s no wonder 93 percent of organizations worry about security in the cloud.
Microsoft Azure is no exception. Though it serves an enormous 85 percent of Fortune 500 corporations (and around 715 million total users worldwide), business owners everywhere wonder how secure the cloud platform can really be.
Is it a reliable, safe tool? And how can you improve security? We’re here to answer all those questions and more.
What Is Azure?
Microsoft Azure is a suite of 200 cloud services and products used for storing and managing data via Microsoft’s public cloud. It helps you build and deploy software, collaborate with employees across the world, and scale your resources to better serve your company.
In other words, it’s a business’s one-stop solution for software.
What Are Azure’s Cloud Cybersecurity Policies?
Microsoft Azure offers 15 different security services to help keep your data secure. They include:
- Application Gateway that helps you build secure web front ends
- Key Vault that stores and encrypts confidential information
- Web Application Firewall that protects your web apps after they’ve launched
- Azure Defender that monitors your cloud workload for vulnerabilities
- Security Center that helps you manage all your security protocols
That being said, businesses pick and choose which services they pay for. It offers the ultimate flexibility for your company, but it also puts the burden of cloud cybersecurity on your shoulders.
It’s important to mention that Microsoft Azure, like all cloud platforms, follows the Shared Responsibility Model. We won’t delve into the specifics about that model now, but if you want to read more, check out our recent blog about the cybersecurity policy.
So How Safe Is Azure?
Azure takes security seriously. Its website boasts a “secure foundation across physical, infrastructure, and operational security,” and it offers built-in features for protecting against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Security is the top-rated feature among users on the technology review website G2, scoring seven percent higher than the average for cloud platforms. One verified user says Azure is “a great platform to save your data in a secure manner at a reasonable price.”
So yes, Azure is safe.
But that’s not to say there are zero cloud cybersecurity risks when using Azure. There are risks in using any cloud platform, and it’s important to remember that when outsourcing your data in any way.
Azure Data Breaches Can (And Do) Happen
In December 2020, a UK-based app developer exposed super-sensitive data like medical records, insurance claim documents, and occupational health assessments in an unsecured cloud database. Where was the database? In Microsoft Azure. (The app developer quickly closed access to the database before hackers accessed data.)
Of course, Azure isn’t the only platform where cloud cybersecurity issues arise. Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, and all the other security providers experience security problems. But the risk to your data is real. And Azure cloud security is something all C-level execs need to consider.
So what can you do about it?
How to Make Azure More Secure
There are dangers when transitioning to and storing data in Azure, but you can increase cloud cybersecurity when you trust data migration to an expert. As a Microsoft Azure developer, we know the safest ways to protect your data and can provide ongoing cloud cybersecurity solutions. Learn more about how we can give your company an extra layer of safety today.
