Around the world , businesses , non-profits and government agencies are turning to the cloud , whether private , public or in a hybrid fashion , in order to reap such benefits as virtually unlimited scalability , increased efficiency , enhanced capabilities and reduced costs .

In fact , according to a recent report from Fior Markets : “ The global cloud computing market is expected to grow from US $ 270.15 billion in 2017 to US $ 712.83 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 18.46 % during the forecast period from 2018 – 2025 .”

With so much data – the virtual lifeblood of organizations – flowing into the cloud , it isn ’ t surprising that cloud security has risen to the top of most business and IT professionals ’ priority lists , alike . And , with increasingly aggressive ransomware and other cybercrime consistently making headlines , it is clear that cloud security won ’ t be knocked from its top priority position anytime soon .

The Verizon Business 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report voiced its concern regarding “ the alarming rise in ransomware breaches , which increased by 13 % in a single year – representing a jump greater than the past five years combined .”

It is common for backups to be a cybercriminals ’ first target via ransomware and other malware .

So how can organizations improve their cloud security ? The ideal answer can be found in a layered defense that includes protection and detection solutions , as well as Unbreakable Backup to ensure the ability to recover .

Today , it is common for backups to be a cybercriminals ’ first target via ransomware and other malware .

However , an Unbreakable Backup solution provides organizations with two of the most difficult hurdles for cybercriminals to overcome – immutable snapshots and object locking .

Immutable snapshots are by default , write-once readmany ( WORM ) but now some vendors have added features like encryption where the encryption keys are located in an entirely different location than the data backup copy ( ies ).

And then to further fortify the backup and thwart would-be internal and external criminals , with object locking layered on top of that , data cannot be deleted or overwritten for a fixed time period , or even indefinitely .

www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA 33

Intelligent CIO North America Issue 24 | Page 33

Around the world , businesses , non-profits and government agencies are turning to the cloud , whether private , public or in a hybrid fashion , in order to reap such benefits as virtually unlimited scalability , increased efficiency , enhanced capabilities and reduced costs .