As Cloud security forms a bigger part of businesses, it is becoming a critical investment to protect data and IT systems from malicious attacks. Executives around the world are under pressure to innovate or die, with the value of information and security among the top priorities for all businesses. Adoption of cloud technology is important where there’s elastic demand, helping businesses map their metabolism and only pay for computing resources as and when they need them. Cloud Security is a mandatory requirement for SMEs to run smoothly and efficiently, regardless of the industry or sector they are in. With such widespread use of and dependence on technologies, it is essential that SMEs consider the importance of cloud security and carefully look into how to protect themselves from cyber-attacks or vulnerabilities.

Cyber Security will stay dominant this year with its rapidly growing technologies and innovations, Cyber attackers are just as fast or even more innovative. Last year, some companies were attacked where hackers stole money from client’s accounts. Small businesses are just at risk of being victims of cyber-attacks as larger corporations, and that’s why it is important for SMEs to be prepared for attacks at all times. Cloud security remains a key concern for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and is still often cited as a chief impediment to moving to the cloud. This is understandable, as security breaches can have major negative repercussions for a business. However, the risks need not be insurmountable for SMEs, nor outweigh the benefits of cloud services. It is also important to remember that while most SMEs are not specialists in data security, cloud service providers need to be - they have a vested interest in maintaining the security of customer data.

When hackers attack large companies, they often make the headlines of news outlets across the globe. But that does n't mean hackers don’t target small businesses. On the contrary, small businesses have a lot of digital assets compared to an individual user. And

more often they have less security than large companies. Small businesses are also targeted because SMEs are less careful about cyber security. Majority of small businesses underestimate their risk level and think that they don’t have anything in their servers that are worth stealing. As an increasing amount of business-sensitive information is stored within the IT system, compromised data could mean a loss of business for a company. It's costly to fix changes due to hacks, or re-build systems due to destruction.

As an increasing amount of business-sensitive information is stored within the IT system, compromised data could mean a loss of business for a company

A malicious attack or unplanned disaster has the potential to shut down business operations, especially if these operations are heavily dependent on the IT infrastructure within the business. Internal and external business communications may also be affected if their web-based tools or social-media applications are affected. As a result of this cloud security breaches, SMEs could face huge losses within a very short period of time. In addition, if customers are directly affected (e.g. if deliverables are delayed or more crucially, if their data is stolen), SMEs can expect long-term consequences as a result of a loss of trust from customers and the public.

What Measures SME can Take
SMEs can look into educating employees on how simple measures to take when handling sensitive data. By emphasizing that their own personal data (stored on their devices) is equally vulnerable to attack, employers can incentivize employees to pay closer attention to their behaviour. It also pays to ensure that employees are equipped with the technical know-how and expertise to really understand your business’ own servers and infrastructure - in doing so, you are one step closer to knowing your own vulnerabilities and better equipped to secure your own systems. SMEs should also look at both software and hardware security as part of an overarching security system, as both are equally important. For example, physical security solutions (e.g. security cameras and physical servers) should also be taken into consideration and worked into a main security system, alongside cloud security or social app and web-related vulnerabilities.

It is also important to hire professional consultants who have specialized knowledge in cloud security. These professionals will come in to do a review of your company's IT infrastructure and offer advice and solutions to plug the loopholes or potential security threats. They can also help to set up an action plan for handling any potential cloud security threats. A lot of small business owners are confident that they can recover from a cyber-attack. However, the recovery time from an attack often takes longer than their expectation. And during that time, they fail to fully maximize the use of their company’s network. If it involves an online shop, then they are losing potential sales because of the downtime. And that’s why it is important for SMEs to know the importance of cloud security. Prevention is better than finding the solution after a cyber-attack. Cloud security solutions are also much cheaper compared to the recovery process after the attack. It is important or business owners to assume that they can be a victim of a breach, and that’s why they need to be preparing all the time.