Cloud security remains high on the agenda for collaboration providers. It seems we’re never far away from another reminder about the vulnerability of IT services, even those maintained by major corporations – take the high-profile email hacking of the Sony Pictures network in 2014 for example.
So it’s unsurprising that many collaboration providers are now emphasising their security credentials in a bid to ease concerns in the market and attract new customers.
Of course, ask any cloud collaboration provider if their service is secure and they’ll answer yes. But what actually makes a ‘secure cloud’ service?
Providers and customers tend to have different ideas about security in the cloud, and it’s not a straightforward topic for the newcomer. The fact is there are many different ways a cloud service can be deemed secure – but focusing on one aspect of security can leave a platform vulnerable elsewhere.
Here are the four boxes we believe every collaboration service claiming to be a ‘secure cloud provider’ must tick to truly satisfy customers:
Secure data centre
You need to be confident your data will be stored in a secure location, but also make sure that it’s always accessible. That means you need a premium data centre with data encryption and a robust uptime guarantee. At Kahootz, our dedicated servers are housed in one of the UK’s most secure data centres and we guarantee 99.95% uptime.
Secure network
Your data also needs protection at the network level to prevent access by external parties. Kahootz has been independently penetration tested to the satisfaction of government departments.
Security certifications and accreditation
The endorsement of a trusted third party can be extremely useful when selecting a secure cloud collaboration tool, because it proves the service has been rigorously tested and met universally-accepted security standards.
Kahootz has ISO 27001 certification, the highest available accreditation for information protection and security, and also obtained Pan-Government Accreditation under the previous iteration of the G-Cloud framework.
Built-in security
What internal security features does the collaboration tool offer? This is an important question for any prospective user to ask, particularly if you plan to share sensitive data and collaborate on confidential documents.
Kahootz combines accredited data centre and network security with internal features designed to support the creation of secure online workspaces. Users can specify precise file access permissions for every team member, which means people will never view content without authorisation. A full audit log makes it easy to monitor all workspace interactions.
Beyond these four essential qualities, they are of course many other security aspects your organisation may seek assurances on that depend on the nature of your projects and collaboration needs.
Download our guide, to discover how Kahootz meets the 14 cloud security principles.
