If we’re going to compare them both, we have to be honest with the fact that both setup-ups have their advantages over the other.
Cloud vs On-Premise security isn’t as cut and dry as many other firms make it out to be.
A cyber attack has no regard for the physical location of your servers. The real security comes down to how they are configured, monitored, accessed and backed up.
A fully optimised on-premises setup can be just as secure as a cloud-based one. It all depends on how they’re operated.
Knight of Old used to be a Kettering haulage firm that was founded in 1865 but unfortunately closed in 2023 after a cyber attack infected their servers, resulting in the loss of 730 jobs.
And it was due to a singular password.
The Akira group took responsibility for the attack, encrypting all their files, destroying their backups and disaster recoveries.
With nothing left to restore from, Knights of Old closed its doors after 158 years of trading.
We want to emphasise the importance of the study as it wasn’t a cloud or on-premises system. It was a weak password with no multi-factor authentication.
So while both models have their advantages, an overlooked piece of cyber security comes down to how trained your staff are to operate your defences.
What cloud based security excels at is its inherent separation and scale. Backups can be created and replicated across multiple data centres and isolated from your main network
This means that one stolen login doesn’t reach everything at once.
Furthermore, patching systems, physical security, and redundancy become the responsibility of the cloud provider, not your business.
This also means enterprise-grade security and monitoring is always present and affordable to every kind of business.
On-premises based security gives you full control over your data. This means you get to choose where it lives, and you have full administrative control over how your data is handled.
It’s not based on your internet connection, and your systems can be customisable and isolated.
The drawback is that your maintenance rests on you as a company. This means monitoring, patching and recovery design needs to be directed by your employees.
If you’re a smaller firm, it might be difficult to direct the right number of resources to that task.
Also, if you do decide to keep your data on-premises, ensure you have backups that exist on separate servers. Don’t repeat the same mistake as Knights of Old.
Either way, there are some fundamentals that best stop your systems from being infiltrated, no matter which model you go for.
H3 Identity and Access
Create strong and unique passwords everywhere. This also includes using multi-factor authentication for as many users as possible.
Ensure your backups are separated from your live network. On top of this, restore them regularly to prove they work and that they’re up to date with your most recent changes.
You can’t contain what you can’t see, known vulnerabilities are a common way in, and a plan you’ve never rehearsed is a hope, not a plan.
If your firm holds client data, such as accounts, case files or tax records, it’s your responsibility to keep them safe.
A breach into your systems becomes a regulatory problem and can damage your reputation for years to come.
An on-premises setup is usually beneficial for those who have or strive to have the staff and resources to maintain its upkeep. It also makes sense if you‘re required to keep your data in a specific location by law or through a contract with a client.
Cloud suits those who want that separation and monitoring without having to worry about the time and resources required to ensure their systems are safe.
For most professional firms we work with, a well-configured cloud Modern Workplace ends up more resilient, not because the cloud is inherently safer, but because it makes the fundamentals easier to get right.
HDUK’s Modern Workplace, for example, backs your data up every 24 hours, keeps the last 14 days online across separate data centres, and is monitored 24/7 by a Security Operations Centre.
Overall, it’s down to variables, but our opinion is that a cloud-based solution is safer, more secure, and better for your business financially.
Book a security review, or give us a call, and we can give you an honest audit
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