How Retailers Can Move Smoothly — and Securely — to the Cloud

If a provider contends it's never had a security incident, be circumspect. The real question is how security incidents are dealt with. Here are security-related inquiries and requests to consider:

• Is data at rest encrypted? Tell us about how your security methods have been tested and proven effective?
• What technology is in place to detect attacks? Can you explain the specific network intrusion detection technology that you use?
• If an attack occurs, what response times do you employ?
• Explain how you would handle a security incident? What's different today than in the past?
• What are your security policies toward your personnel? How do you screen candidates? How do you train them about security and how often?
• What security investments are you making?

Don't move hastily to choose a cloud services provider. Obviously, your decision on which provider to choose will depend on the quality of its overall services, but should importantly consider how secure and protected the complete cloud environment is.