Why is cloud security not a good thing?

Why is cloud security not a good thing?

With everyone moving to the cloud, internet service providers will try to sell you on a cloud based firewall. There are hundreds of companies that will scrub your traffic “in the cloud” before it comes into your business.

The benefits are obvious. No need for expensive on premise firewalls. No need for an IT professional on staff to manage, monitor and update security equipment. Your internet traffic will magically be cleansed of threats by the cloud security police and you will only receive the cleanest, purest internet traffic.

There is only one problem with this. Hackers don’t play by the rules!

Just like a traffic cop, your internet service provider directs traffic through their cloud scrubbing center and then on to you. Your internet traffic has to follow very specific routes designated by your internet provider. Hackers don’t follow red lights, yield signs or wrong way signs.

In 100% of businesses there is a router placed there by the internet service provider. This device is the internet handoff from the ISP to the business. Hackers target these devices via unique identifiers, MAC address or IP address. Even if these devices are hidden by the ISP, hackers have tools to identify them. They then attempt multiple attack schemes to gain access to this device.

If they are successful, they own 100% of the business network. Remember that you have moved your firewall into the cloud. There is no longer a firewall at your edge to protect you. Just like the gate to your castle, you can’t remove it and assume the traffic cop down the street will keep the bad guys out.

This is where Axiom excels. With our SecureAmerica® program, we provide you with a fully configured firewall for your edge. It is the first stop into the business and the last stop out. We monitor threats coming in and going out to protect your business from Ransomware, malware, intrusion attempts, cross site scripting, SQL injections, distributed denial of service attacks and many others.

The secret is in the automation we have built into the threat intelligence gathering and deployment. Axiom’s customers get updates to their firewalls every ten minutes based on real world threats that are identified by global agencies such as the FBI, Homeland Security and the IANA. Other companies wait 3 months or longer to patch holes in their firewalls, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Our proprietary update automation collects this data from trusted sources in real time and creates a firewall update via an ETL process (Extract, transform, and load). That update is checked for integrity and quality assurance and then pushed to our entire client base every ten minutes meaning our customers are on the cutting edge of protection. If a threat is detected by one of our client’s Axiom firewalls and it meets the threshold of a verified attack, the entire ETL process begins again, building a custom update that is pushed out to all of our client base within ten minutes. As our clients grow, our artificial intelligence engine will become smarter, creating a community of well protected and happy clients.

Our team of cybersecurity experts monitor clients 24 hours a day to ensure protection is up to date and none of our clients are under attack. All updates, monitoring, configuration, support, reporting and the equipment is included in our monthly subscription prices. Protection starts at $199 per month. At that price, who could afford not to have Axiom SecureAmerica®?

Why do I need a next generation firewall if my data is securely stored in the cloud?

Many businesses get a false sense of security by thinking that using cloud-based applications and data storage is all the protection they need from cyber-attacks. Keep in mind, however, that when you use “the cloud” you are simply using someone else’s network for your applications and to store your data.  Any protections your cloud-based provider supplies are for what you have and use on their network. They are not protecting your office or your network – your computers, printers, devices – and your connection to the internet and to their or anyone else’s network.

As your company relies on more cloud-based applications like Office 365, Salesforce, and Dropbox, internet connectivity becomes even more important. A next generation firewall combines powerful protection for your network and provides the highest levels of internet availability for users and your applications.

The Axiom Sentry is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a robust next-generation firewall that:

  • Detects and prevents intruders access to your company network
  • Protects your users from going to undesirable or dangerous websites
  • Prevents malicious software (malware) being embedded in your network
  • Blocks attacks on your network that would keep you from accessing the internet (including accessing your cloud-based applications)
  • Hides” your network from being scanned by attackers looking for weaknesses
  • Stops attackers from locking down your computers and demanding payment to release them (ransomware)

In addition to the advanced protection that the Axiom Sentry provides, it is also designed for:

  • Small businesses with no trained cyber-security staff. You’re not in the business of cyber-security. However, we are. So we manage and monitor the Axiom Sentry and quickly notify you of events that you need to be aware of. We also provide you an easily readable monthly analysis of the attempts made to compromise your network and how you have been protected.
  • Easy installation. You don’t have to be a “tech person” to connect it. If you can plug in a telephone, you can install the Axiom Sentry. Once it is connected and powered on it will do the rest.
  • Affordability. There is no equipment to buy and no long-term commitment. For as low as $199/month, it will cost you less in a year for enterprise-level protection than many businesses pay in a week to protect their networks.
  • Peace of mind. In today’s internet connected world, what you don’t know will hurt you. We’ve got your back with Axiom Sentry, protecting you from today’s threats as well as tomorrow’s.

Don’t be lulled into the false sense of security you might get from having your data and applications in the cloud. That kind of protection may be good. But the Axiom Sentry next-generation firewall is your first-line of defense – the one that begins in your office where all of your data originates.

At Axiom, we are passionate about protecting small businesses from the cyber threats that are out there. If you’d like more information or have any questions, please contact me at 800-519-5070, or you can email us at info@axiomcyber.com.