How Secure Is Your Data in the Cloud?

In a world that revolves around data, many misconceptions and myths have impacted how businesses treat sensitive information, including where it gets stored. Your organization may believe that keeping your data secured in on-site servers behind a locked door is best. This method gives you a sense of control over it, but the reality is: Cloud hosting has proven more effective against threats like ransomware and breaches. 

As digital marketplaces and accompanying security measures continue to grow, SaaS entity management software providers have become increasingly trusted with critical data. However, this begs the question, how secure is your data in the Cloud? Further, how are reputable Saas companies like Athennian successfully protecting your information? Let's find out.

SaaS Cloud Security is Reputable

As mentioned a moment ago, the most sensitive of your data is often safer in the Cloud than your on-site server. A survey conducted by the cloud-based infrastructure monitoring platform Logic Monitor found that by the end of 2020, 41% of responding companies would have their workloads on public platforms. This trend continued through 2021 and is expected to do so through 2022.

What does this mean for legal technology providers and their clients? First, it translates into higher demand for prioritized data protection policies to further define their competency in providing value-added services, including reputable Cloud security. Dedicated IT teams, engaging with trusted leaders in the data security industry, and implementing cutting-edge tech and best practices will be highly sought-after characteristics of a quality SaaS company.

These expectations are met and exceeded by few entity management vendors worldwide. Companies like Athennian recognize that their future sustainability rests on taking security seriously through regular reviews of protocols, policy, and training. On-site servers rarely reach this level of engagement, and those that do invest significantly larger percentages of their budget to these efforts than SaaS providers. 

Why Businesses Turn to Cloud-Based SaaS

Information security is usually not built into a non-tech company's business focus. This isn't saying that securing data is of little importance, but it's not part of your vision. You might have an IT team that handles this task and other duties that have nothing to do with keeping information secure. Further, they probably don't collaborate with industry leaders to develop new strategies and digital tools to keep you safe. 

A cloud-based entity management platform is the complete opposite in this regard. Consider the following data security features that Athennian uses to protect your critical and non-critical information:

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Unparalleled Cloud Security 

All Athennian data and related legal technology rely on Amazon Web Services (AWS), a market leader in cloud services. With AWS, our application is one of the most secure computing infrastructures in the world. As an EMS hosted on AWS, you can feel assured Athennian is built on top of one of the most secure computing infrastructures in the world.

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SOC2
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Athennian has adopted the highest standard of organizational controls relevant to cloud SaaS companies, in line with the Trust Services Criteria established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). System and Organization Controls (SOC) Reports are independent third-party examination reports that demonstrate how Athennian achieves non-financial compliance controls and objectives in four key areas related to its software: Security, Availability, Confidentiality, and Privacy. The purpose of these reports is to help you and your auditors understand the Athennian controls established to support operations and compliance.

SOC2 Type I Report: an attestation of controls at a service organization at a specific point in time

SOC2 Type II Report: an attestation of controls at a service organization over a minimum six-month period

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Dedicated Application Security

One of the biggest concerns companies have when migrating their processes to the Cloud is an application's vulnerabilities when accessing services. Athennian truly appreciates this worry and utilizes the following systems and practices to prevent these incidents from happening:

‍Regular security penetration tests. Annual meetings with cybersecurity leaders to test our platform and ensure it's secure at every level of access, internally and externally. 

In-transit and at-rest data encryption. Whether your data is on the move in your network or taking a rest, cloud-based services provide top-level encryption to ensure your information is secure at all times. 

Secure development practices. Another important security feature that trustworthy SaaS firms like Athennian employ are internal standards involving code quality and daily review before deployment in a production environment. We also have our security architects review infrastructure coding and functionality when new features are added.

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‍Automated processes. Human error is the leading cause of the compromisation of data. To combat this, Athennian automates repetitive tasks and procedures to create higher accuracy and efficiency, reducing costly mistakes. Automation can eliminate much of the risk associated with these functions, from application patch management to environment configuration. 

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Control access to your data. Controlling who can access your data may seem incompatible with cloud-based SaaS services. Still, this matter of trust can be resolved with control measures that minimize how many operators can access this restricted information. At Athennian, we rely on role-based access, defining and deploying privileged access to specified data resources. The management role responsible for every aspect of these resources must approve any authorization given. 

Automated backups and redundant server options. ‍Database backups are vital to protect against disaster, whether from corruption or deletion. Because Athennian relies on AWS, your data is regularly backed-up automatically at a frequency determined appropriate for the amount of database activity utilized by your organization. In addition to reliable disaster recovery, AWS uses server redundancy to replicate production environments so that in case of an outage, you can restore your data.

Discover the Security of a Cloud-Based Entity Management System

As you have read, there are countless benefits to cloud-based storage and the SaaS services that utilize them, especially when it comes to data security. Trusting another company to store your data is intimidating, but Athennian provides an unmatched level of dedication to ensure every letter is secure when at work or resting. 

Athennian has allowed numerous law firms from across North America to modernize their current entity management software and begin enjoying the countless benefits of cloud legal technology. Reach out today and schedule your free customized demo to learn more about Athennian's data security practices and technology. You can also check out security considerations for CI CD security.