The Cloud Isn’t Secure on Its Own
More and more Greek businesses, public organizations, and ministries are moving their infrastructure and data to the cloud. That makes sense: flexibility, scalability, reduced infrastructure costs. But the move to the cloud also brings a set of security and regulatory compliance issues that can’t be ignored.
Many people think that simply uploading their data to a cloud provider is enough to be covered. It isn’t. Responsibility for security is shared between the provider and the organization using the service. This model is called shared responsibility, and it’s the foundation of any cloud security strategy.
What Compliance in the Cloud Means for a Greek Business
Regulatory compliance in the cloud isn’t just about GDPR, although that remains the most critical framework for anyone processing EU citizens’ data. Depending on the industry, other frameworks may also apply, such as NIS2, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS for companies handling payments, or ENISA guidelines.
For businesses and organizations in Greece, NIS2 is now a reality. The directive significantly expands the number of entities subject to cybersecurity obligations, including sectors that weren’t previously considered critical. If your business or organization falls within its scope, compliance isn’t optional.
The Most Common Cloud Weaknesses We See in Practice
After years of working with Greek businesses and organizations, certain problems come up with striking frequency:
- Misconfigured cloud environments, such as open storage buckets or excessive permissions for users and services.
- Absence of Multi-Factor Authentication on critical systems and administrator accounts.
- Inadequate monitoring and event logging, resulting in no visibility into suspicious activity.
- Lack of a backup policy, or backups that aren’t tested regularly.
- Use of cloud services without proper data processing agreements signed with the provider.
- Inability to fully map and inventory all assets residing in the cloud.
Practical Steps for Cloud Security and Compliance
You don’t need to start from zero. There are concrete steps you can take today to improve your security posture:
- Start with an inventory. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. Map out all cloud assets, applications, users, and data.
- Apply the principle of least privilege. Every user and every service should have access only to what it needs for its job — nothing more.
- Enable MFA everywhere. Especially for administrator accounts and access to sensitive data.
- Set up monitoring and alerting. You need real-time visibility to spot anomalies before they become incidents.
- Review security settings regularly. Cloud environments change constantly. What was correctly configured today may not be after an upgrade or the addition of a new service.
- Verify your backups. Not just that they’re happening, but that they can actually be restored when needed.
- Assess your compliance. Run a gap analysis against GDPR, NIS2, or whatever framework applies to your industry.
Technology and Expertise: Neither Is Enough Alone
Technology is essential, but it doesn’t solve the problem by itself. You also need the right strategy, appropriate policies, and people who know how to bring it all together. Tools like Microsoft Azure with its built-in security and compliance capabilities, endpoint protection solutions, backup management, network security, asset discovery, and infrastructure monitoring are the building blocks of a comprehensive approach. At Cyberstack, we work with exactly these tools through our partnerships with Microsoft, Azure, Bitdefender, Fortinet, Veeam, CheckMK, Lansweeper, Safetica, Dell, and Huawei, helping businesses and organizations put them to proper use.
Cloud Security Is an Investment, Not a Cost
A data breach costs far more than any investment in security. And that’s not measured only in money — it’s measured in lost trust, legal liability, and operational disruption. The organizations that treat security and compliance as a strategic priority are the ones that withstand today’s threats.
If you’d like to assess the current state of cloud security and compliance in your organization, the Cyberstack team is at your disposal. Contact us at [email protected] for an initial discussion.
