Most hosting difficulties center on a few basic issues. Select hosting providers that demonstrate the best practices described in this note.
Hosting Selection Criteria
Hosting difficulties include failure to perform security best practices, failure to ensure correct staff behavior, failure to ensure backup restores, failure to respect client property, and failure to eliminate single points of failure. For a specific example, refer to the McLean Report research note, “Beware Media Hype on Hosting Failures.”
Enterprises must gain assurance that the hosting provider can and does act in such a way as to mitigate these threats. Begin building this confidence by selecting providers that perform at least the following:
- Data encryption and perimeter hardening. User accounts, passwords, and credit information should all be encrypted. The provider’s access perimeter should demonstrate leading security best practices.
