Is cloud storage secure?
Cloud storage is extremely popular today, and we’re big fans. People are using tools from DropBox to OneDrive to store their files. But in a business environment, one major concern is the security of cloud storage.
Nothing about the cloud makes it any more or any less secure than any other file storage method.
Security and other file storage methods
Take a USB drive as an example. A USB drive is not inherently secure. In fact, there are many ways in which it can be insecure!
If you leave your USB drive lying on a chair at an airport and you haven’t taken any special security measures, anyone can just pick it up and read the files that you have on it. Or if your friend gives you a USB file that has an infected file on it and you copy that file to your computer, your computer is now infected.
So if you’re a customer of a cloud storage provider and had assumed that meant you were safer than if you were using some other file storage method, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
To truly be secure, you should do two things:
- Ask your provider about their security.
- Take your own security precautions.
Ask your provider about their security
Concerned about your cloud storage security? Then ask your provider about it! And don’t just ask whether or not their method is secure. Find out what security measures they’re actually taking and why.
Take your own security precautions
I can’t tell you how many times someone has found out their cloud storage was corrupted and wondered, “Wait a minute, what happened?” The simple truth is they uploaded an infected file and that infected the files they had stored in the cloud. Take care of security on your end and your files stored in the cloud will be safer.
The cloud can benefit your business greatly, as long as you do your own due diligence to make sure your solution is secure.