For reasons that are quite obvious, cloud technology has been a boon in the world of business since the beginning of the 21st century. Cloud data security has helped business enterprises store and manage their data in a sharable environment and in a manner that has promoted accessibility.
All the business management and employees need is a computer or mobile device and an internet connection to access the company information. This has revolutionized the way business is conducted in the 21st-century economy with the new generation of employees preferring to work from home rather than the traditional office.
However, although cloud computing comes with very many benefits, whenever data security is mentioned we can never be too sure that information stored in the cloud cannot be compromised by cyber-attacks. The most vulnerable information is the one stored in a public cloud that is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Information security in cloud computing can be categorized into the concerns faced by the consumer and the cloud computing service provider. The service provider must strive to ensure that the data for the user is protected and that the cloud computing infrastructure is secured. Similarly, data users must attempt to make sure that their information is protected by strong passwords that are hard to infiltrate and ensure a two-stage verification before data access is granted.
In this article, we are going to highlight measures that a business or even an individual can put in place to ensure that any information stored in the cloud is safe from compromise by cyber-attacks or any other third parties.
Have a local data backup
The backups to your data are one of the most critical aspects of managing any form of data whether corporate or individual. It is highly advisable to have your data in the form of electronic copies such as hard drives and flash discs so you can continue to access it if your original copy is compromised or corrupted. You can decide to have your data backed up in the traditional external storage devices such as hard drives or use another cloud to store the data. It is even safer to use both modes of data backup since external storage devices will come in handy when there are outages in your internet connection or the connection is slow.
Avoid the storage of sensitive information in the cloud
One of the things that we should all be honest about is that the internet does not give 100% privacy. The number of frauds committed involving identity theft is growing exponentially by the day. It is therefore advisable to avoid the storage of personal information that is highly sensitive in the cloud. Such information includes debit and credit card details and passwords to your online banking portals. Other forms of confidential information could be in the way of intellectual property such as copyrights and patents. It is possible that this kind of data can land into the hands of third parties despite efforts to protect them in cloud computing. If the information leaks into the systems of another company or individual, the probability that your sensitive information will be compromised are almost inevitable.
Encrypt your data
Look for cloud computing service providers that offer local encryption data services so you can enjoy increased privacy and security to your data. Encryption offers double security as the receiver of the data has to decrypt it to access it. This data protection technology protects your information even from the people to whom it is most vulnerable such as system administrators and service providers. It is also essential for the user to ensure that all data is encrypted before it is entered into the cloud. This is essential even in the event that the cloud system automatically encrypts it. Today, technology has led to the invention of numerous third-party tools that you can use to encrypt your data before feeding it into the system. These tools apply encryption files and passwords to protect your data further.
Anti-virus software installation
At times, the risk to data compromise does not come from the cloud computing system but from the computer system that you have used to log in. If there is no proper system protection in place for your computer or mobile device, hackers can easily access and compromise the integrity of your information. Anti-virus software gets rid of malware and protects your system from spams that are on the web. System virus exposure leads offer penetration points for cyber-attacks.
Strengthen your passwords
For any system, having strong passwords protects your data from third parties and hackers. You can find sites on the World Wide Web that give insights and tips on how you can generate secure passwords that are hard to guess. One of the most secure ways to protect your data is two-step verification. This type of verification allows you to use an email address or a cell phone number as another mode of verifying the user for data access.
Editor’s Note:
From time to time, SensorsTechForum features guest articles by cybersecurity and infosec leaders and enthusiasts such as this post. The opinions expressed in these guest posts, however, are entirely those of the contributing author, and may not reflect those of SensorsTechForum.
Wow! Thank you! I continually needed to write on my site something like that. Can I include a part of your post to my website?
Yes, just make sure to include a source :)