North American Association of Sales Engineers

North American Association of Sales Engineers

European Association of Sales Engineers

TOP 5 TIPS FOR SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE CLOUD DATA PROTECTION

Every year, the number of people using personal clouds grows, and this trend isn’t set to stop. It was anticipated in 2012 that by 2014, the change from offline PC work to primarily on-cloud work would be complete. And it’s already taking place. We no longer send a large number of images by email, and we no longer carry documents on USB flash drives. The cloud has evolved into a place where everyone congregates and exchanges data. Furthermore, it has evolved into a repository for data that is preserved indefinitely. We’re putting more and more faith in the cloud. Even our bank documents, ID scans, and private business documents have found a new home on the cloud. But can you be certain that your data is safe, secure, and protected out there?

Actually, you won’t be able to do so for the time being. Data privacy regulation moves at a snail’s pace, unable to keep up with technological advancements. Take a look at how different countries and areas handle legal issues related to cloud data privacy. There are 

few universal principles or laws that could apply to any user and any cloud service, regardless of location or geographical limits. The current information privacy legislation consists of a plethora of declarations, plans, and roadmaps, the majority of which are not legally obligatory.

To help you deal with the issue of cloud privacy and the impact on cloud security especially in vulnerable times like the COVID-19 pandemic, here are five data privacy protection tips:

1. Avoid Storing Confidential Data in the Cloud

Many tips on the internet may sound  like not putting your data in the cloud. That’s true, but it will be best to rephrase it to avoid storing critical information on the cloud. So, if you have an option, keep your sensitive information out of the virtual world or employ proper alternatives.

2. Learn How Your Cloud Service Storage Works by Reading the User Agreement

If you’re unsure about which cloud storage to use or have any concerns about how that or another cloud service works, read the user agreement for the service you’re considering. It is undeniably difficult and tedious, but you must confront those massive amounts of text. The document that has usually received insufficient attention may contain critical information that you require. In most cases, hiring data engineers in maintaining effective data security is a great help as they are also knowledgeable in dealing with the user agreement in cloud service storage.

3. Take Passwords Seriously 

You’ve probably heard this warning a hundred times, but the majority of people ignore it. Did you know that 90% of all passwords can be cracked in less than a minute? Indeed, an easy-to-create-and-remember password is at the root of many of the tragic stories about accounts being hacked. Furthermore, using the same email password for many sites (e.g., your Facebook account, your cloud storage account) is a trap because all of your login credentials and forgotten passwords end up in your inbox. As a result, you only need to remember your “core” word and the password’s structure. You may reinforce it even more by adding a number before the service’s name, such as your birth date. You can come up with any other method of remembering your passwords that appeals to you, just be sure you won’t forget it and it will not be easy for anyone to hack.

4. Encrypt the Data

Encryption is the finest approach to safeguard your data so far. Encryption works like this in general: You have a file you wish to move to the cloud, you use special software to establish a password for that file, you move that password-protected file to the cloud, and no one who does not know the password will ever be able to read the content of the file. The simplest and most convenient method is to compress files and encrypt them with a password. Check the “Protect with a password” option when generating the archive, enter in the password, and then move it to the cloud. If you wish to share it with someone, simply tell them the password.

5. Make Use of a Cloud Service That is Encrypted

Some cloud services, in addition to storage and backup, offer local encryption and decryption of your files. It means that the service will encrypt your files on your computer and save them in the cloud securely.  As a result, there’s a better possibility that no one will have access to your files this time, including service providers and server administrators or the so-called “zero-knowledge” privacy. Software marketers like Spideroak and Wuala are two such services. Spideroak offers a free 2GB storage space with full backup, sync, share, access, and storage features. If you need more space, you’ll have to switch to the Plus Plan for $10 per month. Wuala offers 5GB of storage for both free and premium accounts, with prices varying based on how much capacity you require.

Consider how valuable your information is to you and to what extent it is fair to secure it while deciding on the best strategy to protect it. As a result, the first step is to determine the level of privacy you require, as well as the level of protection you require. Even a two-step verification requiring SMS with a code delivered to your cell phone may appear tedious if you don’t use the internet for work, however, most people who use email for delivering business data welcome this option. Although not everyone is willing to pay for data storage, if you use cloud storage for corporate data, you’ll find the cost of safe and secure data storage to be fair. So find a fine balance between the required level of security and the time, effort, and money spent on it.

Special thanks to SOPHIA YOUNG CONTENT STUDIO and Nightfall

For more information related to this article you can visit:

https://nightfall.ai/

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