Tips to Make Your Cloud Documents More Secure

Cloud computing has reinvented how many of us manage data. With the cloud, we no longer have to constantly worry about hard drives crashing if our computers are older and we can share documents across platforms seamlessly. There are, though, some security risks associated with cloud computing that you must address or you risk everything from loss of data to malware infections to hacking of accounts. To help mitigate the threats cloud document hosting is vulnerable to, follow these tips.

Back up Data Locally

Ideally, the cloud would serve a backup source for your data and eliminate the need for any other data backups. This, though, is simply not the case. You should have at least two additional copies of your data, separate from the cloud document hosting services that are the products of a backups done on separate dates. This way, if your data on one backup and the cloud become corrupted, you have a copy of a clean backup.

Leave the Sensitive off the Cloud

One misconception about document hosting solutions is that it is more secure than the internet. The reality is it's just as vulnerable to hackers and thieves as any other network that connects to the internet. Because of that, you should never store sensitive information like passwords, credit card info or documents, pictures or videos you do not want anyone else to see. This includes proprietary data and business data that you would not want your competition or anyone outside of your company to come into possession of.

Use Encryption

Only use cloud services that utilize encryption. This adds another layer of security over your normal security protocols and requires that files be decrypted in order to gain access to them. This also protects your data from “friendlies” like administrators and service providers.

You also should encrypt your data before you load it onto the cloud. Do this even if your cloud service already encrypts the data. This makes it exceptionally hard for someone to get access to your data unless they have very sophisticated decryption programs.

Make Your Passwords Stronger

Most are guilty to some degree of laziness when it comes to passwords and that makes data vulnerable. Upping the password game is one easy way to make it harder for hackers to get the access they are after. Passwords should also be changed regularly. Doing this, especially with data that you put on the cloud, when coupled with encryption before loading to the cloud and after, makes your data about as secure as possible.

Each of these steps will alleviate some of the security threats that cloud document hosting poses. Better, it will help put into place a security protocol that will improve the overall security posture of everyone who adopts it.