Practical and Effective Tips for Securing Cloud Storage

There’s no question that cloud-based storage solutions have become extremely popular in recent years. They have eliminated the need to keep up with portable hard disks and thumb drives and created an “access anywhere” environment.

The Appeal of Cloud Storage

From Dropbox to Google Drive and everything in between, these cloud solutions provide online data storage that’s simple to access from anywhere. While the convenience of this is tempting, if you upload your personal data to this cloud provider, it does raise a few security concerns. For example, you will never really know who else is accessing your sensitive information.

With that in mind, there are steps you can take to ensure Google cloud security, along with security for any other cloud service you use. If you want to ensure your data is protected from unauthorized access, make sure to take the steps here. These tips will pay off in the long run.

Create a Local Backup

The top rule when it comes to data management is to always have a backup for data and information being stored. Generally, it is a good practice to create electronic copies of your data so you can access them even in situations where the original is corrupted or lost.

If you choose to put your data in the cloud, you also need to manually back up the data using an external physical storage device or drive, such as a thumb drive or hard disk. By doing this, you can also access the stored information when you don’t have an internet connection.

Don’t Store Sensitive Information

When it comes to the internet, there’s probably no such thing as complete privacy (if you really think about it). As a result, it’s probably not a good idea to store your top-secret files on the cloud. While this may sound like paranoia, the fact is that identity theft is on the rise, and there’s no point in taking the risk. As a result, keeping your most sensitive information out of the cloud is probably best.

The best advice is to only keep the files that need to be accessed regularly and not put up documents that contain passwords for various online accounts or that include personally identifiable information, like your home address, national identification number, credit card numbers, etc. If you don’t have a choice but to include this information in your files, make sure you encrypt them before you upload anything.

Use Cloud Services that Include Encryption

If you want to ensure your privacy is protected while using cloud storage services, you need to find a provider or solution that offers local encryption for all data. This is, essentially, another layer of protection. The reason for this is because the information must go through the decryption process before it can be read or used.

Even though just having encryption services while your data is in the cloud is sufficient, it’s even better if there is a guarantee that it is also encrypted during the uploading and downloading of information. When choosing a cloud services provider, look for the Advanced Encryption Standard. This means the cloud service provider is using military-grade technology.

In addition to encrypting and decrypting your information and data, you may find that syncing your files with the cloud driver takes some time. With that being said, it is a necessary step if you want to ensure the documents are only accessible to you.

Implement Anti-Spy and Anti-Virus Protection

While you may be using a completely secure cloud provider that you trust, sometimes the weakest link is your computer system. If you don’t have the proper protection in place for your system, you are exposing yourself to viruses and bugs that provide various penetration points for hackers. Installing anti-spy and anti-virus protection can help to protect against this.

As you can see, there are several steps you can take to protect your data when it is stored on the cloud. Be sure to use these tips to keep things secure.