Ah, the ‘Cloud’. Everyone in business talks about it and everyone who sits at home using their laptop or another personal device is probably using it. In essence, it’s a pretty simple idea – you get to use software that lives somewhere other than on your own device and also use servers that belong to someone else to save the data that you generate using that software. This is a pretty rough definition – but it does serve to indicate a potential problem. That data you save is not your own to protect – and that could potentially be a problem.
Let’s look at data that many people use every day – their credit card numbers. In 2019, 209,000 people who were clients of Capital One Financial Corporation had their personal details leaked via a malicious attack by hackers. Now, this is an extreme example – but that information is incredibly valuable and sensitive think what you could do with the names of clients, their social security numbers, income, and their dates of birth.
In essence, you could become them – identity theft was a reality for many of the company’s clients. And that is simply the tip of the iceberg. To list those companies who have been custodians of massive amounts of data and who have been the target of malicious attacks would take as many words as they had clients – that is millions.
That information, to a large extent, was stored in ‘the Cloud’ – third party storage – at least from the perspective of the clients who suffered from the effects of the data theft.
So, as an individual (or a business) how do you ensure that your data is safe?
The truth of the matter is that your data will never be 100% secure – the battle between the hackers and the custodians of the data is ongoing. It is a game of inches – the one gives ground and the other steps in the exploit any weakness.
However, protecting data on the Cloud is a matter of common sense. ensure that company that is the custodian of that data is one that is recognized internationally as one that subscribes to global best practice as far as security is concerned.
There are a number of ways that the data secured by these companies can be protected – and many of the best practices start with those who are using Cloud storage. Many of these are simple – such as verification of the bona fides of those who are logging onto a network that uses remote storage. Ensuring best practice as far as security protocols are vital to making the best use of the Cloud – and its incredible capacity to store data.The fact of the matter is that the Cloud cannot be ignored as far as storage is concerned. As data becomes ever more important and the sheer amount of information that is stored by organizations continues to grow, the Cloud becomes ever more essential as a repository. The responsibility for the security of that information lies with the custodian and gatherer – and that is where a trusted advisor and a company with a global reputation for integrity and best practice as far as security is concerned becomes invaluable.
