Adopting cloud is proportional to your organization’s growth and innovation. Cloud makes collaboration easier for your organization, now your distributed workforces can able to work harmoniously anywhere. Cloud computing reduces cost for your organization.
Cloud computing benefits
- Cloud computing can lower your business cost
- Access your data from anywhere, anytime
- Cloud Computing enhance collaboration among your workforces
- You can easily share your data
- Cloud computing is really convenient to use
Now a days, besides organization individual people are also started to use cloud for their personal day to day work. Today we no longer use USB drive to carry our documents, photos. We simply exchange our documents, photos through cloud. We also use cloud to store our documents permanently, most of us store our confidential documents such as banking documents, ID proofs etc. to cloud. That means we trust the cloud so much, but is cloud really that much secure as much we think?
There are various security threats that may target your cloud-stored data
Probably, you may be using some of these cloud-based apps daily, either home or at office.
What makes cloud a target for hackers, cybercriminals? This is the personal and professional data that flows through them.
Some common attack methods cybercriminals apply for cloud apps and platforms:
- Document-based malware (macro viruses, PDF exploits)
- Ransomware
- Javascript malware
- Exploit kits
- Phishing (Also whaling, pharming, etc.)
- Password sniffing attacks or dictionary attacks
- Attacks against flawed APIs
- Social engineering
Everybody thinks data breach cannot happen to them, but with a record number of data breaches occurred in previous years, I am pretty much sure that your data is not secure at all. Don’t afraid too early, we can make our data safe from threats with some simple tips –
1. Make sure you encrypt all your data – Make sure your data is encrypted in the cloud. To protect your data you should always encrypt your data. You may say encryption is the best way to protect your sensitive data. You may choose a cloud service which provide data encryption service
2. Know your Cloud Service Provider – Always choose a reliable and trustworthy cloud service provider and know how their workflow works. In the cloud you can’t be able to control the infrastructure, so you can’t control the data. So choose wisely your cloud provider.
3. Choose a strong password – Always use strong password. Never use your personal information such as date of birth, pet’s name, parent’s name, mobile number as password. Use strong, un-guessable password and don’t use same password for every application.
4. Avoid storing confidential information in the cloud – It is a recommendation not to store sensitive and confidential information on the cloud
5. Use 2 factor authentication – If your cloud provide offer you 2 factor authentications, use it. It is a additional lay of security on your login. By using 2 factor authentication, if someone gets your username and password he/she won’t be able to access your data, unless he / she has the secondary code generated by your cloud provider.
6. Always backup your data – Always make sure you have a secure backup of your data.
7. Monitor activity – If your cloud provider offer you to review, how their system being used, use it. If you find any notorious or unauthenticated activity or login on your account, take steps immediately.
8. Don’t share your password with anyone – Never never never share your cloud account password with anyone and change your password often.
9. Check if your cloud provider actually delete your data, when you delete them – Ask your provider how they store and delete your data, this can help you a lot.