This is one of six of the top risks to address in cloud storage and business file sharing applications.
Given Cloud Storage’s increasing popularity and versatility, it’s no wonder companies jumped onto the cloud car. This powerful tool not only responds to storage and computing requirements, but also saves thousands of dollars from business in IT investment. The high demand for storage has fuelled the development of a thriving, affordable, easy-to-use, and distant cloud services industry.
Like any new technology, physical or virtual, however, IT experts have warned that cloud storage and file sharing apps pose inherent safety hazards. Security or lack of it has actually limited the adoption of universal cloud service. The main issue is that companies must rely on third parties who are or may not work in their best interests to ensure the security of their sensitive business information. With cloud services such as Google Drive and Dropbox and Microsoft Azure becoming a regular feature of business processes, companies face more recent security issues such as loss of control over sensitive data, as well as risks associated with the use of third-party club services, six must be targeted.
The problem is that data is usually taken out of a company’s IT environment when using third-party file sharing services, which means that data privacy settings are beyond the control of the company. And since most cloud services encourage users to back up their data in real time, many data that have not been shared can be viewed by unauthorized staff. The most effective way to avoid such a risk is to ensure that you are a provider that encrypts your files between 128 and 256-bit during storage and transit.
DATA LEAKAGE
The majority of companies that stopped taking over the cloud did so in fear of leakage of their data. This feature stems from the multi-user environment in which the cloud shares all its resources. It is also a third party service, which means the provider could view or misuse the data. A third party’s capabilities, which appear to be an even greater risk in terms of business and sensitive business data, can only be questioned by human nature. There are also a range of external threats that could lead to data leakage, including malicious hacks from cloud providers or compromise from cloud user account. Instead of cloud service provider, the best strategy is file encryption and stronger passwords.
BYOD
The new security risk of cloud storage and FSS is that employees can work on a “BYOD” basis. This trend is growing as more people are using their own devices in their workplace either because they are more used to interfaces or because they have higher specifications than those provided by the company. In general, BYOD can offer a win – win situation to employees and employers, reducing employer costs of buying employee IT equipment and offering employees greater flexibility. However, unless properly managed, BYOD also poses major security risks. Stolen, lost, or abused devices can result in a third party now receiving sensitive information from a business that could break the corporate network and steal valuable information from it. It is also more difficult to find a data breach on an external asset (BYOD) because it is practically impossible to track and monitor employee devices without adequate instruments.
SNOOPING
Cloud files are one of the most vulnerable to hacking without security action. It is also a major risk factor for it to be saved and transmitted via the internet. Everything can still be intercepted on the road to its destination, even when file encryption is provided by the cloud service. The best way to protect against this threat would be to encrypt and transmit data securely, preventing outsiders from accessing cloud metadata.
KEY MANAGEMENT
Cryptographic Key Management has always been a safety risk for companies, but its effects have increased after the cloud was introduced, and therefore key management needs to be effectively performed. This can only be achieved if the key management process is secured from the start and is unnoticeable, automated and active. This is the only way to ensure that sensitive data is not vulnerable in the cloud. In addition, keys must be secured jointly, making it difficult and tedious to retrieve information to ensure that data can never be accessed without permission.
CLOUD CREDENTIALS
The fundamental value proposition of the cloud is that it provides virtually unrestricted storage for all. In other words, even data from a company is generally stored in conjunction with data from other customers, which can lead to data infringement via third parties. In theory, this is mitigated by the fact that cloud access is limited by user credentials; however, these credentials are also stored in the cloud and can vary considerably in security based on individual users ‘ password habits, which means that even credentials are compromised.
Although an attacker cannot access your files with a credential compromise, it may allow them to do other tasks such as copying or eliminating them. Only if you encrypt your sensitive data and secure your own unique credentials, which could involve investing in a secure password management service, will this security threat be overcome.
While cloud storage & file sharing services offer companies great value in terms of flexibility, scalability, and cost savings, implementing a comprehensive cloud security strategy prior to adoption or transition to cloud services is essential for organizations to address these security concerns.