Are you moving important files to the cloud to get more organized? Whether you’re an individual or a business, nobody can escape moving file storage to the cloud. Cloud file storage has become a necessity for sharing files quickly and easily.
If you’ve heard about recent data breaches and are worried about data security, you have every reason to be concerned. However, data breaches are easy to prevent with the right understanding of how security works.
To ease your concerns, here are 5 tips to move your files to the cloud securely.
- Choose a secure cloud storage platform
You’re always better off not storing sensitive information online unless absolutely necessary. However, storing data remotely is necessary in today’s digital world. Nobody’s going to wait for a hard drive to come in the mail just to get a copy of your business plan. When you need to send that business plan to someone, they’re expecting either a downloadable file or a link to a downloadable file.
The only way to ensure your sensitive files are stored and shared securely is to use a cloud storage platform like Box. With Box, you can store any file type you want, including images, presentation files, and large movie files. Box is known for being a secure platform that will keep your sensitive files protected in the cloud.
- Encrypt your data end-to-end
Your data isn’t truly secure unless it’s encrypted end-to-end. End-to-end encryption means your data is encrypted at all times unless an authorized party chooses to decrypt it with a valid key.
While it’s not the most commonly used tactic, sometimes cybercriminals hijack files in transit from one machine to another. If you’re transferring files from your laptop to a secure cloud server, you still need to make sure those files are securely transferred. That’s where encryption comes in.
When transferring files to the cloud, encryption renders stolen data useless should it fall into the wrong hands.
- Create and enforce strict IT security policies
The majority of cyber attacks are caused by human error. Sometimes it’s a misconfigured database, a misconfigured server, or a thoughtless click that installs malware on a user’s machine.
Before beginning a data migration to the cloud, you need a strict IT security policy and a plan to enforce that policy. Make no exceptions for anyone for any reason. Everyone involved should follow your policy to the letter.
- Be selective with people you bring on board
Only recruit as few people as required to complete your migration. It’s best to limit the number of people who are granted access to your files. Some threats are internal, however, hackers can be cleverly deceptive and trick people into making gross mistakes.
For example, cybercriminals are currently taking advantage of people’s fears over the COVID-19 virus. These particular phishing attacks appear as if they’re from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO). People generally trust these organizations, and since the emails aren’t particularly alarming, they’re more likely to click on malicious links.
Although the majority of cyberattacks are currently pandemic-themed, cybercriminals haven’t stopped using common attacks like man-in-the-middle attacks, Denial of Service attacks, SQL injections, and zero-day exploits. You need a small team of people to help with migration who won’t fall for any traps.
- Set global permissions correctly
A secure cloud environment is only secure when you configure the right settings. For example, if you want all data to be private, your global settings need to reflect that desire. On the contrary, if you want to be able to share individual files and folders with select people, your global settings need to allow adjusting permissions for files and folders.
If your chosen cloud storage platform doesn’t allow you to change permissions for individual files and folders, you should consider a different platform. You need to know that all of your links are only accessible to authorized users, whether by link or registered email.
Cloud storage will improve your business operations
Whether you’re running a corporation or you’re an independent contractor, storing your files in the cloud will improve your business operations. You’ll find files faster and you’ll be able to share those files more easily with clients. As long as your files are securely stored, moving to the cloud will prove to be one of the best business decisions you’ll ever make.
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