Using a cloud-based storage system to store your data might sound like a foolproof plan; you’ll save money on hardware while also keeping your data secure, but how secure is it? Most businesses today use cloud storage for their data. While the benefits are undoubtedly aplenty, there are certain caveats and risks that a business should be well aware of before switching to entirely cloud-based security infrastructure.
Privacy Risks
Your private data should be yours alone.
You don’t want anyone to have access to it unless you permit them. Data stored on local hard drives are easy to access and manage, but what about the cloud? Because your data is kept elsewhere, it may be difficult to determine how secure it is. When you don’t manage the servers where it’s kept, how can you ensure no one can access it?
Loss of Control
When you entrust data storage to a third party, you relieve yourself of a significant amount of responsibility. However, this is not without consequence. The downside here is that while you won’t have to handle your data, someone else will. If your storage provider has problems, such as outages or virus infestations, it will have a direct impact on your data access, and there will be nothing you can do to fix it.
Sharing Server Space
It’s not quite accurate to say that you keep your data “in the cloud” rather than “on a server.” Cloud-based storage solutions save data on servers, but users don’t have physical access to them. Cloud storage companies do not create dedicated servers for each client; instead, the server capacity is shared among several customers as needed.
Let’s say your data is stored on a server with the data of another large business. When that other business receives a surge of traffic, the server will be overloaded, and the efficiency of your business and the user experience can be compromised. If your server partner faces a cyberattack, your data could get caught in the crossfire.
No Safety Net
One of the most common concerns about cloud storage systems is that they lack automated backup capabilities; they expect you to create your backups of the data you keep on the cloud. At that point, you may as well store your data locally in the first place. While most cloud services have found solutions to this issue, things aren’t exactly perfect yet. In most cases, businesses that lose their data have no safety net.
Data Breaches In Los Angeles
To better understand the very real risk of cloud storage security issues, let’s look at recent data breaches in Los Angeles.
In July of 2019, Nemadji Research Corp, partners of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, experienced a phishing attack that jeopardized thousands of LA patients’ data.
In the same month, the LAPD confirmed that a recent hack had put the personal information of 20,000 people at risk.
Data breaches in Los Angeles are by no means a recent issue. Luckily, iQvcloud is one cybersecurity firm offering state-of-the-art security options to companies of all sizes across the state of Los Angeles.
Want to know more? Call us today on 800-274-2996 or click here to start a trial.
