When it comes to cloud storage there is one thing that immediately leaps to the forefront of peoples' minds: security, says Gavin Dunlop, CEO of ACTNET. This has been highlighted since hackers have in recent years been grabbing headlines with a number of high-profile attacks. The cloud is often unfairly implicated or suspected, especially since there are ways for users to ensure that their documents are secure while still utilising the cloud's full potential.
Cloud services have been around for a relatively long time. In many respects, and rather unfairly, concerns over security have held the cloud back. The notion of information being readily accessible to the user becomes conflated with the idea that the information is somehow easy for anyone to access. In truth, a properly encrypted document in the cloud is far more secure than an unencrypted document on the hard drive of a computer connected to the Internet. For someone determined enough, that hard drive could be accessible.
Just how much attention is given to security is the cloud service's prerogative, but should their systems be compromised it would be enormously damaging to their reputation and so most take it very seriously and exceed the standards they are required to meet. In any case, the statistics are beginning to support what some have believed all along, that on-premises environments are more vulnerable to penetration attacks than cloud services.
When e-mail first became prevalent it not only dramatically increased the speed at which information could be transferred, by ensuring that information is not physically accessible it increased security too. Now we're on a level above that and ACTNET offer far more than just a mail service. They provide cloud storage with automation, placing documents in pre-designated folders as they arrive and intelligently linking supporting documents.
EDDBox is a good example of a cloud service that takes security seriously. Naturally the users' accounts are password protected but the individual documents stored within those accounts can be encrypted and only accessible with a unique password. Not even EDDBox's support staff will be able to help if that password is forgotten; the document simply cannot be unencrypted without it. Even an iron safe with a fancy lock doesn't offer that level of protection, and yet the user is still able to access those documents from anywhere.
A bit of bad press has the potential to do a lot of undue harm to the reputation of a secure technology rich with potential. Cloud services will continue to surge in popularity as consumers realise that many of their fears are misaligned. It's important to realise that systems everywhere are potentially vulnerable to hackers and proper precautions must be taken. It is therefore important to choose a cloud service that offers real security.
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