To the
digital era, the cloud has proved to be a big blessing. It enables storing of a
large amount of information- photos, videos, music, messages, etc. with a
limited budget. With the dawn of
internet, backing up data became much easier by storing it on the server rather
than hard drive. Also, data can be accessed using internet enabled devices. It
is fascinating to know that the birth of the internet has made it possible to
squirrel away a huge amount of data without buying extra storage devices like memory
sticks or hard drives. Recently, with technological advancements, we have seen
Google Docs and Gmail taking place of Microsoft Word and Outlook Express. But,
the raised concerned is data security in the cloud. Have you ever thought is
your data secure on the internet?
We have
seen too many cases of data hacking in the past. In 2011, Sony’s PlayStation
Network carried all the news channels by storm for its news of data hacking. A
huge amount of user information was compromised. Also, recently in September
2018, we came across news of Facebook security breach exposing more than 50
million user accounts. This was the
largest breach in the last 14 years of the company’s history affecting millions
of lives by compromising their personal information.
Though
hacking is considered to be highly illegal there are different hacking groups
targeting businesses, national security and also, private information. The user
information like usernames, passwords, home address and also, credit card
information encourages the hackers by enabling easy access to boatloads of
personal information. Passwords are a
way to safeguard your information from the prying eyes. But, let’s be honest
that we prefer simple passwords which are easier to memorize. But, these
passwords can be easily guessed by the hackers and your personal information
can be at risk. We keep on blaming the security systems for poor security and
the hackers for the malicious attacks. But, it is a fact that the users are
also at fault in these attacks.
Here are a few tips to help you secure your data
on the cloud
1.
Don’t Reuse or Share
Passwords
It is
really bad to use simple passwords as the hackers can easily guess them and
breach into your account. Once, the hacker gets access to your email account he
can easily breach into your other web logins since the passwords are mailed to
your email accounts. Your information networking sites like Facebook,
Instagram, banking, etc. will be compromised. The hacker can also change the
passwords restricting your access to the accounts. So, it is a piece of advice
to use passwords that are hard to break and difficult to guess. You can use a combination of capital and
small characters, numbers, symbols to secure your data.
The second
suggestion is never to use the same passwords for different sites. If you wish
to reuse the password across multiple sites change up letters, capitalization
and symbols. You need to be sure that you don’t repeat the password across
different sites which carry your banking details like credit card information
or social security number. Out of all, your email account password is the most
important so don’t repeat it for any site.
Lastly,
never share your passwords with anyone may it be friends or family members. The
number of people who know your passwords is directly proportional to the
possibility of your passwords being compromised. Following these password rules will make your
online life more secure.
2.
Data Backup
It is
beneficial to take backup of your data to be on a safer side. The unexpected
accidents like system failure, robbery, power surge and faulty hard drive may
take place when they are least expected. Years ago, data backup was an expensive task but, cloud storage brings a
cost-effective and better solution. Cloud
storage is available in all sizes and shapes.
The
smartest way to backup data is storing all the files on the cloud instead of
depending on a single device. It is
highly important to locally backup data on a secondary device or automated
backup drive with hard to crack passwords.
There are
many organisations offering cloud storage services to set up some cloud
accounts for storage purpose.
3.
Password Manager
Password
manager allows you to lock all your unique passwords behind one master
password. In other words, it allows you to create separate logins for different
accounts like Facebook, Twitter and cloud storage but, you can access them
memorizing the single password. Last Pass, KeePass, etc. are the online
password management utilities available in the market.
These
online utilities are also capable of creating random passwords that are
impossible. These utilities synchronize the information across multiple web
browsers and devices thus, enabling to fill the forms with just a click.
4.
Data Encryption
Data encryption is an excellent
practice to encrypt data before uploading it to the cloud. This can be a better
precaution against malicious attacks from hackers. Using local encryption
as an additional layer of security will help you protect your information from
the service providers and administrators. While selecting a service provider
make sure you choose the one that provides data
encryption facility.
5.
Avoid Storing Sensitive
Information
There is a
huge number of enterprises that avoid storing confidential or sensitive
information on their servers. This is because saving such confidential
information can be a risk to the organizations. Hackers are always ready to
target the firm’s sensitive information, securing which is of utmost importance
to the enterprises. Compromising this information can cause gruesome troubles
and losses to the firm.
Also,
uploading sensitive data on the cloud is risky for customers too. It is your
responsibility to make sure to keep your personal information out of this
virtual world to protect it from hackers.
So, it is an appropriate solution to avoid storing such information on
the cloud.
6.
Be Aware of Your Online
Behavior
Your
online behavior is sometimes responsible for the security of your data on the
cloud. It is good advice about not saving passwords while using public
desktops. Also, make sure you logged out
once you are done using the public computer. If these rules are not followed,
your data may be compromised by the strangers accessing it.
Hackers
target you by sending spam emails that are worth not opening. Similarly, while
making online payments and shopping make sure you research everything you need
to know and it is not a fraudulent site.
Also,
connecting to open Wi-Fi hotspots in public places to access the data in the
cloud may be a high risk. These public connections are unencrypted which means
the hacker can intrude your data on the same network. He may get access to your confidential
information like login credentials.
Smart browsing can help you secure your data in the cloud.
Conclusion
Despite, Cloud Computing having several benefits
the major concern is data security in the cloud. The rise of the internet has
given birth to hackers who are capable of breaking the security. You can
prevent the hackers from entering your cloudsecurity
system by following the above techniques. Data encryption, avoid reusing
passwords and all others mentioned in the blog are a few hacks that need to be
implemented to safeguard your privacy from hackers.
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