Using the Cloud? Here’s How To Do It Securely

The cloud is used by individuals and businesses all over the world. However, it’s not always used safely or securely. There are plenty of common mistakes that people make when using the cloud. And these mistakes can often compromise the user’s security. So, if you’re using the cloud, here’s how to do it securely.

Be Careful When Picking a Password

Choosing a password is something that you need to do very carefully. If you use the same password for all your accounts and logins, this is dangerous. It means that if someone gained access to your password for your email account, they could use it to log into your cloud account too. So, pick a password that is long, unexpected and different to the other passwords that you use. As long as you can remember it, it will help you to keep your cloud data much safer.

Add Extra Verification

You can go even further than adding strong passwords to your account if you feel it necessary. Two-step verification requires you to have separate logins that both have to be passed before your data can be accessed. Of course, it makes accessing your data take slightly longer. But it also makes your data and files more secure than they otherwise would be, so it shouldn’t be ignored.

Read the Small Print and Know What the Service Provides

You should know exactly what you’re getting yourself into when you start using a cloud service. The provider will provide you with terms and condition, which most people never read. But it really is worth reading the small print when you sign up for this kind of service. You never know what that company might be doing with your data. It will all be in the small print, but that’s useless if you don’t read it. Some companies share data with third parties, and that’s something you’ll want to know about.

Have a Recovery Plan in Place

There are many things that can go wrong when you are using the cloud. That’s why you should have a recovery plan in place to make sure that you can get back to normal if the worst does happen. There are many risks that you face, so it’s best to know who to contact if you need assistance. Of course, the service provider you use should be able to help. But there are also cloud disaster recovery companies out there that can assist you, so carry out some research on them.

Store Sensitive Data Differently

Many people will tell you that you should avoid storing sensitive data in the cloud. That’s one way to avoid disaster. But you don’t have to go that far. If you really want to, you can store sensitive data in the cloud. You just need to make sure you do it properly. It should be done differently to how you store non-sensitive data. Before you upload them to the cloud, you should make sure that they’re encrypted. You should also try to use an encrypted service.