A few weeks ago, we talked about whether or not your business should jump into the cloud. While ease-of-use and scalability are potential benefits of using cloud storage services, a recent study from Ponemon Institute shows that data security in the cloud could be a cause for concern. In fact, they indicate that a full 90% of businesses have experienced a leak of sensitive or confidential information in the past year.
With the ease of use of services like Dropbox or iCloud, cloud data storage has grown significantly in the last year. In fact, you may be using it in your business right now. The Ponemon study indicates that 60% of businesses have employees who post confidential company data on a Dropbox-like service.
In and of themselves, Dropbox and iCloud are not insecure. But when you think of employees installing them on various or personal devices, laptops or phones, you may start to get at least a little bit nervous. There’s little you can do as a business-owner to enforce compliance and protect proprietary information when company data isn’t being stored on company devices.
In fact, large corporations like IBM have gone as far as to ban employees from using such services. IBM has its own proprietary file-sharing solution, which is probably not a viable option for most businesses.
Apps like Dropbox and iCloud aren’t really designed for large corporations like IBM, which has the resources in place to develop their own solution. However, these apps are great for small business that need a quick and easy solution to fit their basic IT needs. As businesses grow and acquire more sensitive data, it makes sense to upgrade to a more secure solution.
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to computer and network security, Minneapolis-based OAC Technology can help. We offer free Security Audits to businesses in Minneapolis/St. Paul area, whether you are a client of ours or not. The information gathered in the security audit is kept confidential and is used to deliver you a report of your network’s security vulnerabilities and weaknesses. We then make recommendations on how to better secure your network from intruders, hackers, former employees and even competitors. Set up your free Security Audit today!
