Is Cloud Storage Safe for Your Personal Data?
published 7/26/2022Many people remember just a few years ago when the cloud became popular. These days, data processing and hosting services in the United States alone are worth more than $290 billion! This industry employs upwards of 703,000 people throughout the country to help keep the cloud functional.
Some people wonder, "Is cloud storage safe?" This is a good question to ask whenever a new technology comes out. However, there is a long list of reasons why modern cloud services provide excellent security.
With so many layers of defenses, the cloud is one of the safest places to manage and keep important data. So why is cloud storage safe? Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about cloud storage and how it protects important data!
Is Cloud Storage Safe?
There are a few reasons why people wonder whether or not cloud storage is safe. For one thing, storing your data on the cloud means sending it over the internet first.
Whenever you send data over the internet, it is reasonable to wonder if someone could be monitoring your data. However, this level of problem exists for any data that you keep on a system connected to the internet. There is no reason to be more worried about the cloud transfer process than any other internet transfer operations you execute with a normal computer with a normal internet connection.
Victims
On the other hand, cloud services hold the data for many people and companies. Doesn't that make them a target for potential criminals?
The truth is that cyber criminals tend to target easy victims. Precisely because cloud storage services provide a professional service for so many people and companies, they go out of their way to make themselves unlikely victims.
That includes providing many layers of defenses to keep your data safe. For example, consider ransomware. This is a type of cybercrime that is becoming more and more common.
Ransomware infects a system, makes a copy of essential data, and then deletes the data from the original location. The user of ransomware then demands a ransom in order to return essential data.
One of the best ways to protect yourself against this kind of malware is by maintaining multiple copies of your most essential data. However, this is a step that cloud services already take.
In fact, all of the data you store on your cloud will probably be backed up multiple times. In theory, that would protect your data from ransomware. In reality, it means that cyber criminals do not even bother using ransomware attacks on cloud storage services.
That is the power of just one of the layers of defenses that cloud services use.
Cloud Services Provide Constant Monitoring
Cloud services constantly monitor their systems. They have cyber security systems designed by experts. They have other experts who constantly track changes in the system and note any possible problems.
If any potential security vulnerabilities are detected, experts notice this right away and patch them. In theory, that means that potential cyber criminals would only be able to do a small amount of damage before they were kicked out. In reality, what it means is that they do not bother in the first place because it is not profitable for them to target cloud storage providers.
On top of security from cyber attacks, cloud storage services invest in physical security as well. The end result is that your data is safer at a cloud storage location than almost anywhere else. Cloud services even test their own defenses to find any weaknesses that show up under conditions of stress.
Modern Cloud Services Use Encryption
Many people do not appreciate the power of encryption. These days, encryption is so powerful that it is impossible to break as far as anyone knows. As long as you follow correct encryption schemes, your data will be perfectly safe as it transfers to a cloud.
In fact, you can even set up encryption so that the cloud storage provider cannot access your data. You can achieve this using a process called end-to-end encryption. If you want extra security, you can find a cloud storage provider that uses or offers end-to-end encryption options.
Find a Service With Data Recovery Options
You can also make sure to find a cloud storage provider with excellent data recovery options. If anything happens to your data, you want to know that there are multiple copies kept safe in other locations.
Most cloud storage providers never have any trouble with this. However, if you are concerned, you can find one of the services that invests a little extra in more powerful data recovery.
Have a Backup Plan
When people think about slow computer repair, they sometimes wonder if they can trust the virus removal experts they go to for computer repair. However, the truth is that the user is far more likely to leave a system vulnerable than an expert.
Laptop repair tends to be one of the safest places to entrust a device.
In a similar way, it is unlikely you can match the security of a cloud storage provider. However, you can always set up a backup plan if you are concerned.
You can keep your own backup of your essential data. To make sure that you do not make your system vulnerable, you may also want to learn about powerful passwords. It may also be valuable to invest in learning about proper cybersecurity protocols.
That way, you can maximize the safety of your devices whether or not you invest in cloud storage as well.
Understand Why Cloud Storage Is Safe
If you have ever wondered, "Is cloud storage safe?", we hope this article has answered your question. Many people had concerns about cloud security when it first came out. However, the result of these concerns was the creation of many layers of protection to keep cloud data safe.
To learn more about cloud storage and how it can safely manage your data, reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!
