Security in the Cloud: Part 2

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The cloud can be a great thing for small business owners battling through tough economic times. Instead of purchasing costly enterprise software, business owners can save their dollars by accessing powerful computing programs in the cloud, from high-end word processors and project-management tools to spreadsheets and Photoshop alternatives. But, the cloud isn’t perfect, especially when it comes to security issues. Business owners need to be conscious that their documents, presentations, and marketing materials can be damaged when they’re stored in the cloud.

Password issues

One of the biggest security issues when dealing with the cloud is password protection. This is also one of the biggest security issues outside of the cloud.

Selecting a hard to guess password for data and information in the cloud is a simple way for business owners to safeguard themselves. Creating a password that has both numbers and letters, and if possible, special characters. Another consideration for business owners is who needs to have access to these passwords. The more people that have access to passwords the more at risk the data is.

Hacker alert

A few serious problems that will not soon disappear for anyone who uses a computer are hackers, malware, and spyware. As business owners have little control over how secure the cloud is this part of security can be very scary indeed. Businesses like Microsoft and Google must create their own security measures to safeguard the data stored in the cloud.

Common sense protection

Protecting yourself from theft in the cloud is often as easy as applying some common sense practices.

First, owners should think about what type of information they’re storing in the cloud. The most sensitive data, data that could damage a company if it is lost or stolen, might not be ideal for cloud storage. Instead, this data might be better stored on a business owner’s individual computing system and dependably backed up.

Secondly, business owners must remain vigilant about who they grant access to their cloud-stored data, documents, and reports. Owners are mindful about whom they allow to access the files on their desktops and laptops and they should be equally careful when it comes to granting others access to their cloud-hosted information.