Data Security is a big concern for us in current time, as security of stored data is always an incentive for hackers. Cloud security is now becoming a worth considering of many security experts and organizations because, gone are the days when we generally carried bunches of data in email or USB drives. Today, we much rely on cloud for storing, transfer of information. Are you confident that your stored data in the cloud is enough protected? Probably not! The speed of technology and law enforcement procedures is not on the same level. You will barely get any universal rules or laws that could be valid for any user and any cloud service regardless of geological boundaries.
Complexity of Law Enforcement for Data Security:
The prime hurdle in law enforcement is transborder where, countries can regulate data privacy issues for storing the data within the country, but it fails against transborder data flow regulation. For example, data stored in the USA are from different countries and being handled by people of different countries, so it is difficult to apply a particular country’s law during data transfer.
The other hurdle is defining the authorship of the data access. Users feel relax after storing the data in cloud and forget that the cloud system is operating from another country. If the country asks user to surrender his data in that case, users have to handover it to the legal authority.
In that case, users have to take precautions for this stored data. The users are the own guardian of their data and to make this happen, users should keep in mind certain safety tips that will handle the issue of cloud privacy.
Safety Tips for Stored Data:
File Encryption:
Make your data encrypted in the cloud, so that the third party cannot reveal it and while sharing the zip file tell the password to only the receiving person. If you want to go to an extend stage, you can go for open source encryption software that create an encrypted file and protect it with a password. It serves a high reliability and provides an option to choose the algorithm type.
Use of Encrypted Cloud Service:
There are cloud services that offer local encryption and decryption; these services take care of your files and stores on the encrypted cloud. Such service provider provides amazing features like large space, sync, share, access, and free storage; users can upgrade such services with a nominal monthly charge. If users are not actively using the internet, then two-step verification security is enough for daily routine work. Users should decide the level of information and the requirement of encryption for the information.
Make a strong Password:
It is true that still many users keep date of birth, vehicle number, SSN as their password that can be easily guessed and cracked. The stronger password users apply, the harder it is to guess. Always choose a combination of alpha and numerical with upper and lower case alphabets. Keep different password for each of your social media accounts; if hacker gets a single password other accounts would be at risk.
Limit the Physical Access:
It is essential to know who is accessing the data and logs. Always perform a background check of third party personnel for handling the data. Discover where the weak links are in your data-exchange processes and change those inadequacies. Data-discovery tools can be used to recognize confidential data that may not be sufficiently secured.
Data Backups:
Perform a regular data backup will help users in case of unwanted situation of data lose. Users should know, where and how the data is being stored or backed up. Cloud backup providers offer users a remote access to the service with a secure client login in application to back up the files. Online backup is an ideal solution and alternate to local backups. Many data backup providers offer a free monthly trial period for their service. Once you get satisfied with free data backup service you can go with paid subscription.
Antivirus Protection:
It is possible that users have cloud service upon which they trust, but sometimes, if a user accesses the service on a public computer, which has no sufficient antivirus protection or infected with the virus, it may cause trouble to your data. Without proper system defense, users can reveal to bugs and viruses that offer infiltration points for hackers to right to use the users’ account. No system is secure from unauthorized access without minimal protection; firewalls, anti spyware, and virus-detection programs on servers can help in better sense.
Conclusion:
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, A global IP network traffic is recorded more than 1 zettabyte per year, or 91.3 Exabytes per month. This value is anticipated to reach 1.6 zettabytes per year by 2018, equal to 45 million DVDs per hour. Such huge volume of data transfer on the network needs a proper security otherwise; hackers could take advantage of it.
