How To Protect Your Cloud

How To Protect Your Cloud

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Cloud computing has brought about a new age of convenience. You can store massive amounts of data, share it easily, and most technical aspects are taken care of by someone else, and all for little cost. But data losses can happen even in the cloud, even if chances are low, so it is necessary to take some precautions to avert catastrophe.

Yes, you can access you data from anywhere. And yes, your cloud provider probably has extensive backups. But relying on them is simply not enough. No one cares about your data as much as you do, so to protect it in the event of severe server and backup failures, you have to do your due diligence and back it up yourself, too. Two points of backup at the minimum is what you need to sleep soundly at night, be it another cloud service, or even an external storage device.

Server failures do happen, but they’re not even the most common risk to your data. Cyber attacks are on the rise, and while your providers almost certainly has strong protections, sometimes they’re not enough. Security breaches do happen, and relatively frequently. To set yourself ahead of the pack, look into some common and most effective cloud security options. Encryption and password protection with two-factor authentication are the bare minimum of your cloud security system.

And speaking of passwords – make sure you and your team have a good password policy. Passwords need to be secure, but they also need to be changed frequently. Enough only for one computer to be infected with malware that can steal your login credentials, and all your data is at risk. Change your passwords often, use different passwords for different services, and protect your personal computer from malware. Not having these basic measures in place is essentially like throwing your data away – it’s almost certain something will happen to it.