Are You Storing Confidential Info In A Free (Unsecured) Cloud?

Storing Information In A Free Cloud

Not all cloud solutions are made equal.

It’s just the nature of any technology that’s as popular and fundamental in our modern world as the cloud is. There will be a wide range of solutions that vary in capability, cost and effect.

Many free cloud solutions are often quickly adopted by businesses and personal users alike; convenience, popularity and wide-spread use are all attractive features of a service such as Dropbox, but the fact is that you need to do your homework before trusting your assets with any relatively new service.

Industry leaders know that without the right support, applications such as Dropbox can present a number of risks to their businesses, such as:

• Loss of data security due to data being synced across unsecured employee devices
• Data corruption due to a lack of data integrity assurance for Dropbox and other consumer-level cloud solutions
• Possible compliance violations due to Dropbox’s loose file retention and file access controls
  

That’s why you need to do your homework about the cloud solution you’re considering…

Have You Double Checked The EULA?

An EULA is an End-User License Agreement or software license agreement between you (the purchaser) and the licensor (the software company) that defines the ways the software can be used and your rights to use it.

Because some of the free storage solutions like DropBox, Google, and others aren’t amenable to your client confidentiality requirements, you shouldn’t use them. Unfortunately, some attorneys still do, and as a result, they’re putting their client data and their law firms at risk.

You must ensure your end-user license agreement (EULA) for any software you use, (especially free software) is thoroughly checked to make sure confidential information isn’t being stored in the open.

What Can You Do To Secure Your Cloud?

Confidentiality is the cornerstone of any organization’s ability to do business. Especially when it comes to your data that involves employee and client information. Unfortunately, it has never been more difficult to do so. Data breaches are more common than ever before – that’s why you need encryption.

What Is Encryption?

In layman’s terms, encrypted data is formatted in a secret code that would be meaningless if intercepted. It is one of the most efficient ways to secure a database given that decryption can only occur through a key, which is essentially a “secret password”. In this case, there is a need for updated encryption software to ensure that private information is only accessible through the database program.

Encryption technology is a great way to protect important data. By making data unreadable to anyone who isn’t supposed to have access to it, you can secure files stored on your systems, servers, and mobile devices, as well as files sent via email or through file-sharing services.

What Should You Be Encrypting?

The growing trend of unsecured cloud configurations is due to businesses neglecting known vulnerabilities in the cloud, or failing to properly assess their cloud environment to discover unseen security risks.

Case in point – have you looked into cloud encryption?

This is especially important when your data is in transit – whether being sent in an email or in-between your office and your offsite data storage location. You need to make sure that if in the event the wrong party gets their hands on your data, they won’t be able to use it against you.

Should Your Law Firm Use The Cloud?

Obviously – if you’re not already using the cloud for file sharing and storage, you’re way behind the times. But if you’re also failing to take advantage of the industry-specific features the cloud can deliver, then you’re missing out.

As cloud technology has continued to evolve and gain traction in highly regulated industries and fields, the advantages available to law firms have increased as well. And when you think about how your firm operates, cloud computing makes a lot of sense.

Your IT service provider is (or, should be) your go-to expert when it comes to using the cloud. They should be able to offer recommendations for reliable and secure cloud computing solutions for law firms like yours.

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