I wondered if anyone could offer some advice please----
I am looking at online storage options for client data and wondered if anyone could offer advice on which providers offer good secure storage. My main concern is the security levels at which data is stored. I've read about problems with the security of dropbox, but just wondered if anyone has any experience of using any services and what kind of data they store online. Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I have had a search of the site and couldn't find anything.
You'd think at the very least, these services would be secure, wouldn't you ... everyone says they are, but something is bound to leak sooner or later. And I have been assured in the past by cloud providers that there are back-up systems in place to cover if there is a breakdown in the main service, and that ther are any amount of security controls to prevent unauthorised access to your data.
Personally, Luddite as I am, I think the best place for confidential data is in the office, on a disk, stick or separate hard disk. You have to decide if you trust these services and you must consider the damage to your business if your clients' data falls into the hands of an outsider - who is responsible, would your clients trust you again, what would the ICO think about it and what is the position if your data is stored outside the country, or the EU (there can be regulatory issues about moving data across borders)?
But to be honest, I don't have an answer for you and I'd be just as interested as you to hear other people's opinions.
remember that Microsoft files are pretty easy to password protect for an additional level of security.
If you Zip files you can password protect them.
You can change the extensions on your files to something else so that people do not know what to use to open them.
Personally I use dropbox to transfer files but leave nothing in it once transferred... I know, keeping everything local defeats 90% of the object of dropbox but thats the way I use it.
kind regards,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Many thanks Iain and Shaun. You both have exactly the same concerns as me. Just wondered if anyone had found a way around it. I think for me I will be sticking to the sticks and external hard drive. Thanks Shaun for sharing your use of Dropbox, this sounds very sensible.
While still not quite a daredevil, I'm probably not as risk averse as Shaun and Iain. I use a combination of Dropbox and SugarSync as a standard part of my backup regime.
I've never had any problems with their security, the weak link is your password. You could create, as I have done in the past, a truecrypt container within dropbox for your client files. This gives you added security. Truecrypt is a free software which allows you to store files in a container and lock the container or even hide it (think of a safe behind a picture).
