You should never upload business data to a public cloud. Why? The more popular the cloud, the more likely it is that hackers will target that specific cloud as a way of accessing your data. In fact, there have been recent ransomware attacks on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Because of this, any company that uses AWS to store their data needs to take extra precautionary measures like backing up their data and investing in security solutions to keep their information safe.
Data Security
The first reason you should never upload business data to a public cloud is due to data security. When businesses choose to use AWS, they are placing their most important asset on someone else’s server. This means that the company has no control over the storage location of its data. You will also want to consider Dropbox safety because their servers are stored in an undisclosed location. This means that even if you store your files privately on Dropbox, they could be inadvertently shared with others who also use the service.
Utilizing a private cloud can help prevent this from happening; however, for small businesses, this is often not feasible due to the high costs associated with hosting physical servers. For larger companies, it may be cost-effective because there may already be physical infrastructure in place at the business location – minimizing the need to purchase new equipment. The lack of supervision increases the chances of having customer information like credit card numbers compromised by hackers.
Data Breach
If hackers successfully break into AWS servers and steal some type of sensitive information, it’s extremely difficult for any individual company to be able to track down this information quickly enough before it falls further into the wrong hands. Having an increased level of protection for your data can help you quickly detect any unauthorized access to your information, as well as prevent the theft of clients’ personal information.
When companies utilize their own servers or a private cloud, they have full control over all the security features that are in place at their business location. This includes firewalls, authentication protocols, and much more. The argument is often made by proponents of public clouds that IT professionals are ‘paranoid’ about these things because they know that hackers are constantly trying to gain access to sensitive company data. However, this simply isn’t true; there are actually hundreds of large-scale breaches every year. Public clouds do not give businesses the level of care needed for data security.
Mismanagement of Public Clouds
If you decide to go the public cloud route, there is another reason why you shouldn’t upload business data: mismanagement. When businesses host their data on AWS, they give up the ability to make any changes to their account and all management goes directly through Amazon.
While this may be fine for some companies that only utilize a small number of services like email and document storage, it can quickly become an issue for those who need much more customized solutions. This is because if anything goes wrong with your server – whether it’s a slow connection or hardware failure – Amazon will take full responsibility and force the company to either pay for damages or start from scratch. You also lose control over how your data is handled, which includes when it gets backed up and when the server goes down for routine maintenance. Many companies have found their servers crashing repeatedly or not being able to access their files because there aren’t enough people working during a specific time of day.
Employee Error
Another reason why you shouldn’t upload business data with a public cloud service is due to employee error – whether intentional or not. If a company has a properly trained IT department, they will know how to handle sensitive information responsibly so that no hackers have an opportunity to steal it from them.
However, if employees do not receive this kind of training, they may not take the necessary precautions to protect company information and could end up uploading customer data onto a public cloud. That being said, even if employees are properly educated about how to handle sensitive data, they can still make mistakes that lead to the compromised information.
Whether you decide to use a public cloud for your business or not, it’s important to make sure that you have the most up-to-date security measures in place. Public clouds allow hackers an easier way of breaking into sensitive information and even if they don’t succeed the first time, they might do so later on down the road with a different server. A private cloud can give companies more freedom over their data but should only be used when there is enough infrastructure in place at their business location.
