Story of cloud storage security

The recent phenomenon of compromising the cloud account of Hollywood stars and leaking their private pictures around the internet , has been the hottest topic from last few days. As this incident has tickled the medulla of website moderators , security analytics and cloud service provider  that what to do. Really it is a million dollar question “What to do? “   Because it is the matter about security and privacy of the users.

Yes we can do a lot of things , but there is an one strong point which everyone should know. “Nothing is 100% secured in the internet”  Not mine, not yours and nor even the geeks who designs security protocols .  Internet is the game of codes, hardware, connectivity and we users . The things we human knows to build , does also know to break it, If it is not possible by punctual manner then there are lots of hammering and destructive way to break it.

Understanding the cloud storage

Cloud storage service has been built to bring flexibility of data sharing and migration anytime and anywhere. Once you upload your data then you can retrieve it from anywhere in the world. You don’t have to carry your own storage device , you just need an computing device with an internet connectivity .

So, here I have a question, where does you upload your files?

Sorry, don’t get me wrong,  but I have to say this.  Point to the line above “you don’t have to carry your own storage device” . So you are uploading your data to someone else’ storage media isn’t it? Where you don’t have any idea and control other than accessing your files and configuring your account’s digital security.  You don’t know where the storage media is,  about the physical security in the data warehouse of cloud service provider and so on. Its like handing over your important things to someone else.

Is your cloud account secured?

Keeping the point in mind “Nothing is secured in the internet” . But there are lots of way by which we can prevent or extend the duration to crack the security . Almost every cloud service provider has multiple security option some of them are by default and few of them have to configure by the user itself.

Two step authentication is one of the most important security measures that should be adopted by everyone , for not only your could account but also for your email and social accounts. In dual step authentication , first you have to enter your primary password and then the server will send you a text with a code, that’s your secondary password.

Authenticate by generating code using your smartphones cloud apps.

Pincode : It is generally generated once during enabling this feature. You will need to remember this incase you have enabled dual step authentication but you don’t have your cellphone with you.

Security question : Never choose an security question and answer which are know by anyone other than you.

Enable the SSL encryption.  Many cloud service has SSL by default and few have to configure by the user itself that he wants SSL encryption or not.

Secure your computer first

What is your primary computing device? Your laptop, desktop, tablet, iPad, or smartphone?  Do a proper maintenance of your device on a regular basis. Don’t keep the unusual applications and programs as it may bring security flaws.  Use a total security program consist of anti virus, anti malware, firewall , spam/phishing detection system etc. Do the updates of your operating system once in a month to get security patches .

Apart from these, spend your little more precious time over internet to learn about worms, malware, virus and information security threats . It will help you to deal with daily life phenomenon.

How is your smartphone?

Smartphone is one of the most important daily life gadgets , without it we feel like we are out of this living world isn’t it?  Yes it is,  it has more secret information than your social id does and can be the target for your competitors and malicious hackers.  Never Jailbreak or root your smartphone if you want to keep it safe. Root and Jailbreak can break the security level of your smartphone and becomes vulnerable to information security threats.  Keep a security program in your smartphone , by which you can wife the storage remotely if you ever lose it.

Few lines from my opinion.

Cloud storage is great innovation and technology for this developing IT infrastructure of this world. You can backup your data for emergency purpose, you can share work and office documents with clients and workmates , and much more. But I don’t recommend it keep your extreme private data on cloud storage as cloud storage device are not managed by yourself . If it’s the matter for your extreme privacy and security then there is no safer storage device  in the world other than your own isolated hard drive.

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