Each year, more and more businesses are looking at and implementing cloud based solutions due to the various advantages that are gained. One such cloud service that is being heavily undertaken is cloud backup which has resulted in a rapid growth of cloud backup providers who all claim that they can successfully and securely protect your data.
Despite more businesses utilising cloud backup services each year, there still remains a large contingency of people who remain pessimistic and reluctant to undertake a cloud backup solution due to security concerns.
This is understandable as utilising other backup methods generally results in the person responsible holding the disks/tapes that there data is stored on in their own hands and having complete control over everything. This includes the format that the data is stored in and where the backed up data will be stored.
Therefore, storing critical business data with a cloud backup provider may be one the last options that is considered due to the very limited control over what format data is transmitted and stored in and the hardware that is used.
As there are now a huge range of cloud backup products available, the level of security that each cloud backup provider and product provides ranges hugely. There are cloud backup solutions which offer very little security where data is stored in its raw format on very cheap hardware. At the other end of the spectrum, there are cloud backup solutions which have several layers of security to ensure that data is kept as secure as possible.
It is therefore imperative that research is conducted in what security accreditations that the cloud backup provider and software has to help allay any potential security concerns.
Some key questions to ask the cloud backup provider should include:
– What format is my data transmitted and stored in?
– If my data is encrypted, what level of encryption is used?
– Where is my data stored?
– What hardware would be used to store my data?
– What security accreditations does your company hold?
– Has the cloud backup software been accredited with any security certification?
There are undoubtedly several advantages to be gained by utilising a cloud backup solution but whilst poor quality solutions are on offer, research and questions should be asked to make sure that your data remains secure whilst in the cloud.
