Cloud data storage is not as secure as you may think it is; there are many things that one should investigate to be sure that the data you move into the cloud is completely risk-free. So, before you trust any cloud vendor with your valuable data it is imperative to make sure that the provider has means to store such data safely. Most cloud hosting providers have the requisite means to keep sensitive data secure and since this has been proved in recent times, more and more businesses are slowly shedding their inhibitions about adopting the cloud.

• It has been argued by critics of cloud computing that has the cloud been secure, Apple’s iCloud could not have been hacked. With news of this attacks coming in, the popularity of cloud data storage has suffered a major setback. It was alleged that photos from as many as 26 celebrity albums had been stolen. However, this theft had been possible due to shortcomings and loopholes in the password security mechanism and not because the cloud itself had been hacked. Hackers were thus able to easily guess the passwords of such celebrities and they got access to their images. It also depends on the LAN standard such as ieee 802.11.

• Cloud data storage is believed to be secure because cloud providers will deploy advanced encryption techniques. This means that there will be complicated algorithms which are designed to hide the valuable data. In order to read the data, one must have the encryption key. Decryption demands a great degree of processing power, time and forensic software. It is indeed possible to carry it out but chances of that happening are very rare. Cloud data storage is definitely far more secure than local data storage because the vendors will use advanced methods which regular business owners cannot afford.

• The cloud hosting provider you have signed up with is ultimately responsible for keeping your sensitive data secure. To make sure that password breaches do not recur, it is advised that you keep changing the passwords from time to time and have different passwords for different platforms. Passwords should also be generated by using random combinations of numbers, upper and lower case alphabets and special characters. While data security measures may be limited they do exist. Military-grade encryption for instance is the most secure these days and you have providers offering this too. Using this it is possible to encrypt and keep data stored with your own specification, and share files securely with third parties which can access these with key management systems.

• Another major challenge which cloud users face with data storage is the possibility of data being lost due to outages. Cloud data storage can keep the files secure in the event of calamities like floods and earthquakes but it still is vulnerable because there is a third party involved. So, before you sign up with any vendor, you can always do your own research and choose vendors which have a good reputation only. When you find that a vendor has a history of breaches or data loss, it is best to avoid it.

• Finally, cloud data storage will be more reliable when you use it together with other storage systems like the Google Drive. When you use cloud more like a sharing platform and not simply as a storage destination, you can be sure that even if the data is lost by any accident, it can be located through some other platform.

These arguments prove that while security may be a major cause of concern for cloud customers, all kinds of businesses are investing resources to make this storage platform even better and more secure. So the popularity of the cloud is bringing with it a corresponding improvement in cloud security. Recent polls suggest that nearly 86% of businesses use multiple cloud storage platforms. The survey includes even those companies which had opted for cloud storage before it had become so popular. This shows that either the consumers trust cloud storage enough to place their sensitive data in it or the benefits offered by the cloud outweighs the risks.