Staying Secure In the Cloud – Essential Tips from Hosting Gurus

A recent study on the subject of cloud computing brought to light evidence that well over half of all the world’s biggest businesses still have little to no faith in the security of cloud networking and data storage. Given the way in which powerhouses like Microsoft and Sony were recently hit by hackers on their own turf, it’s pretty understandable why so many concerns are shared when it comes to remote cloud computing.Of course, advances are being made pretty much by the day and the most robust cloud computing systems on the market right now are rather on the impressive side to say the least. But as more and more reports flood in of those using the cloud falling foul to hackers, businesses lose faith and experts reissue the same message over and over again:Cloud security breaches almost always come down to human error rather than any specific problem with the cloud itself.It’s a bit like the recent celebrity phone-jacking scandal that put Apple in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. As it turned out, the reason why a still unknown group of hackers were able to get their hands on intimate photos of famous faces wasn’t because of a problem in the ranks at Cupertino, it was because the devices they were stored on were in no way properly secured. As such, when it comes to staying secure in the cloud, experts remain adamant that charity begins at home and cannot be taken for granted.Here’s a look at a few examples of the kinds of common-sense cloud security tips they’re peddling:Avoid Storing Sensitive InformationFirst of all, to write off cloud storage and computing as a whole due to founded or unfounded security risks really isn’t a proactive approach at all. In the absence of total cloud security, the simplest tip to follow of all is that of avoiding storing anything of Pivotal importance or a particularly sensitive nature on the cloud. If it’s really far too important or private to put at risk, don’t put it at risk – simple stuff, really.Read Up Before UploadingEvery cloud storage service works slightly or in some cases very differently when it comes to security and data protection. As such, if you don’t do the necessary homework on the service you choose and subsequently find out there are huge holes in the security fence, you’ve really only got yourself to blame.Make the Effort with PasswordsThe securest cloud system in the world is still rendered completely powerless if you use the kinds of passwords that a nine-year-old first-time hacker could guess in minutes. Passwords will make or break the security of your cloud data, so please…make the necessary effort.EncryptionLast but not least, there’s always the option of not only encrypting the data you choose to store on the cloud service yourself, but also choosing a cloud service that provides local encryption of anything and everything you upload. This way, even if it does get pilfered, it probably won’t be of any use to anyone anyway.