How Secure Is Your Confidential Information In The Cloud?

Why You Should Secure Is Your Confidential Information In The Cloud

EPC IT Solutions provides managed IT services to small to mid-size Bay Area businesses. We'll create an ideal IT environment to optimize your operations.  

Many businesses are still asking themselves if cloud services are right for them. Cloud storage typically takes advantage of encryption to store data. This means the encryption key has to be cracked before cybercriminals can access your sensitive information. Find out how this works and what your Bay Area business can do to improve your security in the cloud. There are simple ways to limit your vulnerabilities beyond what's built into your system.

How Can You Keep Your Data Safe In The Cloud?

Develop training materials that teach employees how to treat confidential information on internal servers and out in the Cloud. Here are some high-level points to inform your policies and procedures:

1. Make passwords unique and difficult to guess. Password managers let you create complex passwords you don't have to remember. However, there's some evidence that some of these managers have a security flaw, so be careful to vet out the right tool.
2. Restrict access to cloud-based data. Access should be on a need-to-know basis. It's helpful to structure your online libraries around job functions to make it easier to restrict access without creating bottlenecks.
3. Find a trustworthy IT services provider that understands the need for confidentiality. An experienced provider such as EPC IT Solutions can help you set up for your environment to maximize security without compromising productivity.

How Can You Use Encryption Effectively?

Cloud storage encryption keeps your documents safe. This is crucial in heavily regulated industries, such as law, engineering, construction and healthcare organizations. Ask your IT service company how they manage your encryption keys and access. Here are some guidelines suggested by the Cloud Security Alliance to validate your encryption strategy:

• Encrypt for data privacy using approved algorithms that generate long, random keys
• Files should be encrypted before transferring from the enterprise to your cloud provider
• Files must remain encrypted during the transfer and while in use;
• Don't give the cloud provider access to your decryption keys

What Should You Look For In An IT Service Providers?

Almost everything you do in a typical workday relies on secure IT infrastructure. Therefore, it's critical to choose an IT service provider with experienced, highly skilled and innovative resources familiar with cloud services. You can trust your service provider with the encryption keys or opt for blind cloud services with no visibility into your private data.

Authenticated encryption encrypts your files and metadata for additional security.

Who Is EPC IT Solutions And How Can We Help You?

EPC IT Solutions provides managed IT services to small to mid-size Bay Area businesses in a variety of industries. We take the time to discuss your current infrastructure needs and make some suggestions to optimize it. Tell us your pain points and business goals, and let us craft a plan to create an ideal IT environment to help you optimize your operations.