Be Careful Which Data You Store on the Internet

Be Careful Which Data You Store on the Internet

What's the issue?
Photos, videos, emails, documents, spreadsheets, etc. - all the stuff you create on your digital devices and post or store on the Internet - are accessible to other people, and not just people you've shared them with. 

The internet is a public network and as such is a tempting target for hackers. Whether it's called the Web, the Net, or the Cloud, all services are running on a public platform.  

Cloud storage companies that host your email, your personal or company files, your precious pictures of family, etc. are usually doing their best to limit access to authorized users only, i.e. those users having passwords or other means of authentication. 

But the potential to score some valuable confidential data is very tempting. So cyberthieves are thriving by exploiting weak points in software all across the internet. 

Why is software so vulnerable?
Software - whether a web browser, PDF reader, email program, cloud application, etc. - is inherently insecure the moment it's released, whether it's a free or paid version. 

Computer code is too complicated to be perfectly debugged. That's why all software companies and programmers issue fixes, patches, updates, etc. for their programs. There's no way around it. 

Given this fact, and the growing opportunity and enthusiasm for cybercrime, we users must be suspicious from the outset whenever we do anything online, especially posting, storing, and sharing our data.  

How to improve protection of your data?
First decide what's confidential. Usually this includes anything you don't want others to see besides yourself or trusted people. Confidential data can range from the obvious - a bank account number - to the seemingly innocuous, such as a carefree photo taken of you at the beach. Data is like a gun; its potential for good or ill depends on the intent of the person wielding it.

If you are running a business and need to store confidential data online for staff access make sure there is strong encryption during the transmission and storage of the data. (I will write more about encryption in a subsequent article.)

When should you take action?
As soon as possible, take stock of the data you store online. 

After you determine which files you consider confidential, decide your risk tolerance for storing those files online. Translation: If the site storing the files got hacked, how vulnerable would you feel? 

And this begs the question: Why are you storing any confidential data online? (There are secure ways of storing passwords, data, account info, etc. using websites like lastpass.com)

Where can you find more info on this topic?
Here's an article posted on a Boston University page outlining the concerns of storing data in the cloud and which addresses the importance of encryption. 

Who can help?
If this all seems too technical but you are concerned and want to be better protected, you may want to hire an IT consultant. This is an especially good investment if you are responsible for data security in an office environment. 

In Sum
We don't leave our car doors unlocked or windows rolled down in public parking lots. We don't leave our home doors and windows unsecured when we're on vacation. We have some common sense in these areas. In this new digital age, we need to develop common sense concerning our private data. Not doing so can be very damaging to our finances, our identity, and our reputation. 

Thanks for reading.
-Sam