Is Online Storage of Data Safe?

If you are keen on creating an online backup for your data, it would surely be one of the most preferred storage mechanisms to employ. However, considering that your data would be a part of a wide network accessed by millions, there would be a couple of concerns to deal with.

First, you would need to ensure that the privacy of your data is being protected. Second, you would also want your data to remain secure, ensuring that there aren’t any unwarranted loses through deletions. In order to ascertain if online storage of data is indeed safe, it would be essential to go through some of the most prominent safety measures adopted by online data storage mechanisms. An effective assessment of these measures would be the right way to ascertain the extent of safety, online data storage solutions can provide.

Safe Measures Applicable for Online Data Storage

1) Pre Upload Encryption—There are several online storage solutions that would encrypt your data. In the highest of secure forms, the encryption normally takes place before the file has been uploaded. This means that each of the files would be encrypted with aid of a moderately robust algorithm that uses a key derived from your own password. Once the encryption is completed, the file would be uploaded. The result of this form of encryption is that you and you and alone would be authorized to access your data files. They would remain inaccessible even to techies who might enjoy physical access of the main server. The only disadvantage could be that the uploading process would take longer than usual. And, you would be required to remember your password at all times.

2) Security in Data Transport—The backup or copying of your valuable data would take place through a secure channel or SSL connection. This connection can never be tapped, at least theoretically. Therefore, the data transfer takes place via a secure connection developed between the server and the computer.

3) Encryption of Data on the Server Side—There are some data storage solutions that would provide you with the option not to encrypt the data as a matter of choice. Alternatively, some might just not have fly encryption as an available option. However, just as your data remains stored in obscure servers, you can still make use of encryption from the server side. As a result, if someone does not have the right password, it would be impossible to access data present on the discs.

4) Storage Redundancy—Large security systems set up RAID or a Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID ensures that in case one of the system discs fail, it can be easily replaced with another one. Therefore, all data present in the failed disc can be easily regenerated.

Is online storage of data safe therefore? The answer is “yes”. The data that resides on servers of your storage solution provider is any day safer than when stored on your personal computer hard discs. All you need is a fair idea of the security mechanisms employed for an effective assessment of security parameters.