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Risk of Moving Company Data to the Cloud

By George Khoury, Esq. on November 30, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

There's risk involved in any and every form of data management. Even the tried and true paper hard copy is susceptible to loss, theft, damage, and that's not to mention deterioration over time. It's no surprise that companies have increasingly been going digital, and even going a little bit further and integrating cloud technologies.

When it comes to that last part, there are several risk factors that a corporate counsel or in house attorney would be wise to consider. You can read about a few below, along with potential solutions.

Unknown Invitations

If your company is considering using third party cloud software and storage, you need to be aware of what limits can be placed on your own employees. For instance, many of the available cloud computing providers will allow users to share files or even whole folders with others simply via copying a publicly accessible link. While this may be great for working with outside contractors or vendors, and even better for working within the company, the risk is clear and present.

Fortunately, many services offer comprehensive monitoring systems. Using one can help ensure you know who gets an invitation to your cloud, what they can access, and when they accessed.

Uninvited Visitors

If your cloud is hosted online on the World Wide Web, rather than on your own private server, it may be possible for uninvited visitors to access your cloud via many of the commonly employed phishing, or other, types of hacks. Sure, being the target of a hack is unlikely, but the easier of a target you are, the more likely it gets.

If you choose to host your own cloud, you can require employees use a VPN to get through, which can greatly reduce the risk of random hacks.

Unintended Consequences

If everything is in the cloud and various staff members have access to it, or administrator's privileges, the slip of one admin's finger could cause massive data losses. And let's not forget about technical difficulties or those other unknowns that seem to pop up when it comes to tech fails.

Luckily, as a lawyer, you know that redundancy is the right way, and can help avoid the unintended. To truly avoid a cloud catastrophe, it is worth considering having a backup automatically created locally on a daily basis. Frequent local backups can often allow businesses to get back up and running quickly after a tech tragedy or a hacking.

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