Digital security has been hitting the news recently following a suspected iCloud data breach. Many business travelers use cloud storage services and other file storage methods to ensure that they can work with their files while out of the office. Unfortunately, there are some methods that just aren't secure.
Personal Cloud Storage Solutions
Services such as iCloud and Dropbox aren't intended to secure files -- they are intended to share them. These cloud syncing solutions sync your data on multiple platforms. They are inherently not secure because they can be accessed by anyone on any of the devices that you have synced, from your phone to your personal computer. There are other, better, cloud storage solutions that are specifically for business use. Look for encryption and two-factor authentication.
Email Accounts
When trying to quickly access files, many people simply email them to themselves so that they can pull it out of their email anywhere. This is very unsafe; anyone with access to your email account will be able to access all of your business data. All it will take is forgetting to sign out of a public computer once and your data will be vulnerable to intrusion. Furthermore, anyone who opens your laptop or your phone will likely be able to open your email account, too.
Flash Drives
When you're tempted to put confidential data on a flash drive, you should probably reflect on how many flash drives get lost in your office on a daily basis. Flash drives are small, portable and -- above all -- extraordinarily easy to lose track of. Moreover, if you don't password protect and encrypt your flash drive, anyone can pull data off of it. Flash drives are convenient ways to save personal photographs and other non-essential information, but it should never be used as a method of storing or transferring confidential documents.
So what methods should you use for your files? It's usually best to remote in to your work computer rather than storing any of your files off-site or locally. Your IT team can help you by setting up remote access on your work laptop or even your tablet -- just make sure that your device doesn't get lost.
