IT Security

Cloud store trends

by Mark Rowe

A Cloud business product company suggests that many IT departments still condone employees storing work-related data using personal cloud storage. That can leave their organisation vulnerable to data theft.

According to new findings from Intermedia, 68 per cent of employees favour using personal cloud storage at work and 52 per cent of these employees report to using multiple personal services – as many as six services in some cases. Use of personal consumer-grade cloud storage services (such as Dropbox and Google Drive) is so prevalent that, according to the company’s research, companies employing 100 staff may find that corporate data is stored on at least 103 personal accounts.

Jonathan Levine, CTO at Intermedia, said: “These figures reveal some disturbing trends about how employees are sharing files at work. Allowing staff to use personal cloud storage is risky and leaves an organisation wide open to data theft and regulatory compliance failures. For instance, many businesses probably haven’t considered what happens if an employee stores confidential corporate data in their personal Dropbox account then quits or the repercussions of any employee deleting crucial work files when they leave.

“Consumer-driven services like Dropbox don’t belong in the enterprise, and businesses should find the right file sync and share solution that offers a good balance between IT control and ease of use – and, most importantly, keeps a business’ data safe.”

More results from the firm’s research into personal cloud storage can be found here – http://www.intermedia.net/report/goldilocks-cloud-storage-UK.

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