Poll: 64% think cloud storage risky, but 45% use it anyway

A little over three out of five people - 64 percent - think storing their files in cloud storage services may be risky, but nearly half - 45 percent - use it at work, anyway.

 

Computer security firm Sophos said the survey conducted at Infosec Europe last April should prompt businesses to set policies on how their employees use such services.

 

“With that level of awareness, it’s obvious that people - at least, those people who attend Infosec conferences - understand the risks of consumer cloud services. But in spite of that understanding, businesses are failing to keep a lid on their employees’ use of the services,” Sophos said.

 

Sophos noted the 64 percent who think storage services may be risky think such a type of service is scary.

 

Its product specialist, Chris Pace, warned it will be risky for businesses to stick their heads in the sand instead of acting on the issue.

 

For employees, Sophos said storing, sharing and exchanging files in the cloud is “just too easy,” and offers too much irresistible additional storage capacity.

 

Pace advised businesses to “assume that users will take advantage of cloud, and prepare for the technology’s inherent security vulnerabilities.”

 

“The main concern is that, because the infrastructure of consumer-orientated solutions like Dropbox doesn’t support enterprise-grade requirements, many businesses are currently just handing control to the user, leaving it to them to make a judgment on the risk they’re posing to corporate data,” he said.

 

On the other hand, he suggested some measures to secure services like Dropbox, such as web-based policies using URL filtering, application controls that can be applied to cloud products, and data encryption that provides a layer of security across the board

 

Meanwhile, Sophos said other findings of the survey showed businesses have some work to do in securing consumer technologies such as personal mobile devices.

 

Nearly a third – or 32 percent - of respondents reported that they’re allowed to use their own gadgets for work, but their IT departments are taking a hands-off approach, failing to control usage or institute rules about securing those devices.

 

Wireless networks are another sketchy security spot. Almost half - 49 percent - of those polled said that their workplace wireless networks are protected with merely a single password or a small number of passwords.

 

Meanwhile, Pace suggested as well that workplaces keep their wireless networks more secure:

 

“Instead of businesses setting up a standard wireless router that connects to the internet, with everyone using the same or a limited number of keys, they should be looking for ways to integrate Wi-Fi into their existing network security, giving them both better value and control,” he said. — ELR, GMA News