What You Should Know about Online Storage Security
We get hundreds of questions every week from our readers and many of them revolve around one particular theme: security. In the next few paragraphs you will learn what it means to back up and sync your files securely and the risks involved when you don’t take care of this situation.
First, let’s consider why you would want to make sure your files are secure if you are using an online cloud storage service.
• You need to access your work files from a public computer.
• You store sensitive personal data that includes your tax information and medical forms.
• You need online access to work related documents which need to be encrypted to protect sensitive company information
• You are using a public WiFi at the airport.
• You never want to expose your data to intruders
Let’s face it, security is a must. Years ago, you could go anywhere and find an open WiFi network. These days, they are all password protected, unless you are at a coffee shop, of course. The more our culture transitions to working in the cloud, the more essential security becomes. So what should you look for in an online storage platform?
Encryption
Encryption essentially hides all of the data and makes it so bad guys can’t “read” it properly before the data is transmitted across the internet. OpenDrive takes advantage of 256bit SSL encryption and 256 AES encryption in the secure file folder.
Folder Permissions
Being able to set folder permissions can give you one more level of security. By being able to customize each folder for private, public or hidden, you set the tone for each directory and sub-directory within those folders. OpenDrive allows you to set these permissions for each folder, but for each file as well.
Account level management
Furthermore, you can grant access to specific users to specific folders. If you want someone to only access a particular folder or folders, OpenDrive gives you this ability. You can set each account their set of folders and customize this any way you like.
IP Management
Furthermore, there is the option to set IP level access. This is a global setting in OpenDrive and helps you to specify an IP or a range of IPs which can or cannot download your public or hidden files.
Password Protection
Each and every account that you set will have their own password. This is a simple concept, but it’s important to understand that there is no crossover of files unless you specify it in the account level management.
What happens if a computer or device with OpenDrive installed gets lost or stolen?
You might be happy to know that each IP that accesses OpenDrive (through a backup or file sync) is logged. If you suspect that your device was stolen and a new IP address was logged, then by getting a court order, you can work with your local ISP to find out where that IP address is located.
For businesses that are HIPAA compliant we are SAE16 certified which is an auditing standard that makes sure we are managing everything properly in our data center in regards to database management, control and more. Read more about SAE16 here.