Cloud storage has become increasingly popular because of its numerous benefits, including accessibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency. However, entrusting sensitive financial data to the cloud can be nerve-wracking. As more and more personal information makes its way online, data security becomes a bigger concern. In this blog, we will outline some of the best practices for keeping financial documentation on the cloud while ensuring data integrity, confidentiality, and compliance.
Pick a Trustworthy and Secure Cloud Provider
The first step to ensuring your financial documents are safe on the cloud is choosing a reputable and secure cloud service provider. Take your time to research and compare all of the different providers to ensure they meet all of your industry standards for security and compliance. A few things to look for include:
- Data Encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Regular security audits and data backups
Implement Strong Encryption Protocols
When uploading sensitive documents onto the cloud ensure that you are encrypting them with a password to ensure an extra layer of protection. Only give passwords to authorized personnel, this way you can ensure that no unauthorized users or even the cloud provider can view your sensitive information.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
When you set up your account on a cloud based document management platform, it is important that you make sure to set up your multi-factor authentication right away. This added layer of security requires users to provide multiple forms of identification, such as a password, fingerprint, or one-time code sent to a trusted device, to access an account. This means that even if someone is able to get their hands on a password they still will not be able to access an account that they are not authorized to access. This adds an additional layer of security and peace of mind when storing important information in the cloud.
Regularly Back Up Your Data
It is important to not rely on one location to keep all of your data. Creating and storing backups of important information and documents creates an added layer of security in case your cloud storage malfunctions or somehow your information gets deleted. These backups could be files on different servers, physical copies, or copies of files on different devices.
Create Access Controls
Make sure that every time you are uploading a document that you are checking and setting access controls to limit who can view, edit, and share them. Assigning different permission levels based on user roles and responsibilities reduces the likelihood of data being exposed because of a human error or unauthorized access.
Monitor and Audit Cloud Activity
Make sure that you are always monitoring any login activity logs on your accounts regularly to detect any suspicious or unauthorized access attempts. Regularly auditing this information will allow you to identify any security breaches or potential vulnerabilities and allows you to take steps to resolve this earlier on.
Educate Employees on Cloud Security
Have seminars and training programs to educate your employees on the safest ways to handle and share financial documents and best practices to follow when working with this information will help you to reduce the risk of a data breach caused by an employee mistake. Make sure that you are conducting training sessions to raise awareness of potential threats, social engineering tactics, and proper data handling procedures.
Regularly Update Your Software
Keeping your cloud software and applications up to date will ensure that you have all of the latest security patches implemented. Software providers continually improve their security measures to stay current with any threats or vulnerabilities to your information. Ensuring you are updating your software as soon as an update is available makes sure that your data remains protected at all times.
Cloud storage offers undeniable convenience for managing and working on financial documents, but it is important to take a proactive approach to security when using this method. By following these best practices, your business can confidently embrace cloud technology while safeguarding their sensitive financial information.
