If you use Dropbox for storage, the company’s recent hacking announcement is alarming. Dropbox confirmed that hackers gained access to more than 68 million usernames and passwords from the company in 2012. The cloud service also confirmed that many of the “secure files and documents stolen were at risk and some already compromised.” Admitting it dropped the ball isn’t good news for Dropbox or its users whose sensitive information was hacked.
Even more concerning, Dropbox doesn’t yet understand the full extent of the hack. Unfortunately, it won’t know for sure until names of the vulnerable users start surfacing. That’s far too late if you’re a Dropbox user —especially if you’re in a regulated industry. Your sensitive information could already be compromised, and that could become a costly nightmare for your company. As an interim measure, Dropbox is forcing some users to reset their passwords and usernames.
Too Little, Too Late
While resetting passwords and usernames are good security measures, they’re too little too late to be useful for Dropbox users. They also fall far short of what’s needed if you’re a healthcare, pharmaceutical, or life sciences company. Why is this such an important issue for these industries? In these cases, you’re responsible for your clients’ or customers’ data no matter how it’s lost or stolen. The penalties for not securing this data are steep. They could include thousands in fines and legal costs as well as damage to your reputation. Depending on the severity of the security breach, the penalties can include jail time.
Dropbox can be a useful service for some industries. This is not the case if you’re in a highly regulated industry. If you are in one of these sensitive industries, it’s important to find a Dropbox replacement immediately. And you need to do it now—before more of your files are lost or stolen and your data is compromised. What you want is a file sharing solution that not only fits your company and your budget but goes all out to protect your data—a service backed by outstanding support in case there’s a problem.
Secure Cloud Hosting – Do Your Homework
While the Dropbox scare may raise concerns about the security of cloud hosting services, it’s important to understand the differences between cloud hosting services and the level of security they provide.
When reviewing cloud services, ensure you’ve asked the following questions:
- How are network and information security risks mitigated by the cloud hosting provider?
- What disaster recovery solutions does the company provide?
- Are they able to meet your industry’s compliance and regulatory standards?
Ensuring that you’ve not only considered the cost-effectiveness of a cloud hosting solution but also the security implications will ensure that you are not forced to pay significant expenses in the event of a hack similar to that affecting Dropbox.
Secure Cloud Hosting through True North ITG
Although stories like Dropbox’s hacking fiasco may scare off companies looking to migrate to the cloud, it should instead reinforce the importance of choosing a reputable cloud hosting provider who can ensure the level of security your industry requires.
At True North ITG, our hosting services are powered by VMWare’s vCloud, which is recognized as an industry leader in secure, reliable cloud computing. Using our expertise in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and wealth management, we are able to design a solution that is not only adaptable and scalable, but also provides the level of security you need to ensure the safety of your company’s and client’s data.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can ensure the security of your sensitive client or patient files!
