Yes, You Can Use the Cloud Safely — Here’s How

Protect your data and yourself.

“Cloud and cloud, what is cloud??!!”1

It seems we can’t say or do much in technology these days without that buzzword — “the cloud” — rearing its head. To be fair, it’s a powerful concept: nearly unlimited storage for all your information, accessible to you from anywhere the internet might reach (which is pretty much everywhere these days).

But is your data safe in the cloud? It can be, but there are two types of cloud data threats to prepare for.

Safe storage in the cloud

Cloud storage is handy, but it comes with two real threats: someone seeing your files or the service losing them completely. To curb exposure, secure your account and encrypt anything sensitive. Back up your cloud files somewhere else to avoid loss. Do both, and you’re in good shape.

Threat 1: Data exposure

“Data exposure” means someone who shouldn’t have access to your information does.

The most common scenario is someone hacking your account with the cloud storage provider. Once in, anything stored in your account is visible to the hacker. They can view, copy, download, duplicate, or share any of the data you have stored online.

A common worry is that someone at the cloud storage service will look at or copy your data, or be compelled by law enforcement to provide access.

For the first concern, obviously, we should ensure all our accounts are secured properly. This includes the usual litany of using strong passwords unique to each account, not sharing them with anyone, and enabling two-factor authentication whenever available. A secure account is your best protection against hacking.

Most folks don’t need to worry about rogue employees or police officers with a warrant.

Most folks don’t need to worry about data exposure, as long as they keep their accounts secure.

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Protecting yourself from the threat of data exposure

What if you are worried? What if the data you want to store in the cloud is more sensitive than random family and pet photos? What if you want to make sure no one without authorization can ever see it, no matter what?

Encryption is the answer.

I use Cryptomator. It and similar tools ensure that the data you place online is always encrypted and safe from prying eyes. You access the files normally, and Cryptomator handles the rest.

Hackers, service providers — even law enforcement, if they gain access — would only see encrypted blobs of random data. Your data stays safe and private in the cloud.

Threat 2: Data loss

By “data loss”, I mean that when you go to access your data stored online, it’s inaccessible or just not there. This includes the threat of ransomware.

Data loss might be a larger cloud data threat than exposure.

The most common scenario is the same as above: someone hacks your account with the cloud storage provider. The hacker might then change your password, denying you access, or just delete all your files. The result is the same: you no longer have access to your files.

The cloud service providers are almost certainly backing up their equipment, but those backups are for their protection, not yours. If a hacker deletes all your files, it’s extremely unlikely the provider will restore them for you.2

If your account is unrecoverable or your data is deleted, you may be completely and severely out of luck.

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Protecting yourself from the threat of data loss

We already know how to protect ourselves from data loss. You don’t need an online service to be at risk — one failed hard drive can get you the same result.

Backing up is the answer.

Remember:

• If data exists in only one place, it’s not backed up.
• Online services are only one place.

For example, if you have files in OneDrive, OneDrive is only one place. Even if you have the files in OneDrive folders on multiple computers, OneDrive is still only one place. (Remember, deleting a file from within OneDrive will quickly delete it from all of the other OneDrive installations.)

Make sure you’ve backed up those files somewhere else. “Somewhere else” could be a different online service, your PC’s external hard disk, or somewhere else entirely.

Assume the online service you’re using might go away suddenly and completely. Let’s say all your files in the online service are deleted at the same time — both what’s literally stored online, and anything that might have been replicated to your computers. Could you still recover the files from somewhere else?

If the answer is no, you’re not backed up.

Provider concerns

A frequent conversation revolves around whether or not service providers — Microsoft for OneDrive, Google for Google Drive, Dropbox, and others — are cloud data threats themselves. The concern is that the providers are using your data for their own purposes, such as building a profile on you or using it to train AI.

I believe that those concerns are severely overblown. Cloud providers aren’t claiming ownership of your files. They’re not building some kind of massive profile about you based on your files, and, unless it’s written in the terms of service, they’re not using your data to train their AI models. Some are scanning for CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material), but I’ve seen no evidence of it going further than that.

I believe strongly that those three providers (and many others) are trustworthy. I have no problem placing my data in their hands. I don’t feel the need to protect my data from them. In my opinion, the data-loss scenario presents a much greater risk. I’m more likely to encounter a problem due to a hacker than I am due to a problem at the service. And securing my account properly keeps me safe from hackers.

Nonetheless, it’s a valid concern: it’s important to trust the provider of your service. If you feel you can’t, it’s time to choose a different service. Choosing no service (i.e., not using cloud storage at all) seems a gross overreaction from where I sit, but many people take that position.

Besides, encryption solves this problem as well. If you only upload encrypted files, then they’re of no use to anyone, including the cloud service provider.