I get asked this question so often, I finally decided to write out a full answer. So is the cloud secure? Are you ready? Here comes the big answer\u2026 Yes! And no. And also maybe so. Frankly, this is a difficult question to answer, simply because the answer is so variable. But I\u2019ll do my best. Let\u2019s get a few things straight\u2026<\/p>\n
What is the cloud?<\/b> Well, it\u2019s any piece of software or data storage that you use but don\u2019t own. A common example that I am often asked about is off-site storage, including Dropbox and Google Drive.<\/p>\n
What does secure mean?<\/b>\u00a0NOTHING is 100% secure. That means security is a comparison. To simplify, let\u2019s say Dropbox is 90% secure. A well configured fileserver at your office that can\u2019t be accessed from the outside is probably 98-99% secure. A poorly configured fileserver with an outward IP address could be 50% secure. If you\u2019re looking to move your QuickBooks company file from an outdated local fileserver to Dropbox, I would say it is secure. It is only a 10% chance Dropbox will be hacked in the next few years, it would be well publicized, and your QuickBooks file isn\u2019t worth a whole lot to a hacker group. Frankly, it\u2019s a better value than setting up a more hardened fileserver at your office.<\/p>\n
Now, let\u2019s say your store confidential information for clients. This could be their finances, their legal documents, or their health records. You know 90% isn\u2019t good enough for them, so it\u2019s not good enough for you. Instead of that 10% chance being a small headache, it could put you out of business. Big difference!<\/p>\n
But, like local servers, cloud servers vary greatly in their security. So here\u2019s how to simply: for low-value information that is mostly important to you, or that you simply don\u2019t want certain employees or competitors to see, just about every cloud service is secure. Even if there is a data breach, no one you know will see the files, only some hacker group somewhere. If your data is valuable on the black market, which could include social security numbers, credit card numbers, tax IDs, and especially patient files, your need something secure. This could be a hardened local server set up by a company who knows your industry, or a cloud offering tailored toward your industry and security needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"