The coronavirus means you’re now working in a remote team from your home. In other words, you’re using your computer every day and cloud-based services are more in demand than ever. It’s essential during this time to secure these services to ensure sensitive information doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. Indeed, 66 percent of IT professionals agree that security is a huge concern. But the good news is that there are some steps you can take to secure your cloud-based services.

Encrypt Your Important Data

You may have a cloud storage service that already encrypts your data. But if not, there are encryption tools you can use to do this yourself. This is going to keep any work-related or personal information secure. Often, these tools have a password so you can later open the files and have no problems reading them.

Choose Cloud-Based Antivirus

One of the best ways to secure your data is to choose the cloud antivirus. This is a great alternative to computer antivirus software since it won’t slow your systems. In fact, it’s said to be securer too. It’s going to protect all devices in the network and it’s best at detecting viruses and trojans that can compromise your data. Normally, they have fast scanning times and can include other bonus tools, such as Wi-Fi security and firewall protection.

Ensure You Have Strong Passwords

It may seem obvious to say have strong passwords for your cloud-based services. But you’d be surprised how many people don’t take this tip seriously. In fact, they use personal information or easy-to-guess letter or number combinations. Therefore, make sure you have strong passwords. In addition, it’s recommended that you change them frequently. This is another layer of security so that if anyone acquires your password, they can’t access data. If possible, see if there’s also two-step verification.

Have an External Backup

You don’t want to think that anything’s going to go wrong with your cloud services. But if they’re compromised and hackers are able to access data, it’s best to have another backup. Being prepared is going to give you peace of mind. While you can use other cloud storage services, you can also have an external backup. This might seem outdated when there are options online. But it’s good to have if you don’t have internet connectivity at any point and you can know you’ve used another system.

Avoid Storing Extra-Sensitive Information

If you’re really worried about storing sensitive information on cloud-based services, just don’t do it. It can feel like a huge responsibility if you’ve got work related information on your computer. So, don’t take any risks if you feel like the data is too sensitive and avoid using cloud services. Instead of becoming anxious about whether anybody could gain access, avoid storing it in the cloud altogether. Choose an external hard drive device instead and that why you’ll know you have a copy in case something goes wrong.