Feels like we’re just putting all our stuff out there with a bow on it for a hacker. 🤷♀️
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The cloud is just a bunch of computers located in a central location. Many cloud providers, such as AWS, give you all the knobs and levers to manage your own security. Misconfiguring your account can make it incredibly insecure, but that doesn’t mean the cloud is inherently insecure.
Think of it like renting a garage at a storage facility. The facility gives you a place to store your belongings and they give you a key so you can come and go as you please. If you don’t lock the door on your way out then your belongings aren’t as protected as they would be had you locked the door.
Now, is storing your belongings in someone else’s garage inherently less safe if your stored it in your own? That depends. What are you doing to protect your garage from thieves? What if you had so many belongings that you had to build another shed, garage, or warehouse? What are you doing to protect those?
There are more factors in deciding to use the cloud than just data security. But, fundamentally, you’re paying for expertise. Your paying someone that knows how to build inherently safe storage facilities; someone that will ensure an intrusion is quickly and appropriately dealt with: and someone that ensures the security of the building abides by best practices and uses current technology.
There are portions of the cloud that need ultra-high security; an example would be government entities. Cloud providers offer dedicated services for these customers. So in the example of storage facilities this would be like storing your belongings inside Fort Knox.
Long story short — the cloud is as safe as you want it to be and is arguably more safe than the computer sitting in your closet.
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