When you read about huge companies experiencing data breaches, it’s clear that storing things in the cloud can have issues. It’s as true for intellectual property (IP) as data.
As with physical property, someone who is determined enough may still find a way to steal valued digital assets from you or your company.
Here are some of the potential ways your IP could be compromised:
A cyberattack targets your storage company
Cyber attackers can pick a wide range of targets. When you store your IP and data, you may not know which other data yours is stored alongside. A hacker may, in an attempt to get at another company or organization’s information, target the storage facility in which both their target’s and your data is stored. In the process, your data may also be breached.
Information is taken from an employee’s computer
Your employees may prefer to work from home some of the time. Or perhaps they are full-time digital nomads. However much you give them the ability to do their job from any location, it could still make your information vulnerable. Anyone hacking or stealing their machine could get instant access to downloaded files or the cloud account your employee has saved the passwords for – including yours.
You hand over control of your data
Do you understand what the cloud company does with the data they store? Many people hand it over without really knowing this. Even if you understand the original conditions, a storage company may move data around, handing it off to a third party to store without you ever realizing it. If one of the subcontracting companies is less secure, you could see your data compromised.
If you are concerned about your intellectual property, consider legal help to find out more about protecting it in all circumstances.