What would happen to our information if we store it on the cloud?
How sure are we that somebody else will not access our data?
Our solution providers will not use our information?
These are questions we always get when we suggest to organizations to embrace digitization and cloud storage.
With the advance in technology different methodologies of data protection have been created to ensure your data is as safe as it can be in cyberspace.
A number of security features are enabled to ensure your information is secured and confidential especially on the cloud storage.
If you want only specific people to access your information. This can be enabled through the user license.
If you want your information not to leak to unauthorized users. This is enabled through the use of encryption or redaction type of protection. How can these features protect your information?
Encryption
Encryption is a method used to distort data in such a way that only authorized parties can understand. The text is scrambled into unreadable data if accessed by an unauthorized user. Encryption will enable your data to move from one device to another securely with minimal possibility of it being accessed by a third unauthorized user.
Sharing data through the internet has made information susceptible to cyber criminals. If your sensitive information is accessed by an unauthorized person it will be distorted and unreadable, keeping your information secure. This keeps the information stored on the cloud secure and confidential. Why have all your information on paper which is accessible to any curious person and yet you can have it on cloud where it is secure and confidential.
Redaction
Redaction is obscuring part of a text for security or legal purposes.
This is done when a document is shared with others who are not allowed to view or access these sensitive information.
Redaction was used in paper documents mostly with the legal fraternity when they wanted to protect sensitive and confidential information. And now it is also being used to protect information in digital documents. It can now be used even with images, videos and also audios though with challenges.
User License
The is a license that gives a user access to secured information. It is used in an electronic document management system. This is for only specified and authorized users to access information in the electronic document management system.
There are different types of user license. This is determined by the authorization rights. Some users can have complete rights to the information but other users rights are restricted. Users can be read only by users or read and write users.
Read only users can only access information to read. This means they cannot make any changes to the information or access in any other way.
Read and write (edit) user license allows the user to read and at the same time can make changes to the information in the system. The read and write user license gives permission to approving the document or making any other changes to the stored document.
Conclusion
If you are feeling that your information is not safe digitally, it might just be not safe at all when it is in paper format. And with paper format it will not only not be safe from unauthorized access but also from other factors like floods, fire and others