Lately there has been a lot of hubbub about employees using personal clouds in the work place causing data leaks so this article by Neeraj Periwal — on MSPMentor entitled “Three Ways to Block Dropbox in the Workplace” – caught our attention.
Periwal writes: “Given the security risks associated with the free version of Dropbox–such as its inability to protect shared links with passwords, expiration dates or download limits–business owners should understand the different ways they can block employees from using Dropbox in the workplace.” Periwal goes on to describe three ways companies can block personal clouds, such as Dropbox.
We all know that public, consumer-grade clouds in the workplace are a security risk. Putting important information into a not so secure cloud storage system is bound to have dire circumstances, including data leaks. Yet, despite the risks, employees continue to use them. So we agree with Periwal when it comes to blocking these dangerous clouds from the workplace. We also agree with him when he says “It is therefore imperative for small- and medium-size companies interested in giving their employees the flexibility of file sharing and syncing to adopt a secure, business-class solution.”
While it is important to block these insecure services, it is equally important that these companies give their employees a secure alternative. Otherwise, employees will find a way around almost any obstacle to get their job done. The alternative should be one that puts IT in control, allowing them to track data usage – and even to restrict what files can be shared, when, where and by whom.
File sync and share is an important part of business life and it’s here to stay, but businesses must make sure they have a safe, easy-to-use alternative.
