Are the major cloud providers growing too fast to pay attention to file security?

According to research released by IHS Technology this month, spending for cloud infrastructure and services will reach about $174.2 billion in 2014, up 20% from 2013. The cloud promises enterprises cheaper and faster data storage and delivery, but what are the implications of so much data being held by a small handful of dominant cloud providers? Amazon, Box and Dropbox have already been ripe targets for ambitious hackers, and have been slow to offer additional layers of file security to safeguard their customers’ data. Furthermore, files being uploaded and shared in the cloud have no security in transit or after being shared with another user.

FileOpen has been watching the trend toward cloud storage, and recently introduced support for secure file sharing in the cloud via Dropbox, Box, ShareFile, and others. FileOpen’s cloud support works by giving publishers a unique, private URL which displays a custom view of a folder in their cloud storage account. Publishers add FileOpen-encrypted files to the folder and share the custom URL with their intended recipients. When the user attempts to open the target file, which may be PDF, OPN, or one of the MSOffice file types, they are authenticated seamlessly via the FileOpen RightsManager/RightsServer back-end and the file displays on the user’s device.

For publishers already using FileOpen encryption on their files, our cloud support provides a new, simplified way of delivering files to users and an alternative to maintaining a complex distribution infrastructure. Access to secured files through the cloud can also be integrated to a publisher’s website via an HTML frame, displaying the file inline so it appears served from the publisher site, while it is actually retrieving the file from the cloud folder.

For those already using Dropbox or other cloud providers to share documents, FileOpen can add a layer of strong security, both in the cloud, in transit, and after delivery to the end-user, which none of the major cloud providers can offer. As with any FileOpen-protected file, whether shared through the cloud or by other means, access can be granted, modified or revoked at any time, to any device, even after delivery. Recipients of FileOpen-secured files accessed through the cloud don’t experience any degradation of the normal viewing experience—no password entry is necessary.

Check out our page on adding a layer of FileOpen security to file sharing in the cloud or request a personalized demonstration.