Is Google Drive Safe for Business: Learn the Facts about G Drive Security

Cloud services are currently the biggest hit in the tech world. As businesses are becoming more interested in using Could-based services, various companies started to offer such services.

Even the big names like Google and Microsoft have already started offering cloud-based services with Office 365 and Google Workspace. Despite having a huge number of subscribers, the safety of these cloud suites is often questioned.

In this blog, I will discuss, “is Google Drive safe for business?” Before that, let us learn in brief about G Drive.

What is Google Drive

Google Drive is the cloud-based storing and sharing service offered by Google. Anyone with a Google or Gmail account gets to use G Drive but only limited storage space is available to them.

However, business users with G Suite or Google Workspace accounts get a larger Google Drive storage space, depending on the plans they have subscribed into.

Business organizations also use it to store important files, including mission-critical data.

Is Google Drive Safe For Business? Remember These Factors

The answer to this question is both yes and no at the same time. Generally speaking, Google Drive is a secure place to store data.

However, there are some security issues that G Drive users may find to be inconvenient. Have a look at them:

1. No Protection Against Insiders: Anyone with permission to access the files can delete the files. Here we are talking about hostile insiders of your organizations that you do not know of.
2. Not HIPAA Compliant: As Google scans the files stored in Google Drive for security purposes, they do not comply with HIPAA.
3. Vulnerability Against Phishing: Recent Phishing attacks have proven that Google cannot prevent such attacks that try to access G Drive credentials of the users.
4. Ambiguous G Drive Terms & Conditions: According to the policy of Google, they can store, modify and reproduce any data stored by the users. But they do not specify or explain how they do it.

How to Secure Google Drive Data: The Best Practices

As we can understand from the discussion, there is a lot to do on behalf of the G Drive users to keep their business data secure in G Drive. Here are some common practices that users should follow in order to increase the safety of G Drive.

Strengthening Google Drive Password: To protect the valuable data you have saved in your Google Drive account, the first thing you should do is to have a strong password for your G Drive account.

Always choose a unique password for a Google Drive account that you have not used for any other sites. Also, choose a password following the guideline of G Drive.

Use Secure Connection: No matter how many precautions you take, your Google Drive files are not safe unless your connection is secure. Therefore, it is always suggested to use a secure connection while using G Drive for any purpose. Especially using public Wi-Fi to access Google Drive is a big no-no.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication: Like other Google services, G Drive also offers two-factor authentication. In this process, every time someone tries to access G Drive, they have to enter a six-digit verification code sent to their registered mobile phone number. Every Google Drive user should enable this service so that no unauthorized person can access the G Drive account.

Share Files with Caution: Most Google Drive users jeopardize their files by sharing randomly with anyone. Be careful in this regard and think twice before sharing the G Drive files with any particular person. Make use of the limited sharing option offered by Google Drive.

Consider Data Encryption: Before you upload any file on G Drive, try to encrypt your files. In this way, you may be able to save your files from falling into the hands of the wrong people.

Try Data Backup for Complete Data Protection

Apart from the mentioned measures, G Drive data backup is another preferred way of securing your business data from any internal or external threats. Always back up all types of files or data you stored in Google Drive in another place.

It could be your local system, external hard drive, or another cloud storage solution. Do not consider it a waste of time, money, or storage space. This will ensure complete data protection for your sensitive data.

Conclusion

G Drive is a popular file storage service that operates in the cloud. In this blog, we pointed out some of the facts that make G Drive not a completely secure option for saving your business files.

We have also shared the best practices users can implement to make G Drive more secure. We also recommend additional data backup to secure your data from any harmful attack or hostile insiders.