Free Cloud Storage Putting Small Business Data At Risk

Nearly 25% of small- to midsized-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to use free cloud storage services despite warnings from security experts, according to new research from Clutch.

Researchers polled 293 SMBs using at least one cloud storage platform; 51% work at companies with 50-500 employees. They discovered that 11% of SMBs store banking data and 14% store medical records in free cloud storage services. 

Security is the top consideration for SMBs looking for cloud storage providers, researchers say. The majority (87%) of respondents believe the cloud is very or somewhat secure. One-quarter still only use a free version of cloud storage services.

There seems to be a gap in understanding, Clutch says, and using free cloud storage is an irresponsible businesses practice. The biggest risk to these services, experts say, is human error. 

"A lot of these things aren't just magic," said Mark Estes, regional director of sales at Qubole, in a statement. "My data isn't suddenly secure just because I put it in the cloud. There's a lot of things you do. The cloud enables the security of data as long as you do things correctly."

Read the rest of the report, and additional commentary, at Clutch.