Online services and security
Posted by Ric Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:43:00 GMT
One of the questions we’re asked about Swirrl is “Why should organizations trust you with their data?”. Our answer? Because it’s probably more secure than what they are doing at the moment. This blog post hopes to address some of the security concerns people may have with online services like Swirrl.
Any system needs to make a balance between security and usefulness. If you keep all your documents locked in a safe, then it’s secure, but not very useful if your colleagues need them to do their work. On the other hand you don’t want to leave them in the lobby of the building either. You have to optimize the security, while still providing the access you need. We think that Swirrl and services like it provide a better balance of secure and useful than the traditional alternatives.
One of the benefits of Swirrl is that it removes the need for emailing of documents or spreadsheets, a practice which is commonplace at many companies. Normal email over the internet is inherently insecure as it is not encrypted and the data can be intercepted en-route. (By the way, be especially careful if you are using public wi-fi, for example at the airport or in a hotel or coffee shop). Unlike your e-mail, Swirrl offers SSL encryption for all data sent over the internet (the same level of security used by online banks).
Also, to make sure they have access to the data they need while travelling, people keep sensitive information on laptops and USB sticks and those often get lost or stolen. Swirrl removes the need to carry copies of your data around with you, because you can access it securely wherever you go.
Many companies think that by storing their data themselves on their own servers, they are taking the safest, most secure option. However that relies on the systems being properly secured and properly maintained – inexperienced or overworked administrators may not always follow all the right procedures. Done properly, securing and backing up a system can be time consuming. If you let specialists look after that, you have more time and resources to concentrate on the core tasks of running your business.
With Swirrl, we take care of security and backups. Your data is stored in a secure data centre, with security staff onsite 24/7 and CCTV. Offsite backups are always encrypted. Swirrl has a small and trusted team, and since your data is our livelihood, we are highly motivated to take excellent care of it.
With fine-grained control of access permissions in Swirrl, it’s easy to determine who can see what. And because we keep each version of documents and data as they evolve, you can’t lose your data by mistake either.
(Padlock image by Declan Jewell)
