The Best Cloud Storage Services

Description 

They encrypt your data, so it is secure while traveling across the internet and also secure while it is sitting on their servers. 

But because they encrypt your data for you, they can decrypt it if they so wish, Or if they are ordered to by the local government,Or if some powerful intelligence agency "convinces" them that it is in their best interest to do so. 

What is secure cloud storage and why do you need it

We consider secure cloud storage to be a cloud storage system where you, not anyone else, controls the keys used to encrypt and decrypt your data. If you control the encryption keys, the cloud storage service can't decrypt your data, period. 

The government can demand it, some intelligence agency can insist on it, but it won't matter, Only you can decrypt your data.

Secure cloud storage services use a variety of techniques to protect your data, From storing your data in secure facilities with armed guards and biometric locks like something out of a spy movie, to using the latest and greatest encryption algorithms, they offer enhanced security over the big names in the cloud storage space. 

We've been busy reviewing secure cloud storage services to see which ones do the best job or protecting your precious data, This is what we've found... 

The best cloud storage services While we haven't reviewed every cloud storage service that claims to be secure (there are dozens), we have done deep dives into the leading services. 

All technical considerations aside, you want a secure service that has the corporate backing and resources to be around for a while, So we ruled out most of the more obscure services for now, About 2022, here are our recommended secure cloud storage services that can protect your privacy in the current privacy-hostile environment. 

You'll find a short summary of each service below, along with links to more in-depth reviews for all of them. 

Mega 

Is a popular secure cloud storage service that was on the news a lot a few years ago. Unlike some of its competitors, it provides desktop and mobile clients for every major OS. 

Mega Features 

zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption and a free plan that includes 15 GB of storage (boostable up to 50 GB) if you complete certain tasks. 

One potential drawback to this service is that it limits daily data transfer that can leave you waiting until the next day if you try to move too much data at once, Still, it is a strong choice for individual users. If you are looking for secure business storage, Mega looks less appealing. 

They do offer business plans with unlimited storage and transfer capacity, plus built-in chat, contacts, and file preview capabilities. Consumer-oriented, zero-knowledge cloud storage.

The Tresorit 

Best secure cloud storage solution,  was our pick for the best secure cloud storage service in 2021. 

It utilizes end-to-end (zero knowledge) encryption and offers a full set of features for businesses, teams, and individuals. 

The company stores your data in Ireland by default, but business accounts can select from several jurisdictions, A 2019 audit by Ernst & Young indicated that Tresorit is a trustworthy service.

Tresorit offers business-oriented plans with tools for managing users and their data across the organization, The service is compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, FedRAMP, and numerous other data protection regulations, making it suitable for a wide range of corporate applications. 

Tresorit is a great choice for business users. Its value for individuals isn't so clear, The free plan offered by the company is very limited, and the paid plans will probably be overkill, leaving you paying a high price for features you don't need. 

The Nordlocker 

A versatile encryption and cloud storage system, NordLocker is an encryption service with cloud storage capabilities. 

If you want the maximum possible security for your data, this is an important distinction, Secure cloud storage services will encrypt your data whenever it is not at rest on your computer, They use zero knowledge encryption so that no one, not even them, can decrypt your data. 

Note: 

NordLocker offers their own secure cloud storage for lockers, Their lockers are also compatible with any other cloud storage services. 

That's big because it means you can store lockers in other cloud storage services, knowing that your data is safe regardless of which service you use. 

NordLocker is from the makers of NordVPN, a popular VPN service, They also offer NordPass, a secure password manager.

 Sync.com 

Zero-knowledge cloud storage based in Canada Sync.com offers plans for individuals and enterprise users, but we think it is probably best for individual users.

Their zero-knowledge infrastructure looks to be as secure as you can get, although they still haven't published any third-party test results, And If you only need a small amount of storage (5 GB), and don't need a Linux sync client, their free plan could be ideal for you Sync.com has both pros and cons when it comes to business use. 

It offers plans with unlimited storage and bandwidth, as well as several team-oriented features and compliance with industry standards such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PIPEDA. 

The biggest business drawback is the requirement to store all your data in Sync.com's dedicated folder, This could result in incompatibilities with other crucial business apps and services. 

What is the best approach to data security for cloud storage? 

There are three states we need to look at: Your data in transit, your data at rest in the cloud, and your data at rest on your device, Data in transit is data that is moving between you (your computer, smartphone, or web browser) and the servers where it is stored, Data at rest is data physically stored somewhere, Data in transit Data in transit needs to be protected against anyone who manages to intercept it while it it traveling between you and the cloud servers. 

Most services use TLS/SSL encryption to secure data transmitted over the Internet, This encryption gets applied before your data begins to transit the Internet and is removed when your data arrives at its destination.

Note that TLS/SSL only protects your data while it is in transit, And Once your data arrives at its destination, the TLS/SSL encryption is removed. 

Unless the data is encrypted before the TLS/SSL is applied, the recipient will be able to read the data as soon as TLS/SSL is removed. 

This kind of encryption is strictly for protecting data in transit, We need some other encryption solution for data at rest.Data at rest Data that is at rest is data that is being stored somewhere, And When you store your data with a cloud storage service, your data will be at rest in the service's servers. 

For that data to be secure, it must be protected from unauthorized access. 

This Protection Can Be Physical And Procedural

The servers are in a secure location, with no unauthorized persons allowed access to it, Many cloud storage services offer this type of security. 

The problem with this type of security is that you need to trust the cloud service to keep your data secure, if their security procedures fail, or if someone breaks into their secure location, your data could be exposed. 

Even if the service does everything perfectly, local authorities can force them to provide access to your data in defiance of company policy. 

So more secure solution to the data at rest situation is to encrypt the data before storing it on the cloud. That way, the only people who can read the data are the ones that know how to decrypt the data sitting on the server. 

This is typically done using AES-256 or some similarly powerful encryption algorithm, This concludes our roundup of the best cloud storage services that do well with both privacy and security, they may not be as well-known or easy to use as Google Drive, or sync with third-party services the way OneDrive does, those services are plenty useful and serve its purpose well, but the secure cloud storage providers we recommend in this guide offer enhanced security where your data may be the most valuable commodity you own.