As a boss, you are tasked with the not-so-fun chores of employee management, disciplinary action, reviewing what’s working and not working in your office, and implementing change even when your employees are not on board. As a boss, you are also the go-to person for complaints, concerns, and employee disputes. Guess what? We have one more thing to add to your list of workplace worries – data security and the use of cloud storage. Even if you don’t promote the use of cloud-based storage company-wide, chances are your employees are utilizing it. Why? Because it’s easy, it’s useful, and it’s efficient for sharing information across devices and locations.

But what are the risks of using cloud-based storage? Here are a few things to consider when making use of these new technologies in the workplace.

1. Last October, user names and passwords for over 7 million people were compromised on Dropbox. Utilizing services such as this does open up the company for potential leaks of vulnerable information.
2. Misappropriation of information is also a real threat in the case of utilizing cloud-based storage. Employees who are getting ready to leave the company could be taking information that they shouldn’t have access to once they are gone. Downloading information to a non-work device, printing from a home printer, or sharing files outside of the workplace has potential risks as well.
3. E-Discovery is a nightmare!! Trying to subpoena records for cloud-based systems or Google or Facebook is a huge mess for everyone involved. Nothing comes easily, and the dates of access and user access information can easily be switched or hidden from the investigation with enough internet savvy or hacking knowledge.

So what can you do to make better use of the tools at your disposal while still protecting the company? Consider using cloud-based storage but also put policies into writing that each employee must agree to, so that your company information is protected at all times. In today’s workplace, there are so many potential risk factors, and increased technological worries for bosses. The most important thing for you to do as a boss is to educate yourself on what is out there for employees to use, and protect the company’s interest while still utilizing the technology and knowledge up for grabs.