How safe is Google Drive?

With Google Drive, you always have your data with you wherever you go. But how secure is the cloud service actually? We will answer this question in this practical tip.

How Safe Is Google Drive Really?

Security on the Internet is important, especially with cloud services. We'll tell you here whether you can use Google Drive without hesitation:

• Google already has experience with the EU data protection authorities and has joined the Safe Harbor Framework, which allows the company to securely and legally transfer personal data from EU citizens to the United States.
• This agreement represents more than 1, 000 companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Amazon or Facebook.
• This means that Google has fulfilled the minimum requirements for data protection in the EU, but continues to do so.
• Because all uploads or calls to the site are SSL-encrypted, so that the data cannot be viewed by third parties.
• As a user, you can and should only determine that your computer is virus-free, that you have a secure password and that your computer is up to date.
• You can also encrypt your data with the Boxcryptor tool and thus further secure it. We have created instructions for you here.
• Also make sure that you have enabled two-factor authentication.
• Unfortunately, Google does not want to reveal the location of the Google Drive server to this day. This has the advantage that it can be attacked less often, but you also don't know where your data is exactly.
• Another minus point: Google has often been criticized by data protection experts. The protection of user data is said to be inadequate.
• Conclusion: Google's cloud solution Drive is considered relatively safe as long as you as a user adhere to the tips mentioned above. When it comes to data protection - especially with regard to your user data, Google still has room for improvement.

You can read more tips on how to use cloud services securely in our next practical tip.