But now data storage has witnessed a massive breakthrough in technology, thanks to cloud storage solutions. Some of the prominent cloud storage services like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Apple iCloud Drive made it dead simple to back up, store, and keep our documents synced across devices. 

Although, this convenience came to the users at a cost of privacy. When we use any of the Big 4's major cloud services, we theoretically give them—or anybody who can hack them—access to whatever we keep on their cloud, including our financial and health information, as well as our photos, notes, and diaries. 

One of the major reasons why user privacy is at stake is because all four prominent cloud service providers meagerly encrypt the documents while uploading. Since these documents are not end-to-end encrypted, it indicates that the user is the only one with the ability to decrypt. 

Minimal encryption would mean that the service provider too holds the key to decrypt users’ documents, and is capable of doing so at all times. Moreover, in some severe instances, a hacker may as well get hold of the decryption key. 

Out of the four major cloud services, Apple is the only service provider with Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, launched recently, which enables users to choose to have their documents end-to-end encrypted when stored in iCloud Drive. This makes Apple void of any access to the files, ensuring the user’s privacy. However, this setting is still optional, making the merely encrypted iCloud Drive a default setting. 

Since the remaining three major cloud storage providers are yet to provide users with the choice of end-to-end encryption and taking into consideration the exploded usage of such personal cloud services in recent years, billions of users are currently at risk of getting their sensitive documents exposed to the third party. 

Encrypt First, Then Upload to the Cloud 

It is possible to use the popular cloud storage services while preventing anyone who gains access to your account from seeing the files stored therein by encrypting those files prior to uploading them. The best part? You do not require a computer scientist or a security developer to do so. With the numerous applications, that are available for free, one could encrypt any file on one's own. 

What is Encrypto?

One such well-known encryption program is Encrypto, sponsored by a company called MacPaw. You may drag a file into the program, give it a password, and then encrypt it using industry AES-256 encryption. The software then enables you to save a file with an encrypted version (.crypto file type). 

After encrypting the files, the user can now upload the encrypted version of the file to their preferred cloud storage provider rather than the original file containing sensitive data. If your cloud storage is then compromised, the attacker should be unable to open the Crypto file without knowing the password the user has established for it. 

Encrypto is a cross-platform tool that works on both Macs and Windows PCs, despite the fact that MacPaw is known for producing Mac-specific utility apps. The recipient merely needs to download the free Encrypto app to be able to open sensitive documents that have been sent to them over email and have been encrypted using Encrypto (and you need to let them know the password, of course). 

Another nice feature that the app possesses is that it enables users to set different passwords for each file they create. One can even include a password hint in the encrypted file to remind what password is being used in the file. Users are advised to establish a password that would be difficult to decipher through brute force or something that would be difficult to guess. 

This being said, no matter the choice of app, encrypting the files yourself before uploading them to Google Drive Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud Drive adds an additional layer of encryption and security to the sensitive data while still maintaining to reap the numerous benefits of cloud storage.  

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha earlier this week said that he is opening up an investigation into a data breach which includes Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA). The news comes following the outrage that happened this week over the organization's handling of the breach. 

RIPTA's office says that it is currently receiving a lot of calls about the incident, asking them to enquire into what took place. RIPTA sent out a notification on 21 December saying that it suffered a security breach in August. It later confirmed that the data was extracted from their systems on 3rd and 5th August. 

These files had details about RIPTA health plans including address, social security numbers, Medicare identification numbers, date of birth, qualification information, claims information, and health plan member identification. US department of health and human services breach website report that 5,015 people were affected. Recently, the ACLU of Rhode Island asked RIPTA to explain why sensitive information of people with no links to the organization was involved in the data breach. 

"Local ACLU chapter executive director Steven Brown says his chapter has received complaints from people who got letters from RIPTA notifying them that their personal data, including personal health care information, was accessed in a security breach of RIPTA's computer systems," ZdNet reports. 

The letters showed that the number of targets in the list in the US department of health and human services website (5,015) are different than the ones mentioned in the breach sent to victims: 17,378. 

"Worst -- and most inexplicable -- of all, the people who have contacted us are even more deeply distressed by the fact that RIPTA somehow had any of their personal information -- much less their personal health care information -- in the first place, as they have no connection at all with your agency," Brown says. The process was time-consuming, but RIPTA wanted to be sure what data was compromised in the breach and to whom it belonged to.