How to Securely Store Sensitive Files in the Cloud
Ideally, you should not store sensitive personal information in the cloud. There is always a risk that your online accounts will be hacked, so in theory you are better off keeping all your documents and data offline. But the world doesn’t really work that way anymore, and the convenience (or necessity) of having easy access to financial records, identity cards, and medical records often means calculated risk.
But many people take more risks than they need to and end up storing quite a lot of personal information in cloud storage like Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive. If you do too, consider better protecting your data by encrypting it with a password. We will show you several ways to encrypt sensitive files before you upload them to the Internet.
Password protect files before uploading
For most people, adding a password to their files provides sufficient protection. There are various simple ways to password protect files, but the most convenient is to use applications such as 7Zip or Keka , which allow you to compress multiple files into a single archive that can be easily password protected. Access to your password-protected file is possible from any device; you just need a password to view its content. This method works best if you have a lot of files that you want to quickly encrypt.
If you are only dealing with documents of only one file type, you may not need to use another application to encrypt them. For example, if you are creating confidential document files using Microsoft Word, choose File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt With Password . You can use a similar method with your preferred PDF application to encrypt these file types. However, be careful not to lose these passwords, and consider this another good reason to consider using a password manager .
Store files directly in the password manager
Password managers like BitWarden or 1Password offer up to 1GB of encrypted file storage in their premium plans. If you’re already paying a subscription fee for a password manager, it’s worth exploring this option as a way to store sensitive documents. Thus, you do not need to remember or store additional passwords to access them; a master password for your password manager app is all you need. Bitwarden lets you access this feature on plans starting at $10/year, and 1Password will require a $30/year plan to use it.
Create encrypted vaults in your cloud storage
Dropbox Vault and OneDrive Personal Vault let you create an encrypted space for your most important files. You will need to use an additional password or numeric PIN to access the information stored in these folders. OneDrive personal storage is available for free, but you can only upload three files to it. To get around this limitation, create a ZIP archive containing as many files as you need (and password protect the ZIP file). This limitation has been lifted in the paid OneDrive tier. Dropbox Vault is only available in the paid tiers of this service.
Create encrypted folders on your computer
If you use cloud storage without encryption, you can create an encrypted folder yourself for free. On Windows, use 7Zip to get the job done quickly. Right click on any file or folder and select 7-Zip > Add to archive . In the Encryption section, you can enter and confirm a password before clicking OK to create the archive.
On your Mac, the built-in Disk Utility app also lets you do this for free. Use Spotlight search ( Command + space ) to find and launch Disk Utility. Then go to File > New Image > Image From Folder . You can then select any folder on your computer and then select AES 256-bit encryption from the drop-down menu next to Encryption . Disk Utility will ask you to enter and confirm a password. Having done this, you must also choose where you want to save the folder from the drop-down menu next to ” Where “. After that, in the “Image Format” section, select ” Read / write “And click ” Create ยป.
This will create a disk image (.dmg) file that can be easily opened on any Mac (as long as you have the password). The dmg file is a password-protected copy of the original folder, so be sure to delete the original folder, which will be accessible without a password.
Use Third Party Encryption Apps
This method is perhaps the least convenient and most secure. Third party applications such as Cryptomator and Boxcryptor allow you to create a secure vault on your computer and access those files on any device. Both services are compatible with popular cloud storage services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and iCloud Drive.
Install the Cryptomator or Boxcryptor app on your computer and use it to quickly encrypt any folder in your cloud storages. For example, if you have a folder containing scanned copies of all your Google Drive IDs, you can add it to the app and it will password protect the folder.
If you want to access this folder on any other device, you will need to install the application on that device (including smartphones) and enter a password to access it.
While this is the best solution in terms of security, you should only use it if you are willing to troubleshoot minor issues. We ran into problems using the Apple Files app, which would sometimes prevent us from accessing an encrypted folder on iPhone while Windows was running more smoothly.