We all know that a "free" puppy will cost a lot in the long run. While the initial cost seems like a bargain, the future costs of care and feeding could be substantial. You love the puppy, but don't think about the risks. Puppies need training and guidance to stay out of trouble. They need boundaries and supervision. Puppies don't understand the consequences of poor decisions. They eat things that can be harmful and costly (I know this from experience). Although not an emotional decision, using free cloud services for file sharing present risks similar to adopting a free puppy.
Cloud-based file sharing solutions are attractive, popular and offer features and ease of use that many state employees and their agencies find appealing. Now part of "shadow IT" there are dozens of free cloud file storage platforms on the market today. There may be legitimate business reasons to use free file sharing cloud services, however if the risks are not mitigated with an enterprise security framework and supporting policies, states are faced with broad exposure. There use by state government cannot be ignored. Do you know where your state data is?
Don't miss NASCIO's latest issue brief focused on the risks of free cloud file sharing platforms with an exclusive "advice from the trenches" interview with Erik Avakian, CISO from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Read it here -
http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/NASCIO_CloudComputing_PartV.pdf
And keep the puppy away from your socks.