Your members are ready for secure online document storage—are you?

by: Ron Daly

Your credit union members collect and create a lot of data and important documents. But if they are like most consumers, they do too little to keep them secure.

A 2013 survey by Harris Interactive found that 29 percent of U.S. consumers never backup their files. And among those that do, half run backups only after they have accumulated 6 months of data. That puts masses of photos, videos, documents and spreadsheets at risk for weeks at a time.

But attitudes are changing, as more people realize data security is a valid concern. It’s a need that’s drawing more attention from your members—and providing an opportunity for your credit union.

Think about the valuable documents that your members must keep safe—wills, insurance policies, tax documents, birth certificates, old family photos. What would happen if these were stolen, or lost in a fire or flood? And in a world where nearly everyone owns a computer, cell phone, mobile device or email account, how many actively safeguard this information should their computer crash or cell phone disappear? According to the World Backup Day website, 113 cell phones are lost every minute and 1 in 10 computers are infected with viruses each month. For many, a lifetime of irreplaceable data can be lost in an instant.

 

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