Scoop Byte

Data Migration Security Checklist for Businesses  

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by

Sumit
in

Security is always front and center in business data migration projects. Businesses planning to migrate source storage data to a new destination (especially cloud storage) must prioritize top-tier security and make no compromises to protect internal data.

Here is a brief data migration security checklist that covers all the core security factors that businesses need to consider when partnering with a migration vendor: 

  1. Data Access via API

One of the crucial data migration security best practices for businesses of all sizes is to ensure that data access happens through API calls. For example, when migrating files from Box to OneDrive, businesses must ensure that the migration vendor uses official Box and Microsoft API for data access. 

This approach helps avoid direct access to sensitive company data and secures the entire data transfer process. API access may not be the fastest, but it certainly helps ensure a high level of data transfer security. 

  1. Migration With a Copy Action

Businesses, especially enterprises, must use a copy action to have the source storage’s data transferred to the destination cloud. Taking this approach is beneficial in two ways: 

  1. Copying data instead of moving them helps create a backup of the entire data in the source. 
  2. Copying user accounts and their data helps ensure that the end-users (employees) can continue working on the source storage while the migration is in progress. 

Businesses migrating data from user-focused cloud storage to a robust cloud suite (e.g., transferring data from Dropbox to OneDrive) can eliminate end-user disruption with a copy action. 

  1. On-prem Deployment Option

Organizations such as schools and universities, healthcare units, financial institutions, and government agencies need extra security for data migration of any scale. And for an added layer of security, an on-prem migration environment works the best.

Companies with the need to migrate highly sensitive data must partner with a migration vendor such as CloudFuze that ensures convenience in the on-prem deployment of the migration tool. Performing the migration locally in an on-prem environment helps ensure data is not exposed into external networks, even during cloud-to-cloud migration like Egnyte to OneDrive migration.

  1. The Migration Vendor’s Security Certification

One of the core security aspects to prioritize when partnering with a migration vendor is to check the vendor’s security certification. All companies must ensure that the migration vendor complies with all the industry-standard security practices.

Ensuring security compliance of the migration partner, e.g., SOC 2 compliance, helps businesses stay in the safety zone of protecting data integrity.

  1. Room for Changes in the Migration Vendor’s Security Policies

Security policies of businesses and migration vendors do not always fit together like pieces of the puzzle. When exploring migration vendors, businesses must ensure that the partner they choose offers flexibility in amending their security policies. 

Ultimately, the security policies of the migration service provider should ensure that customer data is not stored or destroyed permanently after the migration is complete. Also, thorough sanity testing before the migration helps ensure that the servers are configured properly for the migration project.