How secure is Google Drive for holding bank information?

18cc

Totally agree with you - you are right in what you say.

However, when it comes to a matter of fact, not opinion, the truth is 1. office uses the Windows crypto subsystem to encrypt office files and 2. the AES encryption process used is to all intents and purposes unbreakable provided a decent password is used.

I'm not making it up - honest!

Jibeddy

The company I work for (quite a large one), use Google for email and are slowly moving over to strictly using Google Drive rather than Microsoft Office.

The big hold up? Google Drive's security, our IT team won't sign it off. So even as a corporate customer we're still not sure.

Make of that what you will, maybe it's because there is so much to lose if data is breached and it's not worth the risk. I use Google Drive personally, but wouldn't store any personal information just to be safe.

ozaz

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I was supposed to do this last year and as there's so many accounts i just kept putting it off but finally i'm getting round to it.

That is detailing all the accounts including bank or building society names, account types, sort codes, account numbers, direct debit info, standing order info, details on what the account is for (example - certain accounts exist purely for interest rates, rewards etc), details on cycling the money to meet criteria and insurance details such as life insurance policy number.

Obviously all this is for in the event that something happens to be like i get hit by a bus tomorrow, my wife who just let's me deal with all the accounts right now will at least have some idea of what is what and many questions should be answered.

But then i thought - is it a good idea to hold all this information in Google Drive? How secure is it?

Sort code & account numbers are things that can easily be seen on any cheque flapping about in the street so my first thought is it's fine to be held in there

but before i put a lot of work in i figured i'd just come here & ask.

As long as you don't include usernames and passwords, I don't see a major problem.

However, isn't it sufficient just to have a list of the banks/building societies you have accounts with? I would have thought that if anything happened to you, the executor of your will could obtain the extra information (account details, direct debit, standing orders) from these banks/building societies.

In another post on this thread, I think you said you share the file with family members (I assume via the share feature in Google Drive). An issue with this is you are trusting these family members to practice good online security (like strong passwords and 2FA on their own Google accounts). Have you considered sharing via Google's inactive account manager instead?
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546?hl=en

JustAnotherSaver

ozaz wrote: »

As long as you don't include usernames and passwords, I don't see a major problem.

Yeah that's something i certainly wouldn't be comfortable storing online tbh.

However, isn't it sufficient just to have a list of the banks/building societies you have accounts with? I would have thought that if anything happened to you, the executor of your will could obtain the extra information (account details, direct debit, standing orders) from these banks/building societies.

That's one option but i'd rather make it as easy as possible for them.

My accounts will be frozen i suppose (on death but i guess not if i suffer some illness/accident where i'm still alive but can't function) but by listing direct debits and also a list of what can be cancelled and closed etc (to make banking as simple as possible - which is what they'd prefer, unless they get interested between now & then) would just help.

In another post on this thread, I think you said you share the file with family members

Yes i would be sharing the file with them via the share feature.
They wouldn't have the log in details but they would have sufficient information to be able to go in to a bank and get things dealt with.

All members involved can be fully trusted too. I know there's plenty tales of family fallouts. I just feel sorry for those people that that's how their families operate. I know it's easy to say but mine isn't like that. We weren't when my dad died & i doubt it'd happen just because i'm dead/can't function.

18cc

Having been an executor 3 times now i can confirm all you need is a list of institutions you bank with. This allows the ececutor to contact them in turn and request details of the deceased holdings.

Regarding incapacity etc rather than death - it would be inadvisable for a family member etc to access any of your accounts unless you had POA etc setup - they could get into trouble

JustAnotherSaver

18cc wrote: »

Regarding incapacity etc rather than death - it would be inadvisable for a family member etc to access any of your accounts unless you had POA etc setup - they could get into trouble

How would you get round (wrong phrase i know as it suggests dirty dealing but you'll have to forgive my wording) that?

If it was a gradual progression i guess you could do something about it but if you got out of bed one day and was fine and ended up having some accident that left you unable to function normally you'd have had zero warning to have anything in place - what then is what i'm asking.

And do they only get in trouble if i die within 7 years or am i thinking of something else? I'm sure i read something about 7 years & money transferring from one person to another but i'm more than willing to hold my hands up about being wrong on that.

18cc

Well the normal way is to set up an enduring power of attorney appointing someone to look after either a. your financial affairs and/or b. your health and welfare. You set up the poa while you still have the mental Capacity to do it

if you do unfortunately find yourself mentally incapacitated then this person has the legal authority to run your affairs

you can of course ignore all this and just give a family member permission but although I don't know the exact law I'm pretty sure it is illegal and they would get into trouble if anybody found out

the best way is definitely POA other members on this board might be able to help with more detail

You can try Googling enduring power of attorney

Eco_Miser

sausage_time wrote: »

But of course plain text would not have any encryption or password protection unless you use an external program. But if you choose an external encryption program you are depending that being available and working and the person decrypting knowing how it all works.

You could save a copy of the encryption program alongside the encrypted plain text file, and instructions for using it alongside the password, which in this case has to be physically delivered somehow to whoever is going to be reading the information about all the bank accounts.

JustAnotherSaver

Passwords are a bit risky in themselves though.

I could set a password, it could be something as easy as anything - our surname for example. Surely we all remember that right?

But then in 30 years time when the file needs to be accessed it can be a case of - oh no, what was the password again? Can you remember? No i can't remember it's been so long.

Uxb

As a current executor of a techo-competant distant deceased relative living on their own I can tell you the real problem is over online only accounts with no paperwork along with electronic devices password locked against me.
It seems computer hacking is a skill a modern executor needs

.and that before we even get to the problem of digital downloads which appear to be licenced to the deceased downloader and not bought in the traditional sense so cannot be passed on under the will.