Disqus
There is a growing trend, which you might have noticed (would be hard not to!), for companies to offer ‘cloud computing’ services – Google have been there for a while, Apple recently relaunched theirs, and Microsoft have now put their play out there too. And that is just the big three, as opposed to the hundreds and thousands of niche services that exist too….
… but for me there is still one uneasy question – is the security of these services good enough? I am not so much talking about your upload of info to them initially, since most services are aware that they need to provide some kind of secure mechanism to get the info/content in to their ‘cloud’ – but rather the ongoing security of that data once it’s there.
Ultimately most of these cloud computing offerings run on a ‘web services’ infrastructure – that is, they use standard web-serving hardware and software, with perhaps a bespoke application written on top. That means, simply, that they are no more resilient to being hacked than a starndard web server – at least, not on the face of things.
The difference between a web server containing a website, and a webserver containing cloud-based personal info however, is huge – the personal info may have at the minimum a sentimental/specific value to you, where as a starndard website may just contain generic info, available to all.
Again, breaches of cloud-based services are not uncommon – in an analogous situation in the UK recently, the online government gateway for a number of services was opened up to being breached, after pretty much all the information needed to split it open was lost on a USB key, carried by someone working on the project!
In that particular instance, we are lead to believe that no damage occurred, although it could so easily have been a different matter – and with amongst the most sensitive data on people being potentially exposed.
But what about those services that you personally decide to upload information to? What happens when it is your choice to put your personal data (be it contacts, calendar, emails, documents, or other) on an online service? Yes, the convenience is there, but does a company’s promise that they are “100%” secure sit well with you?
I’m interested to know, with the advent of these services, what IntoMobile readers think – have you invested in such a service (paid-for or not), have you had issues, do you consider these services to be insecure – pop us your thoughts in a comment window, we’d love to hear from you!
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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