Trusting the Cloud
Cloud talk is ubiquitous, but we seldom hear why organizations can trust hosting companies to deliver their data and applications securely over the Internet. Microsoft, which went "all-in" the cloud in March, has made a few scattered attempts to address cloud security, even though security might prove to be a deal breaker in the long run for its cloud services businesses.
Microsoft's latest explanation comes in the form of a new white paper, announced this week, detailing the general approach the company follows when it comes to cloud security. The company's main emphasis is on its Information Security Management System, based on the ISO/IEC 27001:2005 standard.
No doubt, cloud security at some point becomes a very technical issue. But does a technical discussion really lead to the kind of assurances that organizations can rely on when deciding to outsource their companies' data to the cloud?
It was in 1999 that then-Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy told reporters about consumer Internet security that "You have zero privacy anyway... Get over it." Will organizations accept the risks of cloud outsourcing in the same way? Tell Doug why you trust the cloud to securely handle data, or not, at [email protected].
-By Kurt Mackie
Posted by Doug Barney on 11/17/2010 at 1:18 PM