The Future of Computing: Cloudy with a chance of showers
by ThomasStone on Jul 11, 2011 • 6:14 am 11 Comments“Of more than 2,000 CIOs surveyed by Gartner recently, 43% of them predicted that the majority of their IT infrastructure will run on cloud technologies within the next four years.” —From Forbes Magazine, May 23rd.
Because of its high levels of convenience and efficiency, cloud computing is poised to be the major form of data storage in the future. Facebook, one of the world’ largest data clouds, saw its brand value grow by 246% last year, according to Brand Z’s 2010 report.
That year Facebook overtook Google as the most-viewed site on the web. Google also saw competition from Apple, which de-throned Google as the most-valued brand at an estimated $153 billion.
The 3 companies poised to dominate the web in the future are, not coincidentally, the 3 companies most-associated with cloud computing: Google, Apple, and Facebook.
Facebook is already a giant cloud: a nebulous site where people share links, photos and apps with each other and no one really owns any of that data. Apple is looking to improve the power and versatility of their mobile devices even more by off-loading data storage for future iPads completely onto clouds. Google was a pioneering company in developing offsite data storage, and now they have developed their own operating system (“Google Chrome OS”), with the intention of releasing this system on mobile devices that store all their data on Google’s cloud. It is obvious that cloud computing is going to revolutionize the internet, and it is coming, whether we are ready or not.
The major concern that many consumers are raising, though, is whether cloud computing is secure enough. Moving away from personal storage and towards communal storage scares many users, since it opens up the data to possible access by many more people, but cloud computing also has some security benefits.
The major areas of concern in data storage are: Privacy (how public the data is), Security (how likely the data is to be lost or accessed by an unauthorized user), Availability (how reliably accessible the data is for users), and Compliance (how data access is restricted to meet the standards of organizations like the PCI).
Both companies that use cloud computing and those that don’t have failed one one or more of these security issues, which is not surprising, since 90% of companies claim they have been hacked in the past 12 months. Security breaches are, unfortunately, a ubiquitous part of using the internet today, cloud computing or no.
When Sony Online Entertainment was hacked in April, I was one of the 77 million users exposed to the attack. While Sony first claimed that the breach was small and did not compromise any personal or credit information, later they discovered that the breach was much larger and did include the personal information of several users. I recently heard from my bank that my credit card may have been compromised, and the most likely reason in my mind is the recent attack on SOE. Luckily I received a replacement card and I did not have anyone making unauthorized purchases on my dime.
SEO tried to “make good” the month-long downtime and breach of secure information with the give-away of in-game goodies to all affected players. The gift packages ranged from limited edition character outfits, valued at about $5, to 1-month of free subscription, worth about $20. The package was not viewed as sufficient by many users, and 3 have now filed a lawsuit against SEO, claiming that Sony spent too much of their security budget to protect the servers containing their intellectual property while spending next-to-nothing to secure the servers containing customer’s sensitive personal data. Sony CEO Howard Stringer indirectly admitted this when he claimed that the cyber-attack was probably connected to SEO’s attempts to protect its intellectual property from people trying to modify it.
With the SEO attacks, it seemed for a few days that the attack had only compromised in-game player information and not more-sensitive information like credit card numbers, since the latter is stored on a separate 3rd-party server. It seemed for a moment that cloud computing had actually saved user’s credit information, but unfortunately that turned out not to be the case.
A leading name in cloud storage, Dropbox, experienced a cyber-attack on June 18th, where a major snafu in the authentication system allowed people to log in to any user’s account by simply copying the username into the password field. Analysis of the bug showed that for the 4-hour period that this lapse was happening, only one person seemed to exploit the weakness, and that this person accessed hundreds of accounts. The motives of the person were unknown, though apparently they did not download information from most of these files. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston responded to the incident, apologizing, offering credit counseling, and offering to talk personally with the affected users. The attitude of Dropbox users seemed to be: “no problem, these things happen.”
The relative-clemency that Dropbox users have shown in response to this incident and the relative-wrath that SOE users have shown in response to that attack reflects a difference in the paradigms of the users and CEOs. Users of SEO games didn’t seem to understand that their personal information was going into “the cloud,” and hence they felt more betrayed when it was compromised. Meanwhile SOE seemed astonished by the breach and responded as such, enlisting the help of authorities and seeking out the cyber-criminal. Dropbox users seemed to understand that their data was publicly-stored and at higher risk of unauthorized access, and they seemed unsurprised that their information was compromised. Their nonplussed response was probably also due to Dropbox’s CEO’s timely and frank missive, where he accepted responsibility and then tried to move on from there.
Cloud computing or no, if you post share information in any form on the internet, it is likely to be hacked at some point or another. Users need to understand that cyber-crime is a part of the internet, and probably always will be. Being smart on the user end, though, can prevent you from a lot of undue hassle when your information inevitably gets hacked. Users should always have a strong password that cannot be easily cracked.
Passwords and other sensitive information should be written down or stored on external drives, never stored in the cloud. Sensitive data stored on sites like Dropbox should be encrypted to protect it from unauthorized access. Perhaps most importantly, users that buy things online and store their credit card information on a site should understand the inherent risks. Once credit card information is stored online, the user should start keeping a keen eye on that account and expecting identity theft.
Cloud computing hasn’t made the web any less-secure, but it has made security issues all the more salient. Perhaps this new security-awareness will actually drive users and companies to be more-responsible in looking after their own digital security.
11 comments
DiTesco says:
Jul 11, 2011
With all things going “virtually” mobile, I suspect that “cloud” computing will further confirm the technology as an industry standard perhaps in the very near future. While I understand the concept behind “data storage” I am still confused regarding its security. I mean right now, there are many information that are “already” online, despite not being on a cloud server. Does it really make that much of a difference, as far as vulnerability is concerned? Obviously I understand that sensitive data should always be kept in a “safe” environment.
Andrea says:
Jul 13, 2011
Well, cloud computing is here to stay. I can see tv’s and cell phones accesing a wide range of apps in the near future. Computers won’t need to much storage space anymore (or faster CPUs).
In terms of security, this companies will have to get better obviously. With cloud computing there will be so much sensitive information out there.
Down For Everyone Or Just Me says:
Jul 15, 2011
Clever title, I like it! It seems like there is more than a chance for cloud computing to stick around, like Andrea up there points out… This article is really informative, thank you for sharing your knowledge on the subject with us!
Gina
Andrew says:
Jul 16, 2011
Nice post, and you bring up a lot of good points.
Right now, I’m still really uneasy about actually purchasing things (ebooks, music) only to have them stored in the cloud. It just doesn’t seem like real ownership. For example, I recently tweeted an article about an Amazon user whose account got hacked, and they decided to permanently close it, erasing everything he had purchased over 8 years. All they did was provide a gift card so he could re-purchase everything one item at a time.
Although this type of incident is admittedly very isolated, it’s still important to remember that these companies also have the power to remove content for any reason, and when it seems like you “own” it, that might not be the case down the road.
Usman says:
Jul 17, 2011
Hi,
What I think is that google will over come with their cloud device, because I’m very much certain they are going to add most of the features into it.
Regarding fb its not really related to anything what google is providing, it is kind of social network , not used for other good purposes.
Let see how it goes.
Kind Regards.
Cal | Wedding Favors says:
Jul 20, 2011
Hi Thomas,
Yes, I think cloud computing is part of our future. The three big companies you mentioned had their own specialties. But today though, they are gradually becoming direct competitors on a broader area. Google now has their own social network (google+) and their own OS. I’m wondering what Facebook has to offer in the near future to stay in competition. Apple has proven its innovative prowess so we can really expect something new from time to time.
grace @ wedding favors says:
Jul 21, 2011
Even with this cloud server staying or not, I am always afraid about the Internet’s security. Yes, almost everyone stores or gives out their personal information or credit card numbers online and the risk is just too high. So, I think, what should people do is to not trust anyone especially potential scammers.
Credit Cards Canada says:
Jul 28, 2011
All of these showers are still only minor precipitation. What happens when our entire lives have been digitized, when nobody has paper back-ups of who they are, when the real world is virtually virtual. What happens when a person is deemed to no longer exist, or when all their property deeds and bank accounts have suddenly been transferred to another name? There have always been risks of theft and crime, but we are on the verge of a new frontier and it will require new ways of safeguarding our identities.
Personal Cloud Computing Services: Is This the Future? | Social Web Q and A says:
Jul 31, 2011
[…] When you’re relying on someone else’s servers, can you be sure that your data will be safe from hackers? And when you’re agreeing to the policies of profit-driven mega-companies who must answer first to their shareholders, not to you, will you encounter problems down the road? (Further reading: Cloudy with a Change of Showers) […]
AJ says:
Aug 1, 2011
I think this is a great post and the privacy and security issues will be huge to watch down the road. The commenter above me also makes an interesting point as well about backing-up in the digital world.
I actually just wrote a post about cloud computing on my blog and referenced this article, you can find it hyperlinked to my name.
Jeff _ Clever Solutions says:
Oct 19, 2011
Seeing how the cloud is expanding our use of the Internet, it will be interesting to note what business and community information won’t take that route.