Privacy vs Security in the Cloud

The rising popularity of cloud in the last few years has also thrown up some uncomfortable

questions, both for the service providers as well as users. The primary concern of cloud service

providers as well as users has been privacy and security in the cloud. It would be an

understatement to say that it was predicted in the early days of the cloud that it could be easily

abused by any of the cybercriminals around the world.

a

Today, the growing cases of cloud hacks have just made those prophecies true. Things are not

going to get any better in the coming years because popular services like Dropbox and

Sendspace have been abused by many people to host their illegitimate payload.

The Need for Privacy

People nowadays are more concerned about data privacy and they do not want to see their

personal data being scrutinized by government agencies or monetized by the cloud data

providers. For instance, when we upload our files on cloud storage, we do not want the service

providers to search each and every file. We want such a system where customer’s data would be

completely encoded and incomprehensible to the service provider. The primary clash is between

privacy and security – we want to have the cake as well as eat it!

The Additional Cost of Privacy

In order to put things in perspective we will take up a very popular scenario: There is a service

provider who wants to ensure that their service is not being used by perpetrators for hosting

malware. Thus, the service provider would have to use solutions like sandbox testing, file

scanning etc. in order to test all the files that were uploaded. The provider will have to incur

extra costs for this but at the same time, users can complain about the breach in data privacy,

which can pretty much spoil goodwill and reputation of the company.

Where to Encrypt

On the other hand, if the service provider opts for private storage where the encryption is carried

out on user devices, no one at the service provider’s end will have any idea about the data being

stored. Now, such a service is highly vulnerable for being used for malicious purposes by

cybercriminals. Thus, both the legitimate users as well as the illegitimate users will be shielded

from any type of data scrutiny. Both the approaches have their own advantages and

disadvantages.

In such a precarious environment, service providers will have to strike a balance between data

privacy and security and offer a solution that suits both their business model as well as security.

Thus, no matter how hard a service provider tries a certain level of abuse will still remain and

this can be termed as an inevitable cost which has to be incurred for doing business.

Your Options

What options does the user have? Well, I would have to reiterate that abuse cannot be completely

stopped; however, precautions can be taken by both the users as well as their service

providers. Users will have to take up the responsibility of data security and they cannot shrug it

off just because the vendor chose to do otherwise. Users will have to strategize and find solutions

for the safekeeping of data on the cloud and this can’t be completely handed over to the cloud

service providers. There are pros and cons of using cloud storage and related services – you are

the best person to judge because there is no one better than you who knows the importance of

security for your business.

About PhoneAM

At PhoneAM, we have the knowledge and experience to prepare a blueprint for your shift to

VoIP. Call us today and we will guide you through the whole process.

PhoneAmerica Corporation is a leading supplier of advanced telecommunication systems for

small and large business environments. A total service company, PhoneAmerica serves as a

single point of contact for today’s growing communication needs, offering a wide range of

telephone equipment, wiring, surveillance systems, telephone cost accounting systems, and voice

processing systems.

Please call (800) 836-3601 for a free evaluation of your current system and the system you will

need to carry your business into the FUTURE