Convictions regarding cloud security
Announcement posted by Meergoose 10 Dec 2014
The rise of high security Cloud Computing and Storage firms competing with big players such as Apple, Google and Amazon. Advanced encryption technology is here but are the consumers?
by David Alexander
Since its advent around the turn of the millennium, Cloud Computing has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry that services business and individuals. It may not always have been known as “The Cloud” but storing data ‘online’ has become an accepted practice for all online tools (ecommerce, file sharing, document storage, customer records, etc., as far reaching as family photos, medical details, tax or legal records through corporate IP or government records); even, as it turns out, if the consumers and businesses do not know to what extent they are using it. Research shows that around 70% of business use Cloud Computing, yet do not even know what Cloud Computing is, let alone that they actively participate in it.
Firms that offer advanced security in Cloud Computing are attempting to meet the challenge of the widely held belief among consumers that the Cloud is unsafe to use. This belief grows every time a Network is infiltrated for credit card details, or a notable person has their documents and photos leaked, or Government surveillance is debated across all media. The fact is most cloud services (especially storage) are inevitably vulnerable to infiltration given know-how, effort and time, and even more critically, when an attacker is successful and breaks into a cloud service, all user data is potentially compromised. So one attack on a single server can potentially comprise thousands or millions of customers.
Sixty Percent of Consumers do not understand the risks of the Cloud, despite 1.3 billion users expected to be using it in 2017, yet there is also a worrying trend of those that do understand it being complacent. Consumers and businesses continue to use Cloud Computing and upload extremely sensitive material without due consideration of this risk.
The challenge to be met by Cloud Security firms is akin to a triple pronged spear like that of Poseidon’s Trident. For them to be successful they must: firstly, shed light on the fact that consumers are in fact using Cloud Computing; secondly, convince consumers that the firm’s service is a secure alternative to the current approach, and; thirdly, garner the support behind that firm and not its competitors (the traditional hurdle) – not an easy task for marketers despite there being a seemingly high need for the service.
The Cloud is here to stay: the advantages of Cloud far outweigh the disadvantages, but those disadvantages are also staying. Firms essentially will be creating a new segment of the online storage market that address these challenges. To be successful they will need to run an offensive course against the notoriously territorial established players (who, it goes without saying, know how to play offense and defense). There is a need and there is a product, but whether the two can be connected by competing firms entering the market is another matter.
The emerging cloud security market could be a gold mine for start-ups and investors (perhaps even those big players being dragged through the publicity mud) alike.
The rise of high security Cloud Computing and Storage firms competing with big players such as Apple, Google and Amazon. Advanced encryption technology is here but are the consumers?
Since its advent around the turn of the millennium, Cloud Computing has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry that services business and individuals. It may not always have been known as “The Cloud” but storing data ‘online’ has become an accepted practice for all online tools (ecommerce, file sharing, document storage, customer records, etc., as far reaching as family photos, medical details, tax or legal records through corporate IP or government records); even, as it turns out, if the consumers and businesses do not know to what extent they are using it. Research shows that around 70% of business use Cloud Computing, yet do not even know what Cloud Computing is, let alone that they actively participate in it.
Cloud Consumers don’t realise they’re consuming
Firms that offer advanced security in Cloud Computing are attempting to meet the challenge of the widely held belief among consumers that the Cloud is unsafe to use. This belief grows every time a Network is infiltrated for credit card details, or a notable person has their documents and photos leaked, or Government surveillance is debated across all media. The fact is most cloud services (especially storage) are inevitably vulnerable to infiltration given know-how, effort and time, and even more critically, when an attacker is successful and breaks into a cloud service, all user data is potentially compromised. So one attack on a single server can potentially comprise thousands or millions of customers.
Most cloud services are inevitably vulnerable
Sixty Percent of Consumers do not understand the risks of the Cloud, despite 1.3 billion users expected to be using it in 2017, yet there is also a worrying trend of those that do understand it being complacent. Consumers and businesses continue to use Cloud Computing and upload extremely sensitive material without due consideration of this risk.
There is a worrying trend of consumer complacency when it comes to data security in the cloud
The challenge to be met by Cloud Security firms is akin to a triple pronged spear like that of Poseidon’s Trident. For them to be successful they must: firstly, shed light on the fact that consumers are in fact using Cloud Computing; secondly, convince consumers that the firm’s service is a secure alternative to the current approach, and; thirdly, garner the support behind that firm and not its competitors (the traditional hurdle) – not an easy task for marketers despite there being a seemingly high need for the service.
The Cloud is here to stay: the advantages of Cloud far outweigh the disadvantages, but those disadvantages are also staying. Firms essentially will be creating a new segment of the online storage market that address these challenges. To be successful they will need to run an offensive course against the notoriously territorial established players (who, it goes without saying, know how to play offense and defense). There is a need and there is a product, but whether the two can be connected by competing firms entering the market is another matter.
The emerging cloud security market could be a gold mine for start-ups and investors (perhaps even those big players being dragged through the publicity mud) alike.