Microsoft’s Cloud Computing isn’t on Cloud 9
Microsoft Cloud
From Microsoft Watch:
EPIC’s problem is much bigger than Google, and the organization has gone down this cloud-services-squashing path before. In August 2001, EPIC filed a complaint against Microsoft’s Passport service. A year letter, the FTC and Microsoft reached a settlement, and Passport was never the same. Microsoft abandoned its ambitious plans for the service as well as .NET My Services, previously called HailStorm.
Hangman Wants Google
Now EPIC wants Google’s neck in the noose, because of last week’s security breach that exposed 0.5 percent of Docs to unauthorized access. Let me ask: Are you worried? I get nausea over credit card and other breaches that expose social security and other account numbers. But Google Docs? Good riddance if someone wants to read the Google Doc poem, “Poo Poo Poodle’s Last Poo on the Rug.”
But EPIC does care and insists that weak Google security will get your identity stolen. Disconcerting: Close reading of the complaint suggests that all cloud computing services risk the organization’s ire. From the 15-page legal filing:
The Google Docs Data Breach highlights the hazards of Google’s inadequate security practices, as well as the risks of Cloud Computing Services generally. The recent growth of Cloud Computing Services signals an unprecedented shift of personal information from computers controlled by individuals to networks administered by corporations. Data breaches concerning Cloud Computing Services can result in great harm, which arises from the centralized nature of the services and large volume of information stored ‘in the cloud.’
Past data breaches have resulted in serious consumer injury, including identity theft. As a result of the popularity of Cloud Computing Services, data breaches on these services pose a heightened risk of identity theft. The FTC should hold accountable the purveyors of Cloud Computing Services, particularly when service providers make repeated, unequivocal promises to consumers regarding information security.
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