A Cloud of Suspicion

Morgan O'Rourke

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May 3, 2013

These days, more and more companies are turning to the cloud as an economical alternative to physical data storage. But not everyone is convinced the cloud is as safe as it is made out to be.

According to a survey of IT professionals by Lieberman Software, a Los Angeles-based software provider, 88% believe that a portion of their data hosted in the cloud is vulnerable to being lost, corrupted or accessed by unauthorized individuals.

As a result, almost as many respondents (86%) eschew the cloud for their company’s most sensitive data and instead choose to keep it on their own networks. One of the main reasons why respondents avoid the cloud is a fear that government and legal interference could make it difficult to keep data protected.

“If a government or official body wanted to see what data a company was holding in the cloud, the cloud host involved would be legally obliged to provide them with access,” said Philip Lieberman, president and CEO of Lieberman Software. “This means there is very limited privacy in cloud environments.”

Nevertheless, 56% pointed out that the move to the cloud has saved their company money, meaning that the cloud is still a viable alternative, especially for less-sensitive data.

Morgan O’Rourke is editor in chief of Risk Management and director of publications for the Risk & Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS)