Life in the cloud: Risky business?

If you use webmail, Google docs, Facebook, Flickr or similar online services, you’re already using cloud computing. For those of you not familiar with the concept, here’s a brief overview. Last week the Pew Internet & American Life Project released its latest report on the future of the Net. According to a majority of tech experts, we will “live mostly in the cloud” by 2020. It’s a radical departure from the way things are today, but one fraught with risk.

Most of us run programs like Microsoft Office on desktop or laptop computers, storing our data locally on the hard drive. With cloud computing, you access many of the same programs with a web browser, then store your files on a server. In fact Microsoft just rolled out Office Web Apps, a free online version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

While there are many advantages to this scenario, the greatest risk, in my opinion, involves data security. Sure, someone can hack into your computer and access your files, but as far as I know, it hasn’t happened to me yet. But if your files are stored in some “cloud,” who knows who may be accessing it. The government? Your competitors? A bored teenager? Law enforcement? Political rivals?  Call me paranoid, but you get the idea. Who can you trust with all your personal and private information? No one, from government agencies like the Department of Defense to multinational corporations like AT&T, has been able to prevent data breaches.

While it would certainly make life easier to never have to upgrade software or backup files, until a system is in place that can reasonable assure the security of online data, I’m sticking with my hard drive. What about you?