The danger of clouds

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Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard law professor and author of "The Future of the Internet--And How to Stop It," writes in the New York Times that storing information online instead of on in-house PCs and servers could be fraught with danger.

Many companies are turning to the cloud or online storage as a way to increase capacity and save money, but Zittrain argues that firms entrusted with your data could go out of business or not protect it properly. Even with controls, hackers can have a field day. He noted that a hacker recently broke into the email account of a Twitter employee, grabbed the employee's Google password, and was able to get access to Twitter's corporate documents stored in the cloud.

He also said that the Patriot Act gives law enforcement power to demand some details of your online activities from service provider, and not to tell you about it.

The Harvard professor is not suggesting turning back or shunning the cloud, but he does argue for come controls and standards.

For details on the professor's suggestions:
- see this New York Times article

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