Forrester: Greater scrutiny needed for Cloud security versus traditional IT outsourcing

A new report released by Forrester noted that the security gaps in cloud computing demands greater scrutiny than that required of traditional IT outsourcing models.  In a report titled, "How secure is your cloud?" analyst Chenxi Wang noted that customers have no way of knowing exactly where their data is stored or backed-up when it comes to cloud computing.

Suggested areas of scrutiny range from seeking more information about the cloud vendor's encryption system, as well as details of how the vendor protects data that is in transit. In addition, the presence of proper data segregation, measures of protecting from data leak, authentication and access control procedures, for example, should all be evaluated.

One problem is that current laws do not differentiate from data stored in the cloud from on-premise storage. In order to mitigate from potential legal pitfalls, Wang recommends that detailed liability conditions and consequences be drawn up with the cloud vendor.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Network World

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