Brussels, 30/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Cloud computing, where companies transfer their data to and have them managed by external servers which remotely centralise masses of information, is becoming more and more the rage. Companies no longer need their own servers but hand things over to a firm which guarantees computing and storage power on demand. It is not, however, risk-free as companies provide sometimes sensitive confidential information to remote servers, thereby losing control over these data. It is a threat which exercises the corporate minds of too few companies, as was revealed in a recent Ernst & Young survey which found that less than a third of companies worldwide (30%) are ready and prepared for the new risks associated with use of external servers. Out of a sample of 1,600 companies from 56 countries, only 46% said they were prepared to spend more on security, Ernst & Young report.
At conference on digital technology, Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes pointed out that data protection is a fundamental right in the EU and warned of the dangers of cloud computing. “We need further research to enhance the security features of these technologies,” she said. Before deciding to use cloud computing, every European company or citizen should know two things, she said: 1) that their cloud supplier protects their personal data efficiently, that is in a transparent manner, and in line with EU personal data protection standards, and 2) that all the governments of all the countries where the servers are located have legal frameworks in place that guarantee adequate data protection and privacy. Kroes encouraged the private sector to take initiatives to develop, for example, codes of conduct for international data transfers. “A 'cloud' without clear and strong data protection is not the sort of cloud we need. Having clear and 'cloud-friendly' rules can only help ICT companies … to know exactly what is allowed and what is not.” The commissioner pointed out, too, that the data protection directive varies from one member state to another, a situation which has to be clarified, she opined. (I.L./transl.rt)