Web hosting centers around the world are being compromised by cyber-criminals that use them to launch major attacks against business and government, says Cisco in its annual security report. This threat really gained full steam last year, the company says.
Cloud-based services are still often seen as too risky for sensitive information. Take the case at Kingsport, Tenn.-based Eastman Chemical Company, which said "no" to the cloud when designing its new crisis communications system.
Microsoft has plugged a vulnerability in Microsoft Office 365 that would have let attackers grab user identities and steal email and documents, according to Adallom, the security vendor that says it discovered the problem.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) is putting forward an innovative encryption-based security architecture for software-defined networks and cloud environments that draws some of its inspiration from high-security networks used by the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence agencies.
The problem with IT security professionals is they spend too much time stopping business people from trying new things, including cloud services, out of worries about risk when they should really be working directly with business managers to help them innovate by means of security.
The leaking of classified documents detailing the data collection activities of the U.S. National Security Agency earlier this year reignited some long-standing concerns about the vulnerability of enterprise data stored in the cloud.
Edward Snowden's revelations about the U.S. government's data collection program could cause U.S. providers of cloud-based services to lose 10% to 20% of the foreign market to overseas rivals.