Cloud providers want government guidelines

Cloud service providers can help businesses cut costs, increase efficiency and even protect data from denial of service attacks. However, some providers want more guidance from the government as to how liable they are for the information stored on their clouds.

The issue recently came to light when controversial WikiLeaks website stored its data on a cloud when it came under a denial of service attack. However, the American cloud services provider pulled the site shortly thereafter when it was pressured by U.S. politicians upset by WikiLeaks’ disclosure of classified information.

One of the politicians, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, said “[the company’s] decision to cut off WikiLeaks is the right decision and should set the standard for other companies. I call on any other company or organisation that is hosting WikiLeaks to immediately terminate its relationship with them."

Andy Burton, chairman of the Cloud Industry Forum, said the case demonstrates how cloud computing will benefit from clearer government guidelines.

"Cloud providers are simply offering an infrastructure to users, and that gives them very little control over who uses their services and for what purpose," Burton told ChannelWeb.co.uk.

The U.S. government has recently done plenty of work with the cloud. Several government agencies, including the USDA and GSA, have moved their employees to cloud services.