Public clouds no less secure than private, expert says

As cloud computing becomes increasingly popular in the business world, a new debate is beginning to emerge about whether businesses should embrace public or private clouds. Many companies are hesitant to join public clouds for security reasons. However, James Urquhart, a field technologist with almost 20 years of experience, says that line of thinking is misguided.

Writing for CNET Urquhart argues that public clouds are no less secure than private clouds. “Having a data center does not automatically make you ‘more secure’ than a public cloud provider any more than a cloud vendor is automatically more secure than anything an enterprise could do themselves,” he wrote.

According to Urquhart, cloud computing security is driven not by the type of cloud, but by the law. He acknowledges that there are uncertainties regarding cloud computing and legal compliance. “There are many ‘grey areas’ in existing case law, across the globe, with respect to how cloud systems should be treated,” he wrote.

However, Urquhart believes these grey areas are no reason to avoid public clouds. “The economics are just too compelling and the issues around security and the law will eventually be addressed,” he wrote.

Cloud legal compliance is an international issue. Recently, the EU financed a commission to seek methods to achieve cloud compliance across Europe, despite differing data laws.