Where is computer security and privacy going?

[Macfunky]

Especially with the advent of cloud computing, i am wondering where computing is going. While in theory i think cloud computing is a fantastic idea, i do wonder how secure it is and also how private it is. I LOVE the internet and computers and i love what you can accomplish with them. For me the internet is an AMAZING tool. However, i do not have a facebook (or any similar service) account, as i feel uncomfortable with putting out any information out on the internet about myself. I have always been careful with personal info (even shredding bank statements etc) and i wonder with computers and advancements in technology, where is it all heading?

Personally i think there are privacy issues as is. I feel that at some stage things will hit a point where people are forced to rethink how they use services. Cloud computing is a great idea for collaborating but i wonder is it safe? My girlfriend knows an I.T. student who hacked into the Warner Bro. server and downloaded a series of programmes. He was tracked down and given a stern warning but my point is that if it's that easy for a student to hack into the server of such a large company so easily, how secure is anyones information?

As is, i do feel things will hit a point but at the moment people are content to put their info out there (facebook, etc) and even companies will use collaborative services to work together.

My question is this, where do you feel this is going to led to and how secure is anyones information? Can this keep going in the direction it is without any major problems?

[samjh]

While in theory i think cloud computing is a fantastic idea, i do wonder how secure it is and also how private it is.It will probably be more secure than data stored in the average Internet-connected user's own computer. However, it will probably be not as private.


Personally i think there are privacy issues as is. I feel that at some stage things will hit a point where people are forced to rethink how they use services. Cloud computing is a great idea for collaborating but i wonder is it safe? My girlfriend knows an I.T. student who hacked into the Warner Bro. server and downloaded a series of programmes. He was tracked down and given a stern warning but my point is that if it's that easy for a student to hack into the server of such a large company so easily, how secure is anyones information?The Warner Brothers server he hacked into was probably not a major focal point of their security.

Some people make a big fuss about a big company's server being hacked, etc. But computer security is a layered system with priorities given to different portions and layers. Did the student actually gain access to confidential (eg. payroll statements for each employee) or commercially secret (eg. funding plans for films to be produced in 2011) information? Probably not.


As is, i do feel things will hit a point but at the moment people are content to put their info out there (facebook, etc) and even companies will use collaborative services to work together.Companies already do use online services for collaboration.


My question is this, where do you feel this is going to led to and how secure is anyones information? Can this keep going in the direction it is without any major problems?Data stored in managed server centres will probably be much more secure than data stored in private computers. There will almost certainly be better physical security, and most probably better technical security as well. The data is also more likely to be subjected to regular and frequent backups to guard against physical losses, which most users neglect to do.

The issue is that of privacy, and how freely the company who stores your data can see your information. If data stored and transacted in encrypted form, it probably won't be much of an issue. But if the data is stored and transacted in plain text or other non-encrypted form, then it will be an issue. There is also the legal issue of whether data stored on a commercial provider's server is YOUR property, or THEIR property, which will be subject to local laws and the contract between the provider and the client.

[markbuntu]

Many people are naive about privacy, especially the youngsters, and many people do not consider the long term consequences of putting so much personal information on places like facebook and myspace.

Of course there will be major problems with this because people do not realize how much personal information the are giving out and it has yet to bite them on the ***. By the time it does it will be decided that it is too late to put the genie back in the bottle and to make all those stupid an naive people feel better personal privacy will become a crime.

The cloud is already a problem. One company already lost millions of people's private data in a really stupid snafu and there is no way that these cloud providers can actually guarantee your privacy, no way at all.

But, regardless of that there are many ways to maintain your privacy. There are many in the government who believe that personal privacy on the internet should be illegal but it is not, not yet. And there are tools that can maintain individual privacy on the internet. The fact is that the internet was not built with privacy as a concern so if you wish to maintain your own privacy you need to tread carefully.

[juancarlospaco]

All my files on the Cloud are Encrypted
:)