• Insights

A risk of using cloud services

Marcus Bluestein

< 1 min read

All Insights

Yesterday there was a significant event impacting a large “cloud” service provider.  An Internet file sharing service known as MegaUpload was seized by the government.  All of its assets (including data) were taken by the government and the site is no longer available.  You can read more about this here: http://bit.ly/xuj2eS.  MegaUpload offers a service similar to DropBox and other file sharing services, allowing users to upload and share files with one another.

 

While the details of this specific seizure are clear, this event should serve as a reminder of one of the risks associated with cloud/SaaS/Hosted providers. If the government targets a service that your firm uses, all of the data you store could disappear in an instant.  Possible services include file sharing services, firm website hosting services, online backup systems and even nfrastructure as a service firms.   When evaluating the cloud these concerns should be taken into consideration and understood.  Your firm might not be doing anything wrong, but could suffer greatly if someone else is and the government decides to intervene.