“Know when to keep private information private”: Whistleblower Edward Snowden’s revelations about cyber security have led to scepticism about cloud computing© Vincent Yu/AP/Press Association Images
The term “cloud computing” began to drift into the public consciousness in 2006. Six years later, reliance on the “cloud” touches every part of personal and
professional communications—and scepticism now has its day.
Cloud services such as Gmail or Dropbox allow users to store their data on remote servers, making it accessible no matter where they are. The arrival of the cloud has meant that more and more of our information—from email to our diaries to our photos—is stored online, and nowhere else.
But the image that “the cloud” conjures up—free-floating information waiting just for you whenever you want to access it—is misleading. “The reality is that every cloud is composed of a vast infrastructure of bunker-like rooms, filled with rack upon rack of servers,” wrote Tom Chatfield, an Associate Editor of Prospect, in a BBC online column in November. “The moment you decide to upload something into this global data warehouse, you give up many of your rights to ownership.”
Until recently, cloud sceptics have been a minority, but since June, when news broke of widespread government surveillance of internet communications, things have begun to change. Concerns about privacy are running high. “The scepticism, the desire for transparency, has reached a critical mass where this is now a popular topic of concern, rather than something that only policy wonks or researchers care about,” says Alice Marwick, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. The ways in which companies such as Facebook and Google mine their users’ data in order to make money have also prompted this concern.
Security is another reason for suspicion. If your emails exist online in the cloud, then if your email provider were hacked or shut down, your entire inbox could be permanently lost. “The once powerful myth that there exists a separate, virtual space where one can have more privacy and independence from social and political independence is dead,” wrote the tech critic Evgeny Morozov in the wake of the surveillance revelations.
So how will cloud scepticism manifest itself in the coming months? One avenue is reform of data privacy laws. The EU has been leading the way in its attempt to regulate the cloud, proposing in October that cloud users must be “informed in clear, unambiguous and warning language” if there is the possibility that their data could be subject to “surveillance by third-country authorities.” (This would apply to all EU citizens using American cloud services such as Gmail.) However, technology is moving faster than the law and legislators’ understanding.
Users could, of course, switch to cloud services that offer more privacy. But while Facebook and other behemoths remain a central part of people’s social lives and while such companies depend on their users’ information to make a profit, there is unlikely to be a significant defection to rival services. Even companies with strong privacy protections will still be bound by US law to hand over certain user data if the security services demand it.
For now, there are simple steps that users can take to have better control of their data. Chatfield recommends three. First, read the small print when you sign up to cloud computing services. Second, keep back-up copies of all your data, including email. And third, know when to keep private information private—that is, outside the cloud.
Read more big ideas;
Rejectionist politicsThe politics of resentment will be a powerful, destabilising force in 2014
Secular stagnation The global economy might have been in trouble long before 2008
The new cold war US negotiations are stirring up tensions between two clusters of allies
Beginning of the end of QE When central banks stop pumping money into the world's economies, there's no telling how markets will react
Coalitions of the willing As more countries wield more power, bilateral deals and pacts between allies will become the norm
Growth leaves wages behind It's not the size of the economy that counts, it's what you do with it
Boom Cities Cities, rather than nation states, are proving increasingly adept at meeting the challenges of the 21st century
Personalised Medicine Genetic testing will make treating illnesses cheaper and more efficient
The new news Online media brands have changed the way we consume and produce journalism, and that's no bad thing
Peer to peer living Disruptive marketplaces like Airbnb are shifting power away from hierarchies and towards networks of individuals
Pop up everything Temporary venues have altered urban lifestyles forever
