Offshore data storage clouds security picture

Grazed from FinancialPost. Author: Christine Dobby.

As electronic information accumulates into virtual mountains, the ease and low cost of storing it offsite or outsourcing software functions can be irresistible to businesses looking to cut expenses in any way they can. But since this often involves the transfer of personal information, experts say the increasingly ubiquitous “cloud” can also create unforeseen headaches when that information ends up outside Canada.

“There may be situations where the government authorities, courts, administrative bodies wherever the server is located, may have more access or different access to your data than you would expect here in Canada,” said Mark Hayes, managing director at Heydary Hayes PC, an intellectual property and technology law practice in Toronto…

He said companies engaging cloud-hosting services need to understand what the tradeoffs are in exchange for those cost savings. “Businesses are able to collect a lot more information than in the past,” said Theo Ling, a partner in Baker & McKenzie LLP’s Toronto office who heads up the firm’s Canadian information technology practice. This “massive collection of electronic data” raises issues about how companies manage masses of information and cloud computing adds a whole new element, he said…

Read more from the source @ http://business.financialpost.com/2012/11/21/offshore-data-storage-clouds-security-picture/