Cloud computing 2014: Moving to a zero-trust security model

Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author: Jaikumar Vijayan.

The leaking of classified documents detailing the data collection activities of the U.S. National Security Agency earlier this year reignited some long-standing concerns about the vulnerability of enterprise data stored in the cloud.  But instead of scaring businesses away from using hosted services, as some experts predicted, the leaks about the NSA spy programs are driving some long overdue changes in enterprise and service provider security and privacy policies.

When Edward Snowden first began spilling details of the NSA’s surveillance practices to selected reporters in June, industry analysts had expected that the revelations would put a severe crimp on plans for cloud deployment…

For instance, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation in August said the leaks could cause U.S. cloud providers to lose 10% to 20% of the foreign market to overseas competitors — or up to $35 billion in potential sales through 2016.  Another industry group, the Cloud Security Alliance, predicted a similar backlash due to concerns by Europen companies that thje U.S. government would access to their data.  Six months later, the impact appears to be less severe than expected…

Read more from the source @ http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244959/Cloud_computing_2014_Moving_to_a_zero_trust_security_model?taxonomyId=17