Cloud computing: how can companies reduce the security risk?

Grazed from Guardian. Author: Pravin Kothari.

In the last five years, organisations have increasingly embraced cloud applications to help them innovate and transform their business. Applications that automate sales processes, HR management, collaboration, email and file sharing are growing fast and enabling organisations to meet their needs in a shorter timeframe than ever before.

Cloud applications are ubiquitously employed across all industries. However, there are increased concerns about security and compliance of sensitive information, particularly in banking, insurance and in the public sector. A wide range of regulations and privacy laws make organisations directly responsible for protecting regulated information, but when this data is stored in the cloud, they have less direct control over leaks, theft or forced legal disclosure…

The UK Data Protection Act and the perfect storm
In the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which has the ability to levy severe financial penalties for companies that breach the Data Protection Act, has assigned responsibility for securing information in the cloud unequivocally to the company that owns the data – not the cloud provider on whose systems it resides. At the same time, leaks and thefts are occurring with increased frequency. The ICO reported a tenfold increase in UK breaches over the past five years, and a 2012 Ernst & Young survey found that only 38% of organisations implement an adequate security strategy…

Read more from the source @ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/jun/13/cloud-computing-companies-security