To trust (the cloud) or not to trust

In many cases the very expression “in the cloud” sounds scary, as if cloud (i.e. “a visible mass of condensed water vapour floating in the atmosphere”) constituted a mysterious and remote place “up there”, where strange things happen to data.

With more and more being done in the cloud with every day that passes, users are asking if and to which extent they can trust the cloud with their digital contents: files, documents, numbers, photos and information of all kinds.

The worrying is legitimate but perhaps the question should be rephrased: “Are the digital contents stored on the hard disk inside my desktop or laptop computer safer than they would be in the cloud?” To which the answer would be: “not really, it is more or the less the same, unless you happen to be a big corporation with huge and complex security schemes.” Even in the latter case, however, and as we hear it in the news every now and then, no one is perfectly protected from hacking, intrusion or data theft; not even the big ones, whatever the shield.

Why is your internal hard disk more or less similar to the cloud, when it comes to protecting your data from prying eyes?

From the moment your personal machine is connected to the Internet, which today is the most common situation and by far of all computers and computer-like devices, you become part of the big, global network, and those with bad intention can access the files on your hard disk just as they can access those you stored in the cloud. Most people forget this aspect of networking. We have to face reality, once connected everything becomes possible. When you are connected to the Internet you and your local personal device are part of the cloud.

There are differences, of course, and they are not all in favour of your local storage. Surprisingly, or not, the cloud could prove to be even safer than your own hard disk in some instances. Which would be the case if for example your antivirus software does not provide enough protection, if it is outdated, or if you fall in the trap set by hazardous spam e-mail or websites, and bravely go clicking where you shouldn’t be clicking in the first place.

In such cases the server in the cloud that stores your data would definitely be offering a better protection that your own machine and would keep our data very safe, provided of course the service has good reputation and does not plan to “take a look” at your data — a very, very unlikely scenario.

To have your local machine ensure better protection than the cloud would take complex hardware, setup and software. It usually consists of a dedicated, hardware firewall, than only professional techies can set up and adjust. No home or small office does that. It is just not worth the trouble or the expense. Unless you, as a home user or small office staff member, happen to have something important to hide from the external world.

In the latter case you should ideally keep such “sensitive” data outside the internal hard disk of a network connected machine. A small USB drive or an external and removable hard disk drive that you’d store in a drawer, disconnected from the computer (and therefore from the network or the web), would constitute a simple and efficient solution.

“In the cloud” is an expression that should be demystified and the place trusted, in general.