As technology evolves, more and more companies are embracing online collaboration applications in the workplace. Not so long ago, this practice was considered only for home users and tech geeks. Security was the main concern at the time, and providers like RIM and its blackberry service did a superb job of providing email and messaging service, which is considered secure.
In fact, the platform is so secure that the service providers offering the service have no visibility into the messaging platform.
Suddenly, corporations had a secure mobile messaging platform that met all security requirements. Yes, life was simple back then. We got up and got down to business, logged into our computers, opened locally installed applications, and accessed data stored on the server in the back office, and got on with our day 188Bet.
However, something began to change, the mobile workforce.
The laptop of the 2000s was the last generation of laptops to be called a laptop. It weighed roughly the same as a pile of bricks and the battery would only last an hour, and if you could tolerate the heat it gave off while resting on your lap, it might as well become sterile! The cost of a laptop was almost three times that of a comparable desktop.
Therefore, only the top executives or the elite got one, and it was seen as a fashion accessory, as everyone at the CxO level had a personal assistant or secretary to answer or write correspondence. Once laptops got smaller, more portable, and cheaper, the VPN appeared to connect them to the office and provide secure access to email, files, and applications. The concept of mobile workforce is nothing new - insurance companies, banks, and sales organizations have been doing it for decades.
What has changed is the efficiency with which these organizations operate. Efficiency has been enabled with technology.
Today, every mobile vendor uses a laptop, and this has meant the demise of the branch as a hub for collaboration. Today, entire global organizations have cut costs and increased productivity and efficiency by having their people operate from home, the airport, on the road, wherever.
Gone are the days when you would go out at 5 in the afternoon and forget about work until the next day. Technology has meant that we never stop working or thinking about it, even on vacation. Fast forward to 2012, the corporate data center is being replaced by cloud computing. Entire data centers are being virtualized and the mobile workforce is connected to shared resources hosted on the Internet, rather than corporate headquarters.
Today, it seems that many multinationals have lost their caution in embracing cloud computing and third parties, which host their sensitive corporate data. Organizations are supporting BYOD by employees, relaxing security protocols that were once in place, and basically trading security for efficiency and operational ease.
What has fascinated me about this transition is witnessing the change in mindset of corporations. Going back some ten years, multinationals wouldn't even entertain the idea of a third party managing their data, much less the concept of keeping everything in the cloud. Like everything else, cloud computing has its merits and drawbacks. This article is about the technological revolution and how much we are willing to compromise.
Let's look at four scenarios in which cloud computing can be compromised and affect businesses.
1. Corporate espionage
Today, Skype and other online calling services are increasingly used for commercial purposes. The convenience and costs are incredible, a video or audio conference can be set up in seconds, and the quality is pretty good too. However, although Skype owner Microsoft does not record conversations, the provider keeps all session information for quality reasons. The provider may share this information with a third party to improve the quality of the service.
A large amount of information will be reported, such as IP address, username, type of computer equipment, number of calls, duration and location. So now an unknown third party knows his IP address scheme, internal and public, the types of computers on his network, what parts of the world he calls and how often. Yes
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