Cloud or Fog

The next BIG thing to be sold to us is something called cloud computing.  Basically, cloud computing means that the services you are using are somewhere else, not on your local computer.  In fact one of the more extreme views is that you won’t even have a computer just an access point into the Internet where everything you could ever want is waiting for you, at a price.

This is a great idea and a horrible idea all at the same time!  It is a great idea because you won’t have to figure out what to do when something goes wrong.  The service provider is responsible.  It’s a bad idea because you loose control.  If you used a computer, you know where your stuff is; it’s in the computer.  Turn off your computer and your protected from unwanted access to your information.   You can’t turn off the cloud.  Your stuff is available to you and to crooks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Having given you a small taste of the benefits and dangers of cloud computing you should also know that there is a great deal of confusion in what is considered cloud computing.  It has become a buzzword and every salesman wants to be buzzword compliant.  In fact, you need to be certain of what is being offered to you before you buy in to a service.  You will need to know what is happening where you can’t see.  How are your files stored?  Are they encrypted?  Can hackers access them?  What country are they stored in?  If you have a problem and your files are stored in another country what are your legal rights?  Do they use antivirus and do they stay up with the latest patches to the software?  It is hard to know and some of the less honorable cloud suppliers were caught lying.

Like all computer security issues cloud computing is a trade-off.  Less secure for some, more secure for others.  It will be less overhead and headaches for some and more overhead and headaches for other.  While you will be able to use a cheaper computer you will need better Internet service.  The loss of control of critical resources will be an issue and will require more investigation.

All of this leads to a joke that is actually a great synopsis of cloud computer and the computer security issues that come with it.  In 2010 Marine Brigadier General Kevin Nally was tired of the term cloud computing and all of the ambiguities that came with it.  He coined the phrase fog computing to describe what he saw and made the joke that fog computing is like cloud computing but like fog is close to the ground.  Unfortunately for Brigadier General Nally the term was adopted and there are now requests for fog computing briefings.