Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Your Cloud Provider (Probably) Isn't Spying On You

Posted by samzenpus on from the just-because-you're-paranoid-doesn't-mean-they-aren't-after-you dept.

jfruh writes "Last week the CEO ServiceNow made a minor splash by claiming that it was awfully easy for a cloud provider to spy on the data they stored for you or discriminate based on pricing. But while that's possible, in many cases it turns out to be simply not practical enough to be beneficial. Even moves like restoring outages for higher-paying customers first turn out to be more trouble than they're worth."

8 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. encryption by schneidafunk · · Score: 4, Informative

    The solution which is always repeated is to encrypt any sensitive data.

    --
    Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
    1. Re:encryption by hawguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The solution which is always repeated is to encrypt any sensitive data.

      If you need to actually use your data at some point, the cloud provider could snoop the data from your virtual machine's RAM. And they could probably find the decryption key to your data somewhere in memory too if they looked hard enough.

  2. Concern isn't the companies position on spying. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My concern isn't that the company as a policy is spying on me, it's the fear that a disgruntled employee would start copying all of the data for their own use.

    1. Re:Concern isn't the companies position on spying. by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Funny

      I already have all of your porn, but it's nice to know you're thinking of me.

      Sincerely,
      Disgruntled Employee

  3. Spies in the sky by Wowsers · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Your Cloud Provider (Probably) Isn't Spying On You"......

    But your government probably is.

    --
    Take Nobody's Word For It.
    1. Re:Spies in the sky by jxander · · Score: 3

      The simple fact is : the vast majority of the populace just isn't that interesting.

      Thereby, TFA can easily and honestly say that they're probably not spying on you, because for any given value of "you," it's likely to fall into the uninteresting segment.

      --
      This signature is false.
  4. Re:Priorities by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nobody gives a damn about your data, with good statistical confidence.

    I wouldn't be so sure about that. There are tens of thousands of small high-tech companies with trade secrets that the "cloud" providers would like to gain as customers. From source code to email and customer data such companies have all kinds of valuable data. The solution is, of course, not to put any of this data into the cloud except in fully encrypted form for georedundant backups.

  5. CSP isn't the problem by pubwvj · · Score: 3, Informative

    The cloud service provider isn't the worry. They couldn't care less. It's the government I'm concerned about. They do care and they have a history of spying and want the right to do so.

    The internet is a postcard. Don't store or transmit anything you don't want seen.