Microsoft raises cloud computing concerns

Packaged software powerhouse Microsoft on Thursday released a paper outlining privacy concerns businesses should consider prior to leaping into the computing "cloud."

Shifting to software being hosted online as services in the Internet "cloud" brings enormous economic potential as well as serious questions about protecting data, according to Microsoft.

Companies should know where their data is sitting in the cloud and be guaranteed that they dictate who accesses it and when, according to Microsoft.

"We want to take the initiative in regard to our position on privacy in the cloud," Microsoft senior director of privacy strategy Brendon Lynch told AFP.

Microsoft released a "white paper" on the issue in conjunction with an International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy in Madrid.

"Cloud computing does raise a number of important policy questions concerning how people, organizations, and governments handle information and interactions in this environment," Microsoft said in the paper.

"Privacy protections are essential to building the customer trust needed for cloud computing and the Internet to reach their full potential."

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Source: news.google.com