Mitigating cloud computing risks

Cloud computing is not without its risks, but it’s up to corporations to do due diligence before they hand over their data, says one lawyer who specializes in electronic discovery.

Cloud computing services provide data storage over the Internet, commonly referred to as being “in the cloud.” Although it does have its benefits, there are risks associated with this increasingly popular phenomenon, such as potential data breaches.

A recent data breach occurred within cloud computing service provider Dropbox, which allows users to transfer their computer files to the company’s Internet servers. One of the company’s users launched a lawsuit in California alleging it didn’t secure users’ private data or notify all of them about the data breach.

The lawsuit claims Dropbox suffered a glitch where logged-in users were able to access other users’ data. It also claims instead of notifying users of the breach, it simply mentioned it in a blog post. The post allegedly said the glitch was fixed five minutes after it was discovered and that only a small group of users was affected.

That kind of response “wouldn’t fly in Canada,” says Kelly Friedman, a partner at Davis LLP and chairwoman of the steering committee at Sedona Canada. That’s because Canada has more stringent privacy rules under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

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Source: canadianlawyermag.com
By: Heather Gardiner