While there has been growth in public awareness about cloud computing, there remains some confusion about what it actually is. Put simply, cloud computing is pooled hardware and software made accessible via the internet. It means IT users can access their applications and data online. The applications and data are stored and maintained by a third party (cloud service provider) remotely, rather than on servers and networks physically located at the users’ premises.
The stakes are high. Many organisations are very dependent on their IT infrastructure and a failure in IT operations, even for a short period of time, could cause significant financial loss and damage to a company’s reputation. If a company stores its data in the cloud, and the cloud service provider fails to function or loses that data, which party is liable?
In conjunction with the launch of new CFC wordings giving clear, unambiguous cover in the event of a privacy breach or data loss from a cloud service provider, Laurence Rossini, Technology and Media Underwriter at CFC, discusses some of the risks and benefits of cloud computing.
Click here to read Laurence’s full article about cloud computing
Already having to pay out for last year’s huge PlayStation Network breach, Sony is in the spotlight again after the entirety of Michael Jackson’s back catalogue was stolen from the company by hackers. The cyber attack saw the illegal download of around 50,000 music files belonging to the singer, including some unreleased material. The files were estimated at around £160m making this the biggest attack on a music company ever. 
Since 2004, the California Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) has required online services that collect certain types of data from Californian users to post a privacy policy which describes how the information will be used. If they collect this data, Apps fall under this category, but a recent report has found that only about 5% have the appropriate privacy policies in place. 
Antivirus firm Symantec has recently been the victim of a hack attack in which the hacker released the source code for its pcAnywhere utility. Fears have arisen that hackers could analyze the code to find security holes and then attempt to take over customers’ computers. 