[Infowarrior] - FTC set to examine cloud computing

[Richard Forno]

FTC set to examine cloud computing
By Kim Hart	 - 01/04/10 01:49 PM ET
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/74209-ftc-examining-cloud-computing
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the privacy and  
security implications of cloud computing, according to a recent filing  
with the Federal Communications Commission.

The FTC, which shares jurisdiction over broadband issues, says it  
recognizes the potential cost-savings cloud computing can provide.  
"However, the storage of data on remote computers may also raise  
privacy and security concerns for consumers," wrote David Vladeck, who  
helms the FTC's Consumer Protection Bureau.

"For example, the ability of cloud computing services to collect and  
centrally store increasing amounts of consumer data, combined with the  
ease with which such centrally stored data may be shared with others,  
create a risk that larger amounts of data may be used by entities not  
originally intended or understood by consumers," the filing says.

The FTC is also looking at identity management systems — i.e., how  
people authenticate their identities when logging into websites — and  
how they can better protect citizens' privacy.

Both examinations are part of a "broader initiative" to investigate  
various models for privacy. The agency is holding a roundtable Jan. 28  
to focus on privacy protections. It will include specific discussions  
about cloud computing, identity management, mobile computing and  
social networking.

SearchCloudComputing.com wrote in this post that cloud computing will  
continue to spread in 2010, but its growth will be relatively  
incremental. Security continues to be a concern with the technology.