My last post looked at how our lives have changed in the last 50 years. One of the biggest changes has been what technology has done. Blackboards became whiteboards and then e-boards. Soon they could become cloud boards. The minimisation of technology along with an explosion in capacity has meant we can wear tech, hold it, move it, take it with us. We can be in the same virtual space no matter where in the world we are.
Educating the Cloud
This is important most of all in how business operates and groups interact. Cloud technology could, for example, let a kid sick at home participate in class, it can and does let people on the same course access online fora and course materials. It lets students collaborate on projects from far away or with other groups.
However, is it safe? Viruses and hackers target cloud computing, cloud hosting, and cloud storage to try and mine vital information – usually that which can derive a competitive advantage, can get them money, or let them embarrass/blackmail someone. For big business, the average data breach costs $4 million.
11 Things you Should Know
Each individual user and each organization be they a business or a school or a foundation, needs to make sure their cybersecurity is as safe as possible. This is not always so easy as point no.7 makes below:
- Too much is made of cloud security threats – but they are there
- Vulnerabilities are built into cloud computing because without them, they would not function as a sharing hub
- Cloud computing with diverse sharing is the riskiest of all
- Though it gets worse if a cloud account is combined with the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Big businesses are taking it seriously – for example see Google’s whitepaper for proof
- Private and public cloud services are equally safe or unsafe
- Human error or laziness is the biggest risk factor of all
- Mixing together public and private could increase safety
- Law enforcement is trying to catch up with cloud computing but we might not like the laws they create
- Studying different aspects of cloud security will really help even if it is learning about encryption and two-factor authentication
- Cloud computing is the future so we should make the best of it
Think when sharing educational material and informative learning packages. Create a safe cloud service environment with encryption, two-stage authentication and difficult passwords and only the right people be they learners or educators (or both) will see them.
