Administration Announces Cloud Computing Initiative, but Privacy Umbrella Missing
Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra announced the launch of “Apps.gov”, a website where federal agencies can obtain cloud-based IT services. The initiative is aimed at "lowering the cost of government operations while driving innovation." Currently, the administration's main goal is to increase the size and scale of cloud computing, but key concerns, such as security and privacy, have received little attention. In March, EPIC filed a complaint with the FTC urging the agency to open and investigation into Cloud Computing services, such as Google Docs, to determine "the adequacy of the privacy and security safeguards." Subsequently, thirty-eight computer security researchers and privacy academics sent a letter to Google's CEO, asking Google to uphold privacy promises made to users of Google Cloud Computing services. The FTC investigation is ongoing; no response has been received from Google. For more information, see EPIC's page on “Cloud Computing”.
September 17, 2009| Share:
