Security holding companies back from the cloud

A European security agency says that even though the business case for cloud computing is clear, companies are holding back due to security and privacy fears.

Research from ENISA on cloud computing said that concerns about privacy and the confidentiality of data were holding small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) back from getting involved with cloud computing.

SMEs also had doubts about the availability and integrity of data, the potential loss of data and control of services, as well as the lack of liability for providers in case of a security incident.

However, the same companies also realised the business benefits of going into the cloud such as reducing costs, the removal of barriers to IT modernisation, increased flexibility, and better computing capacity and performance.

"The business case for cloud computing is obvious it's computing on tap, available instantly, commitment-free and on-demand," ENISA expert Giles Hogben said in a statement.

"But the number one issue holding many back people back is security," he added. "How can I know if it's safe to trust the cloud provider with my data and in some cases my entire business infrastructure?"

To ease these concerns, ENISA offered a guide to organisations that it said could identify whether a cloud provider was as security conscious as it could be.