12 Feb 2010

Businesses 'must focus on cloud security'

Companies must focus on data protection when using cloud services, it has been claimed.

Speaking at the Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar on cloud computing, Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro, said the main area for improvement with cloud computing now needs to be ensuring businesses are able to safeguard their data at all times.

He commented: "Virtualisation, multi-tenancy storage area networks; these are the engines which power cloud and we need to work out a way to secure them."

Mr Ferguson added that an inability to pinpoint the exact location of files within the cloud at any specific time poses a significant problem in ensuring records are kept safe.

During his address, he explained that other emerging IT infrastructure solutions are Software-as-a-Service, web applications and virtualisation.

He claimed these technologies have now gained sufficient reliability, security and stability to be considered mature areas of IT investment and can be recommended to businesses looking to upgrade and improve cost efficiency in their IT departments.