Just How Secure and Reliable Can Cloud Computing Be?

Although stated previously that cloud computing will bring about the benefit of increased security, there are also new forms of security threats that both cloud companies and users may have to be wary of. 

Since cloud servers are basically huge reservoirs of personal and confidential data, they may be a priority target to hackers and may experience an unusually higher number of security threats. Google and dozens of other companies have recently been targeted by a team of hackers looking to source codes and other vital information (Zetter, 2011).

Not all threats happen server-side, however. Users will still need to keep their guard up to protect themselves against other forms of security threats. There have been instances of rogue cloud services which claim to provide safe and secure storage services, but have instead stolen information from its clients (Moran et al., 2011, p. 95). User passwords and account information are still vulnerable to phishing from emails and other fraudulent sources.

There are also issues regarding the reliability of the servers utilized by cloud providers. Servers may experience downtime or slowdowns depending on the amount of users attempting to use it services at once. Stress tests conducted by Australian researchers found that Amazon, Google, and Microsoft experienced slowdowns when faced with the sudden demand of 2,000 simultaneous users (Hofman & Woods, 2010, p. 92). 

Companies that require massive instant data processing may not find cloud services that suite their needs. According to computer scientists from University of California, Berkeley, processing large amounts of data totaling upwards of about 10 terabytes would prove too slow and too costly to transfer across the United States, taking up to 45 days and costing around $1,000 (Hofmann & Woods, 2010, p. 92).

Cloud Computing may still be limited by today's technologies.