May 29, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The privacy commissioner of Ontario, Canada is questioning the use of cloud computing technology, asking companies to implement responsible identity management before it creates problems, as reported by ComputerWorld Canada.
In a white paper released yesterday, Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian analyzed software's shift towards web-based services from companies such as Google, IBM or Amazon. The report can be viewed here.
The 30-page document, presented at the First International Workshop on Identity in the Information Society in Italy, outlined cloud computing as well as the technological foundation Cavoukian says are needed to increase online security of data.
This foundation includes such aspects as identity management software based on open standards, federated identity which ensures that information registered for one service will be recognized elsewhere, audit tools to monitor user data, and policies that specify how data will be used in a cloud.
"User-centric private identity management in the Cloud is possible, even when users are no longer in direct possession of their personal data, or no longer in direct contact with the organization(s) that do possess it," the paper says. "Inevitably, we must also have sufficient trust in those organizations that would supply and accept our identity credentials and our personally identifiable information."
In March, Forrester Research released a report that argued that while cloud computing does not meet the needs of large businesses, it has considerable potential.
