The future of the Cloud
Just about all manufacturers want to push us into the cloud. Free choice? Go ahead!
Every manufacturer assures us that everything is first class protected and that we do not have to fear any leaks of our data. They always forget the weakest link, namely the person himself.
I have seen many passwords in my career, from non-existent to usable to complex to uncrackable.
The misery is that we have to change our password every so often as a precaution and - knowing people - after a certain time a certain laxity sets in.
I don't know about you, but I don't have a good feeling that my employees store my precious data somewhere where everyone can access it. Imagine if your bank announced that from now on the bank safes will be placed on the street, "for your convenience" because this way you can access them at any time. But then Pier, Jan and Pol can also constantly try to see if their key or code doesn't happen to fit on one of the lockers. Without anyone watching them...
Any bank that tries to do this will immediately be called to account and punished. As far as our files are concerned, we apparently find this quite normal. Even though it contains the details of our visa card, our bank account number, our telephone number, the latest holiday snaps and all other private or company data. Even accounting software is now being pushed into the cloud.
Anyone who looks at the physical structure of the cloud may also ask themselves a few questions.
In the past, we knew at all times (within a certain borders anyway) where our data was located.
On this PC here, or that server. The devices could be indicated. Now the data is located somewhere on this globe and only a select group of people know exactly where.
This infrastructure is well protected, but remains dependent on electricity. Of course they have emergency power generators, but they are also limited in time.
If electricity is lost for a long time, then we have a (major) problem.
Now that's what I'm most concerned about. about. Not whether this or that nuclear power plant will remain open or will be closed, but I am more afraid of our greatest friend and life-bringer, namely the sun.
Did you hear in the news that a few months ago a solar flare by astronomical standards?
Have you ever thought about what the consequences would be if that did happen, even partially?
The solar flare induces high currents in long electrical cabling (too compare to an EMP pulse from the explosion of an atomic bomb in the upper atmosphere). In the Middle Ages this was not a problem; Electrical cables did not exist then. At most, the aurora would have been much more spectacular and visible from much further away.
It happened once in 1859. The telegraph network was down for a long time; people who operated the telegraph received electric shocks when they touched the devices, and telegraph houses caught fire.
In 1989, a solar flare caused the failure of several nuclear power stations in Canada. The Internet was still in its infancy at the time. The consequences were limited. Now imagine if something like that happened today, with all the electronic communications. (internet, GPS, mobile phone ...)
Do you see it happening yet? No more electricity. All electronic communications down. Not days but months before everything works normally again.
Adjustments have already been made to make the electricity network more robust, but we have no chance against a direct hit.
I hope I can It's too dark here, but I'm holding my breath if it does happen. For many, our data in the cloud will probably be our least concern, should such a disaster occur.
Unfortunately, the question here is not if it will happen, but rather when...
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Marc