My argument has always been that (1) it’s a lot easier for someone to break into your house and steal your hard drives than it is for them to crack a good password, and (2) if your house burns down, how are you going to recover your hard drives?
His arguments have been that (1) cloud storage requires you to place your data in someone else’s hands – something he’s not comfortable with, and (2) the data becomes susceptible to hackers, since the cloud storage is networked to the WWW.
Recently my buddy forwarded me a link to an article, and the debate continues…
MY BUDDY:
This is why it is important to trust no one. If identity can be given
up, it will when necessary. That's why I deal in hard drives and not
cloud:
(link) Anonymous Online Name-Callers Beware: You Might Not Be So Anonymous
ME:
That's interesting.
There are arguments both ways.
The only way to really protect yourself is to encrypt...I guess.
My storage of files on the cloud is anonymous in the sense that it would take a pretty major breach of privacy just for someone to know which cloud services I'm using...whereas in this case, some idiot made a public comment...which opens the door for legal intervention.
If the “law” were to "raid" someone's house (or in this case, if your data is subpoenaed), rest assured they're gonna get someone's data a lot quicker and easier than trying to get a court order to access some big company's cloud servers. It's in the best business interest of the cloud company to not gain a reputation for giving up personal data easily.
I guess the lesson to learn here is: don’t make public statements or post public links that give an inkling as to who you are, or where your data is stored (if you're using the cloud). Don’t give anyone any reason to subpoena your personal electronic data (don’t share copy written materials, or anything that could be construed as slander, or damaging to another person or entity). And of course, don't store illegal stuff on the cloud OR on your hard drives!
