Vogels: Everyone wants Amazon cloud everywhere
More gated Amazon Web Services mini-clouds could pop up outside the U.S. going forward. Read more »
In a cloud computing economy, the NSA is bad for business
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A lot of Americans might say they support NSA surveillance of their online activities, but many other people — including folks overseas — aren’t so thrilled. Can these laws withstand pressure from a tech lobby concerned about lost profits from fleeing users? Read more »
Ray Ozzie sounds off on NSA spygate
photo: Colin Bowern
Updated: The deal U.S. citizens struck after 9/11 exchanging privacy for security should be up for renewal or at least subject to debate, says former Microsoft top tech guru Ray Ozzie. Read more »
Under the covers of the NSA’s big data effort
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There’s much debate still to be had over the NSA’s recently uncovered data-collection practices, but some of the technologies underlying them are out in the open. Here’s what we know already. Read more »
NSA spying scandal fallout: Expect big impact in Europe and elsewhere (Updated)
The revelation that U.S. spies are able to monitor communications over Google, Facebook and other American web firms’ platforms will have a big impact overseas, and nowhere more so than in Europe. Read more »
Here’s how the NSA analyzes all that call data
How does the NSA analyze all the data it’s collecting from cell phone users? With a massive database system built with just such scale and workloads in mind. Read more »
In response to questions about privacy at Home, Facebook says users shouldn’t worry
How exactly will Facebook be using your data if you download the new Home launcher on Android or buy the HTC First phone? Facebook says it won’t be collecting your data any differently than it does with the traditional app. Read more »
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Helix Nebula and the future of Europe’s cloud
Europe’s Helix Nebula project is addressing the technical, legal, and procedural issues that today make it difficult to seamlessly move jobs from one cloud to another at scale. Lessons learned from it could provide a window through which we can see Europe’s cloud provision taking shape. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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The rise of M2M security challenges
As the volume of connected devices increases, so too will the probability of hackers targeting these systems to exploit networks, steal data, hijack systems, and compromise workflows. Security specialists recognize the potential risks and are already developing technologies and methodologies for hardening M2M systems from attack. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Where the Tea Party is right, and wrong, about tech policy
Tea Party favorite Senator Rand Paul took to the podium at a Heritage Foundation event last week to talk about tech policy. However, individual rights and less government regulation certainly are important to the future of the internet, there are necessary limits to that freedom. Read more »
6 ways to keep your data safe in the cloud
These suggestions might seem like common sense, but the more we use cloud services, the more we put ourselves at risk of identity theft and other negative effects of cybercrime. Here are six ways to at least make it more difficult to steal your data. Read more »
iCloud breach highlights some hard truths about the consumer cloud
The hard truth for consumers is that using cloud services means they’re often at the mercy of their cloud providers’ security practices, perhaps even their HR practices. However, unless they’re willing to abstain from the cloud altogether, trusting their providers is often all consumers can do. Read more »
Charts: If you’re concerned about privacy, don’t use your cell phone
Law enforcement and other government bodies, it seems, aren’t shy about asking for or demanding data about users from wireless carriers. All told, wireless providers received more than 1.3 million requests for user data last year, and requests are increasing every year. Here are more details. Read more »
Five ways startups can pivot on privacy
Privacy was often an afterthought for small companies, but that’s changing in the era of big data. As TRUSTe’s CEO, Chris Babel has seen the impact privacy can have on a startup — for better or worse. Here, he offers tips on how to avoid the pitfalls. Read more »
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The quantified self: hacking the body for better health
The quantified-self movement is a community of individuals deploying mobile health applications, fitness trackers and social media platforms to share information on their health behaviors. It’s an important movement to watch, as its growth has huge potential implications for the health care sector’s future evolution. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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2012: The Hadoop infrastructure market booms
There are now more than half a dozen commercial Hadoop distributions in the market, and almost every enterprise with big data challenges is tinkering with the Apache Foundation-licensed software. A new report examines the key disruptive trends shaping the Hadoop platform market. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Startup growth and the new recruiting ecosystem
The recruiting ecosystem is changing, led by professional social networks like LinkedIn and Viadeo and companies like Jobvite and BranchOut, which are building Facebook apps for hiring and career development. The bottom line is that technology enables the recruiting process to be more streamlined, scientific and democratic. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
They can’t all be SOPA: Are webizens ready to fight with nuance?
It’s hard to be a web user, especially since the government has gotten so interested in what we’re doing online. It’s even worse when we can’t figure out who — if anyone — is actually on our side, and what terms we’re willing to live with. Read more »
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A near-term outlook for big data
Big data now touches everything from enterprises to smart-meter startups, while Hadoop is fast becoming the leading tool to analyze that data, and debates around privacy abound. GigaOM Pro analysts offer insights on what to consider when it comes to big data decisions for your business. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
How the law dictates data gravity in the cloud
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For the most part, cloud-related laws on the books or in the works right now are almost entirely about data, and data has “gravity.” The more important it is, the more likely services and applications are going to move to the data, rather than vice versa. Read more »
Davos does data
Big data has gotten very, very big if the elite talking heads at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, are talking about it. And they are talking about it. Sessions include “Decoding the data deluge” and “Personal data: the ‘new oil’ of the 21st century.” Read more »
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Carrier IQ and the continued erosion of operator trust
The Carrier IQ scandal is still unfolding, and all parties involved are trying to spin their side of the story pretty heavily. Meanwhile, the software, which monitors users’ keystrokes and text messages and can see passwords and other vulnerable information, is said to be on more than 141 million devices. So it’s worth looking at the various players to understand who is hurt and who is helped by the kerfuffle around surreptitious smartphone data collection. This brief research note tackles the question of what the Carrier IQ case means for consumers, device makers and, perhaps most important, the operators. Companies mentioned include AT&T, Research in Motion and Sprint. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Facebook’s tactical retreat on privacy
In all probability Facebook did not agree to implement any procedures in its deal with the FTC that it wasn’t already going to face significant pressure to implement — not from any U.S. authority but instead from the European ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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The Internet of things: creating tomorrow’s health care
By 2020 it is estimated that 20–50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. Many of these devices will be collecting health data or will be connected to health and medical devices in the home, the hospital or the wider environment. The Internet of things (IoT), meanwhile, refers to the growth of sensors and things that connect to the Internet via RFID, Bluetooth, ZigBee and satellite. In health care, its growth is likely to open new disruptive business opportunities for services that add value to the data collected. This paper provides a preliminary overview of the landscape of opportunities and drivers in the current health and health care environments and highlights some of the challenges that remain. Companies mentioned in this report include IBM, Arrayent Health, Kaiser Permanente and Ford. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Dissecting the data: 5 issues for our digital future
When it comes to the promise of data as the currency of the web, the current state of affairs has privacy advocates and many consumers up in arms. But it doesn’t have to be the one-sided affair it is today, in which companies have all the data and all the rights, and we shouldn’t have to be afraid of who’s doing what with our information. With laws, products, practices and education, data can become a far more valuable currency than cash ever was. Keeping that in mind, this research note examines five issues that must be addressed by policy makers and entrepreneurs so that they can deliver on our data-driven digital future. Companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Connected Consumer Q3: Netflix fumbles; Kindle Fire shines
The third quarter of 2011 was a busy one in the connected consumer segment. Netflix shot itself in both feet with its clumsy public handling of a price hike and spin-off of its DVD business this quarter — though the move may eventually pay off. Facebook, meanwhile, unveiled a major revamp of its news feed and user profile features, including the addition of real-time sharing of activity, while Amazon delievered its new $199, tablet-like Kindle Fire and posed perhaps the strongest challenge yet to the iPad’s overwhelming dominance of the tablet market. Finally, and despite the hopes of the cord cutters out there, the traditional pay-TV business remains as stubbornly undisrupted as ever. Companies mentioned in this report include Hulu, LivingSocial and Spotify. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
WSJ rolls back privacy and nobody cares. They should.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal updated its online privacy policy to actually give it more rights to our information. The resulting lack of outrage highlights that we have a long way to go to get online privacy where it needs to be. Read more »
Proposed: German cloud fortress for security-conscious shops
A bold proposal from Reinhard Clemens, CEO of Deutsche Telekom’s T-systems group. He would like certifications to enable the creation of super-secure clouds in Germany to slake pent-up demand among customers that don’t want to expose their data to U.S. government, Patriot Act scrutiny. Read more »
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How cloud computing plus Facebook might mean the end of personal privacy
Thanks to Facebook and other social networks, if we can accurately put a name to a face, there’s a lot of personal information available online to tell us about that person. And recent experiments unveiled at this year’s Black Hat conference showed that soon all it ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Will the government get serious on cloud security, data privacy?
When the federal government finally does undertake the task of legislating cloud computing, it seems very likely that security measures and data privacy will dominate. The TechAmerica Foundation’s CLOUD2 commission announced Tuesday a data- and security-heavy set of recommendations that mirror proposed legislation targeting the cloud. Read more »
Has Dropbox set the stage for a privacy revolution?
When the smoke clears, Dropbox’s newfound focus on transparency could turn out to be a great thing. Especially if it triggers an avalanche of other web-service providers following in its footsteps, making life easier for consumers and getting the federal government off their backs. Read more »
Cloud computing requires new thinking on privacy
The move to the cloud requires a lot of discussion on the boundaries and expectations for data privacy in a cloud environment. The government’s approach to data privacy, in particular, is of great concern, from the legislation it enacts to the way law enforcement uses it. Read more »
The battle heats up for California’s energy privacy rules
California’s groundbreaking set of rules on utility customer energy data are facing comment from the smart grid industry this week, and there’s still plenty of confusion over the fine print. In short, CPUC’s rules will need to change to avoid stifling the smart grid-home energy marketplace. Read more »
How Federal Legislation Could Change Digital Energy Data
Will utility customers across the U.S. be legally entitled to their own energy usage data? We’ve already seen how California is planning to tackle that tricky subject, and a Senate bill announced last week would bring the same issues to a national stage. Read more »
The Future of Home Energy: The Cloud & Privacy
The cloud can make home energy management both cheap and powerful. But what if it turns out to run afoul of real — or imagined — privacy concerns? Read more »
Is Your Online Presence Property or a Person?
Online data privacy has been in the spotlight for a variety of reasons over the past year, but before Congress, regulators or courts can give any legal clarity to the issue, they need to answer some fundamental questions about area of law even applies. Read more »
Dec. 14: What We’re Reading About the Cloud
There was lots of cloud news today, but the biggest has to be the Sixth Circuit’s holding protecting email under the Fourth Amendment. Data privacy is one the biggest issues facing cloud computing, and this is a good first step — although it’s just that. Read more »
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Why Humans are the Biggest Threat to Cloud Adoption
Around the world, organizations and individuals are coming together to tackle technological hurdles to cloud computing. Just this week, Intel launched its Open Data Center Alliance and Cloud Builders initiatives; last week, CloudAudit joined the Cloud Security Alliance. But when it comes down to it, people, ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
What’s Hindering Cloud Adoption? Try Humans.
Around the world, organizations and individuals are coming together to tackle technological hurdles in cloud computing. Various consortia are working on cloud standards and best practices, but it’s people, not technology, that could potentially represent the biggest obstacle when it comes to selling cloud computing. Read more »
