An expected slowdown in plans for cloud deployment due to leaks about the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance practices did not come to pass, but the leaks have driven changes in service provider security policies, says an article at Computerworld.

The article, written by Jaikumar Vijayan, notes that when former contractor Edward Snowden first leaked details of the NSA program, “industry analysts had expected that the revelations would put a severe crimp on plans for cloud deployment.” One analysis, the story says, said U.S. cloud providers could lose 10% to 20% of the foreign market to overseas competitors — up to $35 billion in potential sales — through 2016.

“Six months later, the impact appears to be less severe than expected,” says the article. It adds, “The business benefits of using cloud-based services continue to supersede enterprise fears of government snooping.”

The article notes, though, that the leaks have prompted “some long overdue changes” in cloud data security and protection.

“Analysts say IT security officials are looking at several key areas, such as data encryption, key management and data ownership, regionalization, and the need for increased government transparency, to improve cloud security,” according to the article.

See the full story at Computerworld.

Special Reports /

Snowden Leaks Driving Security Changes at Cloud Providers

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