Well said. It's about time cloud privacy and security issues were flagged for the regulators. Corporations (and individuals) are moving millions of dollars of information assets into an environment over which their control is rarely validated. More importantly, the risks of doing your data banking in the cloud are about as well understood as those for asset backed investment instruments. Risk and audit committees should be topping-up their D&O liability insurance...

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, published an interesting white paper in May 2008 entitled "Privacy in the Clouds".

Among other things, the paper suggests ways to ensure individual privacy and control over personal information in an environment (i.e., the cloud) that is increasingly opaque to users.

It's available for free at: http://tinyurl.com/ccpcop

I work within one of those government agencies where Ive been trying to lay the ground work to implement a cloud type of service. The proof of concepts (POC) worked beyond everyone's wildest dreams but security practices and the OCIO of all things is putting a curtailment on any future work. Security personnel, practices and policies can not accept this new way of doing business event though our team has worked with them for the past year trying to educate and enlighten them on the technology. So in the end the government has to spend additional hours, funds and effort to revalidate and prove that security is not jepordized by using these concepts and technologies. Congress and ODNI, where is the leadership!

In case anonymous is reading this, you might be interested in you and your colleagues attending this upcoming event in DC that will address cloud computing: http://www.meritalk.com/federal-it-forum/

There's a chance I will be speaking there, so perhaps we can meet in person.

YOU ARE INVITED
TO
THE CLOUD COMPUTING SYMPOSIUM
July 15, 2009 (8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Hosted by The Information Resources Management College,
National Defense University and the
Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration)/DOD Chief Information Officer

A One-day Conference & Vendor presentations at The National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair – Lincoln Hall Auditorium – Washington, DC Waterfront.

The agenda includes a special presentation by Vivek Kundra, the first Federal Chief Information Officer; two keynote speakers: Dave Girouard, President, Enterprise, Google, and Linda Gooden, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin; panels highlighting the technology of cloud computing, risks and challenges, future expectations, and lessons learned; and, interactions with executives from Google, Lockheed Martin, OSD, IBM, HP, Gartner, TIBCO, NSA, NDU, and DISA, and others.
The Symposium will feature Vendors and many interactive surprises. There will be time for networking and collaborating with government leaders across agencies, academic professionals, and the private sector. Vendors will present a variety of information and demonstrations. We will be broadcasting a live, streaming video of the conference.
Registration is NOW OPEN using Pay.Gov!!
Registration is now open for The 2009 Cloud Computing Symposium on Wednesday – July 15, 2009. The cost for all or part of the day is $50. This includes program materials, morning refreshments, lunch and an afternoon snack.
Registration & Payment Instructions:
• Start at http:/Pay.Gov main menu.
• In the Left Column, Type "IRMC" in the "Search Public Forms" box and select "Go"
• Click on "IRM College Automated Event Registration Form"
• For the CLOUD COMPUTING SYMPOSIUM, July 15, 2009: Type CCS in the event field and "50.00" in the Price Field.

Some troubleshooting tips:
(1) Ensure you are using Internet Explorer as your browser not Mozilla;
(2) Ensure your computer is connected to a printer.

Session details and registration information can also be found at http://www.ndu.edu/irmc/pcs_ilss.htm If you need any assistance with pay.gov, call (202) 685-3892 or email Ms. Nakia Logan at logann@ndu.edu. Please direct any program questions to Jay Alden at Alden@ndu.edu or Doris McGuire at doris.mcguire.ctr@osd.mil.

You can also join a community of people interested in cloud computing in the government by obtaining a free account at http://community.ndu.edu and selecting the Cloud Computing Community. There are links to resources on cloud computing and the opportunity to participate in discussions with people with similar interests and goals.

NOTE: Please feel free to forward this information to anyone you feel would benefit from this important event.