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Subject:RE: Authoring tool that works in the cloud? From:"McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> To:Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:09:00 -0400
Let's put it this way:
The day that one of those joint announcements goes out, saying that Google is using my employer's HSMs to secure your access-to, and your data-in ... the Google-controlled regions of "the cloud", is the day when any of us will be permitted to use cloud-ish spaces for company work and data storage. Not before.
Use of cloud resources is safe only when you have end-to-end encryption, and nothing less. If there is any point in the entire scheme where your data exist unencrypted, then the security is incomplete and you should wait some more. As well, nobody but you should have the keys that encrypt that data where it resides. ANYwhere that it resides.
It's possible to secure every inch of the loop (your desktop/notepad/iPad/phone out through the ISP to the cloud provider's network and onto their application servers and database servers, then all the way back to your screen and keypad) with no gaps, even while your data is being massaged and edited on their servers by your remote actions, but it's costly. In order to do it all without imposing excessive latency, you need heavy iron to process the security at all choke-points.
The industry is in the chicken-and-egg stage, where volume-related savings have not yet kicked in. So the only folks who have the kind of heavy-duty cloud security that I mention are certain big companies and government agencies with the deep pockets. And mostly, they are still making their own clouds, not using cloud services available to the public. I don't think your average document or price-list or customer list or business plan or sales projection or patent application... is end-to-end secure in the generic cloud just yet. I could be wrong.
Back in that first paragraph, substitute any other big player, instead of Google. Several are making inroads into this market, as we speak/write.
If you are a contractor, I wouldn't advise being a cloud user, when it comes to your customer's docs - especially copies of their source docs that you research when making their customer docs. If you signed an NDA, you can't guarantee the security of anything you take out of their premises, if it wafts through cloud-land. If I was working on the Great American Novel or screenplay, I don't think I'd trust it out there, yet, either. That's coming, though.
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Goldstein
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:39 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Authoring tool that works in the cloud?
Any thoughts on Google Apps security for company data?
-----Original Message-----
From: Brian.Henderson
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:31 AM
To: traceybean -at- verizon -dot- net; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Authoring tool that works in the cloud?
I just happened to run across this this morning:
"Google Apps is going to launch a new plugin for Microsoft Office called
Cloud Connect. It is a long expected bridge that allows users to
continue using desktop applications that they are already familiar with,
while at the same taking advantages of Google Apps cloud services."
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Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
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