Pirates, Data Protection And The Cloud

by David Jones

I wish I was a pirate.

You know, sailing on the open seas, parrot on my shoulder, bottle of Jamaican rum in one hand and a treasure map in the other. That would be the life.

That treasure map would be my pride and joy – the key to my happiness and success. It would give me confidence and security because I know that at any time, I can sail to my treasure, collect it and head off into the sunset.

This is how I feel about the corporate information I store in the cloud – safe because I know my information is securely locked away, ready and waiting for when I need it.

So, why am I constantly worried?

Well, as a pirate, someone might steal the map. I might lose it. Someone might even find my treasure by chance – and I know that Blackbeard is constantly trying to figure out where I’ve hidden it so he can steal the lot.

But we all know I’m not a real pirate. That said, with my corporate hat on, there are some interesting parallels between the tale of my stolen treasure and my content in the cloud.

A lot of organizations store content and systems in the cloud without really knowing where those vitals corporate assets are being put – a bit like me as a pirate, giving all my treasure to my crew and asking them to bury it for me. My crew might be genuine and store that treasure securely, and draw me an accurate map so that I can get my hands on it when I want. But on the other hand, they could just be a bunch of pirates, running an unsecure storage facility, using outdated treasure chests, liable to go bust at any stage and get rid of the treasure to their peers on PirateBay!

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