Description: Free cloud service providers collect and store massive amounts of personal data. While this data is usually well-protected and secure, given the right incentive, there is no question that hackers could compromise the security of even the largest cloud service providers. So what are governments doing to protect their sensitive data?

Source: TheGuardian 

Date: October 15, 2012

An imminent report on an emerging threat to individual privacy to be issued by the European data protection authorities raises even more serious issues than those it is likely to address. The report will consider Google’s asserted right to expand its data mining to combine users’ personal data across all their accounts and services, including Gmail, internet searching, map and location information and photo sharing, with no way for individuals to opt out. At least one technology blogger has accused Microsoft of planning similar changes, while two new Facebook programmes to aggregate user data with other advertising and loyalty card data have also drawn concern. Whatever the merits of each case, the larger issue deserves greater public attention. Read Rest of Story

Questions for discussion:

1. Why can free cloud services afford to be free?

2. What are two steps that government should do to mitigate data mining risks?