Give DropBox a break
May 17, 2011
Like DropBox, my company is also in the cloud business. Unlike DropBox, AllenPort focuses more on small and mid-size businesses that are more savvy about security. I have just seen the latest noise about DropBox and its security issues and pronouncements.
The IT industry has been “consumerized”. This trend has been driven by the ubiquitous desire of people to use Facebook, iPhones and every other web based consumer focused application and device imaginable, and with it, security and privacy have been all but forgotten. Sure, security gets lip service, and people wring their hands and pretend to care. But for the vast majority...its bull shit. We now live in an age where people routinely post their whereabouts on Facebook, and then publicly advertise they are going on a 2 week vacation out of town.
And for file management, sure we exclaim about the security we must have. But guess what? If you post a photo online, or send someone a link to a file or image, it must be un-encrypted in order to be viewed. There are technologies that allow secure sharing, but they cost money.
Ultimately, no matter how much our customers (or grad students filing SEC complaints) demand security, they are the first to subscribe to the latest new free service that prioritizes sharing, functionality and ease of use over privacy and security.
So let’s give our colleagues at DropBox a break. You get what you pay for.
© Joel E. Allen 2011. All Rights Reserved
Like DropBox, my company is also in the cloud business. Unlike DropBox, AllenPort focuses more on small and mid-size businesses that are more savvy about security. I have just seen the latest noise about DropBox and its security issues and pronouncements.
The IT industry has been “consumerized”. This trend has been driven by the ubiquitous desire of people to use Facebook, iPhones and every other web based consumer focused application and device imaginable, and with it, security and privacy have been all but forgotten. Sure, security gets lip service, and people wring their hands and pretend to care. But for the vast majority...its bull shit. We now live in an age where people routinely post their whereabouts on Facebook, and then publicly advertise they are going on a 2 week vacation out of town.
And for file management, sure we exclaim about the security we must have. But guess what? If you post a photo online, or send someone a link to a file or image, it must be un-encrypted in order to be viewed. There are technologies that allow secure sharing, but they cost money.
Ultimately, no matter how much our customers (or grad students filing SEC complaints) demand security, they are the first to subscribe to the latest new free service that prioritizes sharing, functionality and ease of use over privacy and security.
So let’s give our colleagues at DropBox a break. You get what you pay for.
© Joel E. Allen 2011. All Rights Reserved
posted by Joel Allen at 3:02 PM
