The ability to seclude our personal information and ourselves is the key to having private discussions with selected groups or individuals. Being able to do this feels like a nice thing to have, a normal thing, maybe even a human right.
Bur when piracy and privacy concerns flare up this right appears fragile and is put into question. Such concerns were revived by the recent Ashley Madison case in which the details of over 33m very private dating accounts were made public.
Then on the privacy side, Windows 10 was much criticized for its supposed improvements on personalization, relying on collecting personal data. Apple is now employing privacy as a key selling point in its struggle for dominance with Google, whose Android OS monetizes personal data to target advertising. The IOS9 privacy website boldly states, “The most personal technology must also be the most private.”
Privacy is not purely about protecting data from unauthorised access. Social networks are still growing fast and most of us willingly share more and more personal information and data on line. Studying our LinkedIn connections can give a competitor some telling information about where our business priorities lie. Much of this information is readily available, so even if our data isn’t hacked into but just carefully analysed, we can feel exposed.
Then there are services that people trust with their most sensitive data. Financial and medical records usually come to mind first. And as the case of the Ashley Madison hack showed, other personal data can be just as vulnerable.
It is at least apparent that most people have now become aware of privacy and security issues:
• A third of all US citizens have changed their habits following the Snowden case (Pew, American’s privacy strategy post Snowden, march 2015)
• 59% of Americans delete cookies and history
• The success of ephemeral social networks such as Snapchat is another indicator that there is a demand for privacy
But being aware of the risk does not of itself provide much protection. According to Jon Baksaas, CEO of Telenor, online users have only 5 passwords for an average of above 26 online accounts. If any one of their passwords is hacked, then in all likelihood several accounts can be accessed. If it is their email that is hacked into, then resetting the password using the compromised email account can then access almost all services.
Consumers’ privacy is paramount when it comes to their personal data. The privacy of several celebrities, mostly women, was breached in 2014 when a collection of almost 500 private pictures, many containing nudity, were posted on the image board 4chan, and later disseminated by other users on websites and social networks such as Imgur and Reddit. The images were obtained via a breach of Apple’s cloud services suite iCloud again showing the link between privacy and security.
To address these challenges, several approaches have already been tried. But there is one simple approach that stands out and that is using the home as a secure vault. Indeed the home is almost by definition a secured environment, so a great way to protect data is to avoid indiscriminate sharing on the web. A secure NAS (Network Attached Storage) inside the home can ensure data is backed up exclusively in a secure location with appropriate encryption. SoftAtHome’s MediaCloud solution does just that. The objective is to have the best of both worlds, combining the Cloud’s ability to give access to many sources and different storage systems and the home network’s capacity to provide security and privacy.
SoftAtHome’s NAS storage solution – CloudAtHome – allows content to be automatically uploaded from all devices in the home, including but not limited to smartphones or tablets. Security is then ensured with the subscriber being the only one to have access to the vault keys. CloudAtHome then provides access to all media from TVs, tablets, smartphones and PCs.
Playback is made available through a simple and smooth user experience. Once stored, all MediaCloud content is securely protected at home and on the virtual NAS, which is distributed across the home and the Cloud. All content is indexed centrally, delivering a unified search and navigation experience wherever the content is located. Sharing features are available for friends and family and access to CloudAtHome based content is available from anywhere, even on the go. Combining the universal access of the cloud with the security of the home for personal data, gives users peace of mind.