The Way of Linux

"There is no cloud, just someone else's computer," goes the well-abused cliché. Despite the many attempts at trying to debunk this "myth", the fact remains: The hardware on which your favourite cloud services run is owned by other people. So technically when storing your files in the cloud, you are giving it to others to keep it safe for you. But what if not being able to control your data (and its security) just doesn't cut it?

The Cloud, despite the hype, and all suggestions to the contrary, might not be the most secure place to keep your data. In fact, it's less than ideal when it comes to security and privacy, as evidenced by the exploitability of both CPUs and RAM, which mostly affect shared computing resources, such as virtual hosts and cloud providers. Still, cloud storage services are popular among end users and consumers off the street, mainly due to the convenience they offer. You can access your files anywhere anytime, all you need is an (often free) account and internet connection. Unless, of course, you think privacy and data security is more important than convenience.

The recent scare of Meltdown and Spectre exploits has been echoing around the media for a while now. Virtually everybody is or has been talking about them, and how it makes all personal computers vulnerable, yet surprisingly little can be heard about the far greater threat: Cloud security.