More reason to be wary of Google, cloud computing

That big December cyberattack on Google? It hit its internal password system, which, per the story, is designed to let both users and employees sign in with their password just once to run a number of services.

Even though individual users' passwords do not appear to be stolen, this is still serious:

The theft leaves open the possibility, however faint, that the intruders may find weaknesses that Google might not even be aware of, independent computer experts said.

And, hence, worries about the security of cloud computing, a concern I've already seen mentioned in tech magazines, since cloud computing hasn't really been "scaled up" yet.

The new details seem likely to increase the debate about the security and privacy of vast computing systems such as Google’s that now centralize the personal information of millions of individuals and businesses. Because vast amounts of digital information are stored in one place, popularly referred to as “cloud” computing, a single breach can lead to disastrous losses.

And, who knows if this is over yet?

Rodney Joffe, a vice president at Neustar, a developer of Internet infrastructure services, said, “It’s obviously a real issue if you can understand how the system works.” Understanding the algorithms on which the software is based might be of great value to an attacker looking for weak points in the system, he said.

Folks that's why I don't use Google Apps, Docs, Chrome etc.

A Google OS? No thanks

Well, it looks like Google is ready to put in place the final brick of its cloud computing master plan.

Now, right now, the Google Chrome Operating System is only for netbooks. But, if it has any success, it will be scaled up into a version for traditional computers. Or, Plan B, it could team with netbook makers to market them to replace more and more laptops or even desktops.

And, from the company that’s now charging for its Google Apps, which means pay up to free your Google Docs from permanent bondage, do you really trust the company that’s becoming Microsoft 2.0?

Google makes belated step forward on Docs

Google Docs documents are now available offline. Maybe they’ll eventually get the clue and make the whole thing available offline.

To me, it’s not about getting hit with word-targeted Google ads if I’m using Google Docs online. Rather, it’s about Google’s deteriorating record on privacy issues.