CIOIN

Amid growing concerns around cloud security, attacks by password-stealing Trojans, and other malware, Google has introduced two-factor authentication to Google Apps. Anup Varier spoke to Chetan Trivedi, head-IT, Sterlite Industries, about what this could mean to enterprises.

Why are you considering moving to Google Apps?
In comparison with other mailing solutions, Google is more aggressive in addressing market requirements. Also, its look and feel, new features, compatibility and integration with other online tools makes it more popular. That's why, I feel, Google stands out.

What issues do you think need to be resolved before you move to this platform?
The problem is we are not yet sure about the legal issues associated with it. Apart from that, I feel there is a lot of ambiguity around back-ups, data security and ownership of information.  We are not very confident about the reliability of the systems sitting on the cloud.

Does two-factor authentication help ease these concerns?
Google has introduced a front-end authentication process, which has never been a big challenge. Today, with e-banking etcetera, people are using multiple-factor authentication on the front-end. It is the back-end security that bothers us.  I don’t know where my e-mails are sitting and what happens behind the scenes.

Does the lack of control bother you?
If it is at my end, it is under our control. But going for a cloud solution means losing control of our data. In India, Internet penetration is not as high as we would like. Also, the amount of bandwidth that will be required to ensure access to all the employees at the same time can be an issue. But I also feel that these issues will be sorted out.