Book review

Citation

Cheng, K. (2022), "Book review", Aslib Journal of Information Management, Vol. 74 No. 4, pp. 745-746. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-07-2022-397

Data Privacy and Trust in Cloud Computing

Theo Lynn, John G. Mooney, Lisa van der Werff, Grace Fox

Palgrave Macmillan

Cham

2021

170 pp

$57.44 (hardback)

ISBN 9783030546595

Doubtless, the recent technological breakthrough in digital technologies, adjoined to the globalization process has generated significant changes in our daily life. Of course, cloud computing not only seems to be a result of this process but also poses new opportunities and challenges for society. From this premise starts the present book (edited by Theo Lynn, John Mooney, Lisa Van der Werff and Grace Fox) which entitles “Data Privacy and Trust in Cloud Computing”. The main goal (and scope) of this collection is associated with the importance to understand the effects of cloud computing in society as well as the new legal issues in private life. The disciplinary background is inserted in the fields of digital and enabling technologies. As editors put it, while different governments have devoted considerable efforts to offering innovative ways to fix the legal loophole in security and privacy-aware issues. To some extent, their intervention affected seriously the competitiveness of businesses and the access to private data. Needless to say, that cloud computing has experienced rapid growth in recent years leading scholars and practitioners to a hot debate. In this way, the book gathers seven well-written chapters authored by scholars coming from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds. Although these chapters can be read separately, they share a common-thread argumentation. One of the major challenges in the adoption of cloud computing, in the developed and developing economies, rests on limitations in the nation-state to regulate successfully this borderless technology without affecting its original function. Here lies the philosophical quandary that arose from cloud computing; while security-led protocols make the flow of information safer, no less true they thwart a dynamic competition among firms. Having said this, it is important to add that the recent COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of these technologies as never before.

As the previous backdrop, the first introductory chapter addresses the specialized literature on digital technologies and trust. Cloud computing keeps some intricacies in the handling of secure information. This point suggests some barriers, which are often imposed by institutions, and the chapter helps overcome them. With more than 3.6 billion Internet users worldwide, who operate with cloud computing, only a small portion is familiar with the standardized clickwrap contracts ultimately signed. In consonance with this, the second chapter deals with the literature on control and trust while discussing how the evolution of cloud computing is compatible with surveillance technology and legal regulation. As a dominant paradigm, cloud computing interrogates not only our conceptualization of trust but also new emerging issues in contract law. To avoid repetitions, the chapter continues the discussion left in the first chapter. The third chapter examines how cloud computing regulations vary in culture and jurisdiction across the globe. Authors draw an interesting comparison between the USA and Europe arguing convincingly that in Europe, data protection is a protected right properly legalized by the different states. Rather, in the USA, data privacy seems to be unprotected by constitutional rights. The fourth chapter dissects the psychological perception of users of the security offered by cloud computing. Unfortunately, the literature has been prone to deal with technical problems instead of expanding the current understanding of trust. To fill the gap, the chapter offers a more than an interesting diagnosis to enhance consumers' privacy. In the fifth chapter, the author enumerates a set of practical solutions to enhance privacy from a nonregulatory approach. Applying concepts such as social justice and control, the chapter gives a snapshot of the interaction of cloud service providers (CSPs), consumers, governmental institutions and justice. In so doing, four key actors have been carefully examined: compliers, integrators, citizens and warriors. The sixth chapter introduces readers to the advantages and disadvantages of the adoption of cloud computing. Based on an ethical perspective, the chapter understands though many studies have alarmed on the risks of cloud technologies, few academics have discussed the ethical implications of these types of technologies. The chapter centers efforts on reviewing the ethical issues linked to cloud computing. While exploring various ethical theories, as the author adheres, the chapter concludes that the literature gives no sufficient reasons to question the ethics of cloud computing. Last but not least, the seventh chapter synthesizes the future of cloud computing in Europe as well as the different successful strategies adopted by governments in the constellations of new concepts, such as reliability, security and privacy. The chapter gives a full description of each term, stressing the importance to set the guidelines for practical research in the years to come. The quest for trustworthy cloud computing has historically been situated as a priority in Europe, in which case, the continent has laid the foundations for a new understanding of the phenomenon. The main weakness of this book seems to be the lack of authors or practical study cases coming from other regions than the USA or Europe in which case it would have provided with a more robust and multicultural viewpoint. Editors would arrive to interesting comparisons if Asian study cases would be incorporated to the debate. Of course, so to say, among the strengthens, at least for this reviewer, this highly valuable book, which is suggested for scholars, students and professionals interested in trust and cloud computing, anticipates covering significant topics appertaining to cloud business, ethics and surveillance regulation. The main goal of this editorial project is aimed at bringing together different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, information system and computer science, to offer a high-quality product to readers.