It's safe to assume Microsoft isn't going anywhere.

The US National Security Agency learned the hard way that it can be dangerous to give a contractor too much money and access, with too little scrutiny. The NSA and other government agencies hire tens of thousands of contractors a year to analyze data. Edward Snowden -- who revealed himself as the NSA leaker after fleeing the country -- was one such contractor, reportedly holding a $122,000 salaried position at Booz Allen Hamilton at the time of his departure.

Midsize businesses rarely achieve the same standards of security in their own datacenters as professional providers that specialize in delivering these services to organizations.

Anyone still convinced that Amazon is essentially an online bookstore should at long last revise their opinions. Amazon may be gearing up to bring its full range of products and services right to your front door.

In the past few weeks, Evernote, Twitter, and LinkedIn have implemented an optional security feature: two-step verification. It's time -- perhaps even past due -- for enterprises to consider offering this feature as well.

As competition for top technical talent heats up, savvy hiring managers and CIOs are beefing up their internship programs to ensure they build strong relationships with the next generation of IT talent. One surefire way to attract the brightest new minds: Pay them well.

Civil libertarians are outraged at the revelation the NSA is reportedly spying on more than one-third of Americans -- obtaining phone records from phone companies, in case it might need them for later use. Edward Snowden, the man who leaked details of that program, also revealed a second effort dubbed “Prism,” which represented a more aggressive grab of email and other communications. (See: Prism Exposes Unwritten Privacy Rules.)