Organizations are gaining experience and confidence with cloud-based solutions. But are they getting the most out of their cloud investments? “Two or three years ago, we were hearing about data safety and overall control concerns, and companies were in the process of still determining what the cost benefits of cloud would be,” said Vijay Takanti, VP of security and collaboration solutions at Exostar , an aerospace industry cloud services provider. “Now there is a much higher knowledge level in the cloud, and most of these initial concerns, with the exception of security, have been resolved -- but there are still business processes that organizations are hesitant to put into the cloud. They are also not leveraging cloud to get the most out of the technology.”

About a month ago, a federal grand jury issued indictments against Megaupload Limited and seven of its principals on charges related to copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering. (See: Of SOPA, the DOJ, & Anonymous.) A couple of weeks later, law enforcement officials conducted a raid seizing the defendants' assets, copying files from Megaupload servers, and shutting down Megaupload.com and its affiliated sites.

George Santayana said a great deal more than “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” but it’s probably the one quotation that nearly everyone in the security field will remember approximately verbatim.

By now you've probably heard about Apple's monster earnings report. Suffice to say, the company grew at unsurpassed levels, sold millions of nifty devices, and recorded record profits.

There are many trade associations in the tech industry, each providing important services to its member companies. Primarily, these groups give member firms an opportunity to speak to policy makers and key figures in the industry, as well as cooperate to strengthen the industry as a whole through advocacy.