Can a cloud be more secure than a corporate data center?

We've talked on this blog recently about the move to cloud computing and some of the concerns around cloud computing including security. Network World, this week reported that the Jericho Forum believes that using a cloud can actually be more secure than running applications and databases out of corporate data centers.

The Jericho Forum has detailed definitions of what it means by cloud computing.
There are three scales by which it defines clouds: internal or external; proprietary or open; and with a security perimeter or not.

So it's not really an open and shut case of clouds being less or more secure. The real answer? It depends.

From Network World:

He says the safety of cloud computing has yet to be proven and likely requires work to reach acceptable levels. That will mean developing a secure architecture around with cloud computing infrastructure is built. One core building block will be creating data objects that include a definition of what type of security zone the data must stay.

So while the headline was provoking, it just goes to show, there's still a lot to worry about with cloud computing. And security is just one aspect to consider when moving to a cloud architecture.