Cloud Computing – A Poem of Warning
The SPYder and the Guy
By Dovell Bonnett (June 28, 2011)
“Welcome to my cloud?” said the SPYder to the Guy,
“‘Tis the cheapest little cloud that ever you will try;
The way into my cloud is to upload my link fare,
And I have many curious tools to show you while you are there.”
“Oh no, no,” said the Guy, “to ask me is in vain;
For those who link up to your cloud find that their data is never their own again.”
“I see you to be wary, dear friend, but your IT burdens are so high;
So imagine no more software updates?” said the SPYder to the Guy.
“I’ll host all your network services for it to be a win;
And if you like a free try, I’ll offer tech support while you are in!”
“Oh no, no,” said the Guy, “for I’ve often heard it said,
One’s data is never, never secure again after downloading your free test bed!”
Said the cunning SPYder to the Guy, “Dear friend, what can I do,
To prove my warm concerns I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my site, goods and services that are easy and nice;
You’re definitely most welcome – and you can’t beat my price.”
“Oh no, no,” said the Guy, “kind sir, that cannot be,
I’ve heard what lurks in the cloud and I don’t want to try, even if it’s free!”
“You’re wary, witty and wise”, said the SPYder to the Guy.
“But to grow your business and service your customers, our cloud is a terrific buy!
Employees will access customer data while they’re on the run.
Your sales will soon soar when all is said and done.”
“I thank you, gentle sir for all that you offer and what you say;
But for now, I’ll be bidding you a final good day.”
The SPYder went back to talk to his corporate men,
For well he knew this silly Guy would soon log back in again;
So he wrote more posts that were a little bit sly,
All the while preparing his malware ready to spy.
Then from behind his firewall he merrily did tweet,
“Come hither, hither, smart business Guy, for a savings so sweet;
Your profits are in the red from IT costs you surely do dread;
I can prove to you that my cloud will do more than what I have said.”
Alas, alas! How very soon,
This simple message sealed his doom,
With savings so huge with only one click,
Surely this cloud will do him the trick.
With connections and resources that truly are vast,
Soon his profits will grow ever so fast.
Thinking only of his budgets, and not on why they grew;
The click launched a worm that gathered all that he knew.
Grabbing all the customer data the breach had began
Within this little cloud – the business will ne’er see profits again!
And now, little start-ups, who may this story read,
To place budget savings over prowess, I pray you take heed;
The evil hackers and crackers that have cybercrimes in their heart,
Will orchestrate events where customers will surely do part.
The cloud is only profitable whilst guardians have a security eye;
Else you too follow a demise like the SPYder and the Guy.