The Cloud Darkens

[Commentary] The Internet is getting scary. Cyberattacks this year alone compromised the data of more than 22 million people, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Companies and the government are unprepared.

There are some signs of progress. Security experts are deploying a new worldwide system to identify Internet addresses that will make it very difficult to forge or spoof a Web site. In May, the Obama administration proposed legislation with sensible provisions to ensure that companies running critical infrastructure — like the nation’s power grid — have adequate systems to reduce the risk of an attack online. The proposal would standardize 47 state laws on breach reporting, requiring notification of customers whose accounts were compromised. This could be a powerful incentive for firms to take security more seriously. Other tactics are also needed. The Federal Trade Commission wants rules to force companies to minimize the information they collect from customers and to dispose of such data as soon as possible. The stolen Sony data, for example, had been on dormant servers for years. We are putting our lives in the cloud, as companies and consumers store everything from family photos to corporate business secrets on remote servers. Beefing up online security is of paramount importance.