addressing export control in the age of cloud computing.pdfVIP

July 25, 2011 Reuters/Valentin Flaraud – A technician performs maintenance in the CERN LHC computing grid centre in Geneva Addressing Export Control in the Age of Cloud Computing John Villasenor E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y he move to the cloud is one of the defining information technology trends of Tthe early 21st century. By providing businesses, universities, government agencies, and other entities with access to shared and often physically dispersed computing resources, cloud computing can simultaneously offer increased flexibility, reduced cost, and access to a wider array of services. Cloud computing has also created a set of new challenges. For example, the issues of privacy and security in the cloud are well recognized and have been extensively discussed in the business and popular press. However, one critical issue that has received very little attention with respect to cloud computing is export control. In the broadest sense, export control relates to regulations that the United States and many other countries have put in place to restrict the export of various sensitive items, information, and software. There is an inherent tension between cloud computing and export control. John Villasenor is a nonresident senior While the concept of the cloud is centered on the premise of removing the need to fellow in Governance track the details of data movement among various destinations, export control Studies and in the regulations are built largely around restrictions tied to those very movements. Center for Technology Innovation at If cloud computing is to reach its full potential, it is critical for providers and Brookings. He is also users of cloud services to address its implications with respect to export control. It professor of electrical is equally important to adapt the export control regulations to reflect the increasing engineering at the prevalence of cloud computing in a manner that preserves the ability of American Un