I largely agree with John Harris's analysis (Why hackers and spooks want our heads in the cloud, 26 April), but his fixation with the idea of "cloud computing" is misplaced. "Cloud computing" is just another way of describing the "back end". We have had back ends in one form or another since computer-based systems were invented. Hackers from the criminal world and state-sponsored intelligence communities were just as active before the term "cloud computing" was popularised as they are now. The only real difference is one of scale.
Harris picking on Google was, of course, entirely justified. However, governments are not necessarily always going to be allies of big hi-tech companies. For example, in the last month alone the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has entered into a binding consent decree under which Google has agreed to submit to a biennial independent audit of its privacy practices for the next 20 years. That is half as long again as the company has existed. And then two weeks after that the FTC also announced it was thinking about reviewing Google's potential monopoly dominance of the search engine market in the US, where it claims between 63% and 72% of the market. In Europe Google's share is over 90%. This is one reason why the European commission is already doing the same.
John Carr
London
•?Your article (Public Wi-Fi users risk identity theft as fraudsters create 'Evil Twin' fake hotspots, 26 April) served readers well in alerting them to the fact that care must be taken to preserve the security of user details when accessing the internet via Wi-Fi. What was less clear was the fact that they can protect their data by taking relatively simple steps.
First, anyone accessing the internet via Wi-Fi should make sure to look for the locked padlock symbol before entering login or other personal details. This symbol should appear at the bottom right-hand side of the web page you have accessed, or in the address bar. If it isn't there, think twice before using the page you have called up and beware of entering any confidential data. Second, if you are on a Wi-Fi service other than your own one at home, and you want to enter financial or other sensitive information, visit only sites that begin with "https" on every page (some use "https" only at login). These sites are more secure.
Users should also consider our free BT Openzone virtual private network download; this creates a secure link between devices and hotspots. Customers can find information on this and other aspects of security at www.btopenzone.com/help/security. At BT, we are proud to have provided the UK with more than 2.5m Wi-Fi hotspots. We take seriously the need to protect the security of people's data.
Chris Bruce
Chief executive officer, BT Openzone
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