Cloud providers reading user emails? It may sound like an obvious question but I assure you, it isn't. It might be a generational thing, like people who grew up thinking that Napster was a good idea. Right now, in managed services, we face a larger issue of how the world views MSPs and whether cloud computing is "clouding" the issue of how MSPs should behave.
I'm talking about Google, of course, and their class action lawsuit alleging the company is violating California privacy and US Federal wiretapping laws by their policy of scanning all Gmail content. The case further alleges that Google automatically scans email content to and from users who may not be using Gmail and therefore, never agreed to Google's terms and conditions.
My issue with this case is Google is arguing that they have the right to snoop on user emails, and furthermore, users should be aware of this and accept it. This is, in my opinion, in direct contradiction to how most of the IT channel thinks. Most MSPs (including cloud providers) do not take the position that they will spy on their customer data. In fact, I know a lot of MSPs who go along way to prove to their customers that they do not have access to sensitive email information.
Regardless how this case is resolved, the larger issue is whether MSPs will be tainted by this type of behavior where public cloud vendors do things that arguably no MSP would ever do. Our organization's own Code of Conduct spells out how service providers should behave when it comes to safeguarding customer data and privacy.
How would your customers react if you told them you'd be spying on their communications? Do you worry about how these public cloud providers may be harming your reputation?
