As with any emerging technology, security systems often lag behind the infrastructures they are designed to protect. In the case of the cloud, a technology which is characterized by its open nature, many IT and hosting providers have been wondering how they should maintain secure systems in a perilous world.

According to Technorati.com, many corporations are concerned about sharing cloud resources with "bad apples" because of the damage leaks and security flaws could impose upon the industry. Often, unconvinced corporate executives are only swayed to switch infrastructures by considering the industry's reputation as a whole, so many cloud servers are now adopting their own method of mobile hosting policing.

The New Zealand Computer Society has put together a basic code of conduct for companies who provide cloud services. Though abiding by the ethics framework is voluntary, the group believes a set of guidelines will assist companies and consumers in their quest to differentiate and validate cloud service providers.

"A lack of understanding of the accepted definitions of cloud computing and what it entails, results in a situation where services are being offered that don't meet what are generally considered acceptable standards of practice," says the Society.