Almost half of IT experts are deterred from keeping sensitive data in the cloud because of fear of government intervention and possible legal action, according to a new survey from Lieberman Software.

Many IT firms are promoting “cloud” services to wealth managers and private banks, for whom security and privacy are naturally of prime concern, so this will not be welcome news.

The survey looked at IT and cloud experts’ attitudes to storing data in the cloud, revealing that government and legal interference puts 48 per cent of them off from entering the cloud environment.

“In my opinion, the key issues are around government surveillance, cloud legislation and data security. IT managers fear that they will put their data at risk by moving to a cloud provider as they are unsure they will keep the data properly protected, which could ultimately affect their job and their business," said Philip Lieberman, president and chief executive of Lieberman Software.

“The other issue is around legislation in the cloud and the fact that IT managers do not want governments snooping around in their corporate data. If a government or official body wanted to see what data a company was holding in the cloud, the cloud host involved would be legally obliged to provide them with access. This means there is very limited privacy in cloud environments. IT managers know it is much easier to hide data within their own private networks.”

The survey also revealed that 88 per cent think there is a chance that some of their data hosted in the cloud could be lost, corrupted or accessed by unauthorised individuals.