They say that flying is the safest mode of transport ever invented. In the US each year there are around 40,000 deaths caused by automobile accidents and only 200 in air transport. That equates to 1 death for every 6,800 drivers but only 1 for every 1.6million flyers.
All very reassuring so long as you don’t become one of the unfortunate statistics.
So, as I sit here, hammering away at my keyboard in a very comfortable seat that’s screwed onto an aluminium and fibreglass tube that’s hurtling through the stratosphere at 566mph, I’m just hoping that my luck holds out because this is my 20th flight this year and that has to increase the probability of the big “Houston, we have a problem!” announcement over this plane’s PA system.
I ask myself “Do I really feel safe?”
My instinct says “Yessir”
The International Transportation Safety Association website says “We admire your blind faith”.
We apply a form of blind faith to how we store our data too.
Do any of these statements sound familiar?
- “It’ll be fine. My hard drive never crashed before.”
- “I only got hacked the once and my ISP provider sorted it for me…eventually.”
- “Cloud storage is much safer.”
Here’s the bad news. The truth is that, just like travelling, the more we store and the longer we store it the more we crank up risk; in this case of data loss or theft: particularly online.
Here’s a disconcerting fact…
Virtually all online storage providers use server based storage. This massively increases the risk of single point of failure. And these servers are all housed together in massive datacentres the length and breadth of the USA.
Now, imagine you’re a hacker. Where would you go first to corrupt or steal data? That’s right, the place where the greatest concentration of it can be found. Datacentres.
Datacentres are like hackers’ honeypots. They come from far and wide to have a crack at it. They mount wave after wave of brute force attacks and every now and then “Bingo. We’re in.” It’s inevitable.
That means online data storage providers have to spend small fortunes on data protection and security and that means you’ve got to pay for it. And that’s why after your free starter, you have to pay small fortunes for your data storage.
With LifeStuff it’s different
There is an alternative to server-based storage if you want to store your files online. It’s LifeStuff and like all good ideas it’s come from re-engineering an old idea. Peer to Peer or P2P technology is the principle that allows our network (the MaidSafe network) to share and store data on distributed network architecture, which means, in simple terms, that all the machines that authenticate onto our network become the storage infrastructure.
So, no datacentres, no hotspots for hackers to target and the world’s best security. Perfect security in fact. Each machine on the network looks out for every other one, they literally protect each others’ data because in a collegiate approach the interests of the whole matter as much as the interests of the individual.
And what’s more, because everyone looks out for everyone else on the MaidSafe network it means we can offer unlimited, free online storage for everyone, for ever, and absolutely no need for blind faith.
For a more detailed technical explanation of how the MaidSafe network supports LifeStuff read this.
Written by Mark Gorman and Stephen Cosh
For more information on LifeStuff, visit www.goLifeStuff.com
