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Problem Statement
This is the Problem Statement for CyMaIS, highlighting the challenges we aim to address.
Short
The problem stems from businesses and individuals being dependent on monopolistic cloud providers, losing control over their data, facing security risks, and being vulnerable to geopolitical manipulation, while small businesses struggle to set up secure, enterprise-level IT infrastructures due to lack of resources and expertise.
Explanation
In today’s digital landscape, data is predominantly stored in the cloud, controlled by large corporations such as Microsoft, AWS, and other cloud providers. This creates a dependency on these providers, leading to increasingly expensive services and a lack of control over critical business data.
As organizations rely on these monopolistic players for their cloud services, they surrender ownership of their data, becoming vulnerable to the whims of these companies. This dependency puts them at the mercy of cloud and software giants, who not only dictate pricing and service levels but also influence the very governance of data.
Moreover, the ease with which governments, intelligence agencies, and private corporations can access sensitive data is a growing concern. With increasing surveillance capabilities, the privacy of users and businesses is constantly at risk, further amplifying the vulnerability of data stored in centralized cloud infrastructures.
Additionally, the dominance of these companies in sectors like social media further exacerbates the issue, making individuals and organizations susceptible to manipulation and control.
The problem intensifies in times of political unrest or global conflicts. As data is often centrally stored with monopolistic providers, businesses become highly dependent on these entities for accessing their data and services. This dependency increases the risk of coercion or pressure from governments or private corporations, leading to potential extortion. Governments may attempt to gain leverage over businesses by threatening access to critical data or services, while private companies may exploit this dependency for their own interests.
In essence, the lack of sovereignty over data and the increasing control of a few monopolistic entities undermine the fundamental values of privacy, security, and independence. Organizations, especially small businesses, are left vulnerable to external pressures, making them pawns in a larger game dominated by these cloud and software giants.
Furthermore, for small businesses, setting up enterprise-level open-source infrastructure with integrated solutions such as Single Sign-On (SSO), Identity and Access Management (IAM), encryption, backup solutions, and other essential IT services is nearly impossible. These businesses lack the resources, both financial and human, to deploy secure IT infrastructures at an enterprise level.
System administrators in small companies often don’t have the specialized knowledge or the capacity to build and maintain such complex infrastructures, which further exacerbates the challenge of securing sensitive business data while ensuring compliance with industry standards.
Key Points
- Dependency on monopolistic cloud providers
- Loss of data sovereignty and data privacy risks
- Geopolitical vulnerabilities (extortion risk)
- Lack of resources for small businesses
- Limited expertise for secure infrastructure
- Centralized data storage risks
- Manipulation through social media dominance