Cloud-based infrastructure services like Amazon EC2, which lease computer power, have been used by hackers to siphon off personal details of over 80 million users form Sony's PlayStation Network.

Hackers used Amazon's Elastic Computer service to assault PSN, using a proxy name to set up an account with Amazon. This attack forced Sony to shut down the PlayStation Network in April, and the company later confirmed that its Sand Diego based online unit was also targeted. Developers and companies can now rent computing power from IaaS providers like Amazon that would otherwise require heavy investments in raising server farms. Yet it is no longer just a favorite of companies looking for cost savings as it has attracted hackers and malicious code crackers since late 2010. Two security researchers used EC2 to produce a DoS attack against an SMB at the DEF Con 2010, and a German researcher also used it to crack the password of a WPA-PSK protected network in under 20 minutes.

The benefits of cloud computing for business have been touted everywhere recently, but in order to understand whether these benefits can be realized for your own business a cloud computing introduction is essential.

Cloud computing can best be understood as an extreme form of outsourcing in which hardware ownership and operation, software version updating, data storage and backup and some other functions as well are all outsourced to a single vendor. Hardware is usually located at the cloud vendor site, where massive racks of servers and farms of storage devices maintain data for many users. Data and programs are accessed remotely by users via the Internet. The benefits of this structure come from economies of scale, because a large vendor is able to make more efficient use of personnel and computing resources, meaning they can charge less for usage.

Value netbooks are having a big impact on the world of computing, helping to drive the trend towards cloud computing forward. Cloud computing is one of the latest trends in computer technology, allowing users to store mcuh of their data on the web.

Value netbooks on the other hand are cheap, ultra portable computers have captured the attention of the corporate market, with some models being more useful than others. The growth in netbook usage world wide has been rapid at an estimated 50% to 128% year on year. In Europe, the netbook has been readily adopted and now accounts for 30% of all laptop sales. There is still a lot of room for netbook sales growth world wide, where they occupy about 10% of the global market. Netbooks have represented a bright spot in the PC industry because they appeal to users in emerging markets with their attractive pricing, as well as to users in developed markets who are looking for value and put a premium on portability.