Why we need to stop freaking out about the NSA and get on with business

A Q&A with Lance Crosby, the executive charged with IBM/SoftLayer’s cloud push. Maybe the National Security Agency did us a favor. Sure, news of its insatiable data snooping got nearly everyone’s knickers in a twist, but seriously, isn’t this a valuable teaching moment?

Crosby certainly thinks so. He acknowledged that customers outside the US often ask about securing their data from government eyes. His answer? Don’t focus on who’s snooping, protect your data from anyone.

“My response is protect your data against any third party -- whether it’s the NSA, other governments, hackers, terrorists, whatever…” he noted. “I say let’s stop worrying about the NSA and start talking about encryption and VPNs and all the ways you can protect yourself. Yes, the NSA got caught, but they’re not the first and won’t be the last.”