Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith has urged the US Congress to roll out regulations to address privacy and security issues associated with cloud computing. He has called on vendors in the segment to come together to create their own security rules if they prefer avoiding new government regulation.

He was speaking at a Washington based think tank, the Brookings Institution when he called for new "truth-in-cloud-computing" principles so the consumers are sure about their information on the internet and know who can access it and where it will be stored.

"These principles should ensure that there is transparency over how data is protected, simply put, it should not be enough for service providers simply to say that their services are private and secure," he said.

He also said that a comprehensive security program must be maintained by the vendors and should also disclose if their arrangements meet security standards.

He expects regulations from congress but also said that the vendors should create a self-regulatory code. His corporation prefers a national regulation to a state one. He has a suggested the Cloud Computing Advancement Act for protection of information.

He has requested the U. S. government to work with other nations on creating and implementing regulations relating to data security.

He outlined that at present in some cases, it is difficult to put monetary value on the stolen documents, e-mail or digital photos. He suggested a change in the law that would fix the value of such items for each victim.

Smith indicated that a recent survey conducted by Microsoft found that 75 percent of senior business leaders said safety, security and privacy are the top potential risks of cloud computing.

The survey conducted by Penn Schoen & Berland found that more than 90 percent of the respondents were concerned about the security and privacy of their own data in a cloud computing environment.

Smith also said that the cloud computing has the potential to offer many benefits to the general public and business leaders. Around 58 percent of the general population and 86 percent of senior business leaders were excited about the potential of cloud computing.