Security fears, procurement procedures, slow US computing change.

The United States, seeking to modernize technology and reduce costs, is embracing "cloud computing," but privacy and security issues need to be ironed out during a decade-long transition, U.S. officials said on Thursday. Concerns about whether the U.S. government should further adopt cloud computing largely center on security of U.S. data and networks from malicious attacks, snooping enemy governments and theft of information by criminal organizations. Fragmentation among agencies on standards and procurement procedures has also resulted in high costs and lost time. As a result, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is developing standards and the Government Services Administration is looking into streamlined procurement process.

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