Cloud Hosting

By Steven McIntosh Newsbeat reporter

When Megaupload was taken down last month, users around the world lost access to files they had uploaded.

The site was shut down by prosecutors in the US after it was claimed users were illegally sharing music and movies, costing copyright holders an estimated $500m (315m).

But many people used the site legally to share personal files such as photos and documents.

It's now becoming more common for users to store their files online in what's referred to as "the cloud".

But how safe is cloud storage when prosecutors can close down massively popular websites without warning?

While certain sites or servers could be closed down, it would be practically impossible for the cloud as a whole to crash.

Rik Ferguson from internet security company Trend Micro says: "The cloud, much like the internet, is not one single system reliant on one single connection. For the whole cloud to disappear is pretty much inconceivable."

However, it is possible for individual cloud servers to fail as a result of physical damage to the hardware.

Will Shenton from Bedford, says he stands to lose hours of audio from his work as a DJ and producer.

Read more from the original source:

Could the digital 'cloud' crash?