The ToR were published for comment late last month by an establishment group led by the New Zealand Computer Society.

NZCS CEO Paul Matthews quotes Rizwan Ahmad, the New Zealand director of the global Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) saying "globally, New Zealand is lagging behind much of the rest of the world" in the area of practice guidelines for cloud computing.

"This is not what New Zealand wants to hear from the local representative of the global cloud security organisation. We seriously can't lag behind the rest of the world in this area," Matthews says.

The idea of a code for cloud providers was at the InternetNZ-organised NetHui earlier this year, amid persistent scepticism about the challenges cloud computing presents, particularly for privacy and reliability. Prime movers of the code included Rod Drury of cloud service provider Xero.

A clause in the terms of reference appears to put NZCS firmly in the driving seat.