If you were building a system with the same architecture, you’d have the same security considerations. Nobody is telling you to use pre-signed URLs, even if you’re using AWS. This is an apples and oranges comparison. A seasoned technologist such as yourself should be able to see past the word “cloud”, understand the architectural differences and the engineering trade offs being made. It’s evident from your comments that you seem to wear this ignorance as a point of pride. I’m no tech hipster and I can still see that this isn’t the good look that you think it is.