The compromise being allowing clear
access to possibly sensitive data
being hosted by that provider, you are
basically leaving sensitive code,
databases and other files on these
servers for any employee of the host
who has access to take or steal.
Yes, you do. Like all compromises. Wanna be cheap, live with it.
That said, I am quite sure that your senssitive data is worthless. Most people tend to have grand delusions about waht their stuff is worth. You think the employees of a managed host have the time to go through tens of thousands of computers sipping for someones list of small customers? Seriously?
What is the high security data you are trying to protect? Customer financial records? Legally protected financial data worth tens of thousands of dollars because you paid that for it? Systems doing automatic financial trading with secure algorithms? Customer credit card records? Actually in the last case you are in direct vilation of your signed an agreed upon legal obligations with the credit card companies, and in all other cases.... the risk still is not there..
Or do we talk of some stuff that simply said has no rea value except in your imagination?
I dont try to be too negative here, but it is some sort of pattern that most people thinktheir ideas are unique fr a startup (they are not), that thair data has a lot of value and employees at hosts have nothing else to do than go through server over server to steal exacty their important data.... while it acutally is of litttle value and the time investment would be way too high.
You have ANY idea how many servers there are in for example Amazon ec2? You would be surprised. A team of 10 people working full time possibly would take their whole working time to search for data before going through all the servers.
At the end of the day, you have to trust a company with reputation. And if you rdata is very valuable, just not be someone too cheap to even buy a server.