Cloud Computing, Analysis Of Security Issues And Challenges

Cloud computing is a fast growing information technology trend that many companies including Google, Microsoft, and IBM are currently looking to get a stake in as demand for the service grows. Cloud computing is the concept of allowing both individuals and businesses to store data and applications on remote servers (owned and operated by a third party company), rather than on their own hard drives and data centers. The service boasts the ability to securely access data and applications from just about any device with an internet connection, allowing for such services as streaming music from a personal collection from multiple devices, and even to business

Majority of organizations migrate to cloud because it is very easy to deploy, cost efficient and readily available throughout an entity. It may result in cloud environments being applied with low involvement or minimal control by entity's IT department and thus may

However, research focusing on the adoption of cloud computing technology and its impact on business operation is limited. This trend may be explained by cloud computing being a relatively new field. Available research on the structures, processes, security measures surrounding the cloud services are still at an early stage.

Organizations use the Cloud in a variety of different service models (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) and deployment models (Private, Public, Hybrid). There are a number of security issues/concerns associated with cloud computing but these issues fall into two broad categories: Security issues faced by cloud providers (organizations providing software-, platform-, or infrastructure-as-a-service via the cloud) and security issues faced by their customers.In most cases, the provider must ensure that their infrastructure is secure and that their clients’ data and applications are protected while the customer must ensure that the provider has taken the proper security measures to protect their information.

This research paper tackles the issues that faces Cloud Computing today and gives the experts and industry’s point of view on the matter. The aspects explored are the significant industry questions that have risen about the use of Cloud Computing, business value, organization impact, adaptability, limitations, initial cost of implementation, and the severe business security risks

In this paper I will discuss the three main area of accountability regarding information security and provide an example of each area. The tree main areas of accountability regarding information security include:

The first scenario that will be examined is looking at Cloud Computing from the perspective of security. Many small and medium sized businesses utilize the internet and Cloud Computing to conduct business and transfer money from system to system as well as report on financial accounting data. With that being the case, it is crucial that whatever system the business is working with pays very close attention to security needs to ensure that this data is protected from unauthorized sources viewing or manipulating it.

Requirements & Regulations that are needed for compliance: It is very important to meet the requirements of security standards and guidelines that are given out to be in compliance. For example, PCI-DSS requires networks to be secure and that credit card data if saved must be encrypted to meet compliance. Keeping this compliance up not only reduces overall costs and increases overall security, but also reduces the risks of penalties being placed against the business. A best practice would be for the security professionals to be pro-active and be always up to date on

The high regard to cloud computing is on the rise due to its ability to improve flexibility, expand access to data, and lower costs. Cloud computing release organizations from being required to have their hardware and software infrastructure from being acquired and maintained (Holt, Niebuhr, Aichberger, & Rosiello, 2011). On the other hand, while there is much noise being made about the benefits of cloud computing, questions have been brought up with respect to whether cloud computing is safe especially when it comes to its privacy, security, and reliability. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different general controls and audit approaches for software and architecture, cloud computing, service-oriented architecture, and virtualization. This paper gives a summary analysis of the recent research that is available. Additionally, risks and vulnerabilities associated with public clouds, private clouds, and hybrids have also been researched. Within the research conducted, there are important examples provided. Recommendations are shown on how organizations could implement and mitigate these risks and vulnerabilities. This paper even outlines a list of IT audit tasks that focuses on a cloud computing environment due to the results of the analysis, the risks and vulnerabilities, and the mitigation controls.

When deciding which information, the company wants to move to cloud, the division of responsibilities needs to be clear between providers and customers, and an analysis of their security roles depending on the type of service offered (Software, Platform, or Infrastructure) (Gonzalez, et al, 2012). Prior to the start of the service contract, the security roles and responsibilities for everything needs to be clearly acknowledged. The management, cost, and security of clouds depend on whether an organization chooses to buy and operate its own cloud or to obtain cloud services from a third party (Grossman, 2009). Each of these choices has its own security and privacy issues. Some security concerns are lessened when a private cloud is used. Only your own information is stored there and the benefits of security might outweigh the costs. Two of the disadvantages of using a private cloud is the level of knowledge needed to support the cloud and the frequency of maintenance. On the other

Many concerns pertaining mostly to public cloud services restrain the movement of the organisation towards this new business model and gaining benefits aforementioned. Moving to cloud computing services means renting off-premise IT resources that are managed by the cloud provider. This raises several questions and concerns such as: what are cloud providers ' procedures to

Services such as, data storage and security, are provided by cloud computing over the internet. In cloud computing, users can pay for what they consume (Bisong & Rahman, An Overview of the Securtiy Concerns in Enterprise Cloud Computing, 2011). Cloud computing is an emerging information technology, which can make it easier for the users to manage their data. Cloud computing allows businesses to expand as new cloud-based models are being discussed and implemented as solutions (Bamiah & Brohi, 2011).

The main purpose of this paper is to research requirements for a Cloud Computing Security Policy and to develop a draft policy for the non-profit organization, SNPO-MC which will provide guidance to managers, executives, and cloud computing service providers.

Considered an organization which offers public cloud say google cloud , which has security issues like authentication issues , security breaches and a survey is conducted with the

Usage of remote servers via internet to store, manage and process data instead of using a personal computer is known as Cloud computing. It’s a set of Information Technology services with the ability to scale up or down their service requirements. Most of the cloud services are provided by a third party service provider. In cloud computing, organizations can utilize IT services without in advance investment. Despite its benefits obtained from the cloud computing, the organizations are slow in accepting it due to security issues and challenges. Security is one of the major problems which hinder the growth of cloud. It’s not wise to handing over the important data to another company; such that clients need to be vigilant in understanding the risks of data infringement in this new environment. This paper discusses a detailed analysis of the cloud computing security issues and challenges. (Ayoleke)