Cloud security is one of the biggest challenges for IT business users when it is about implementing online projects. It requires deep analysis for understanding all the associated cloud computing risks because it is a shareable platform. In today’s scenario also, there exist organizations who are in tension because they imagine that their information is still insecure. To overcome this worrying fact, IT executives have to use some advanced level of online data protection measures. The role of this respective idea is to protect business confidential data when employees are using their online resources. Several enterprise leaders think that their cloud security is the responsibility of providers but, such thinkers need to understand that it is a collaborative effort.

Objectives Of Cloud Computing Security

Privacy, integrity, confidentiality, authenticity, liability, availability, and accountability – these are the core purpose of cloud data security. These objectives apply to the cloud machines. However, it is impossible to apply them on cloud systems in ‘1 on 1’ manner because different technical requirements are there to deploy cloud architecture. Well, important IT resources can be categorized into 4 major control levels:

• People
• Information
• Applications
• Infrastructure

Cloud program infrastructure is made up of three online reference models – IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS. The online service provider renders only physical or virtual architecture in case of the IaaS model. An administrator will be having control over network and machine infrastructure, data, and applications. The CSPs manage complete architecture that comprises middleware elements like databases with PaaS infrastructure. Cloud consumer gives the products and services associated contents. The term SaaS defines that a cloud service provider renders each and everything, starting from infrastructure to the application – the customer only have to append information and use it.

Access Management and Information Security

There is an estimated division between the consumers and service providers when it is about distributing responsibility. As per the principle, CSPs are more accountable to protect the transition from IaaS to SaaS. However, an end user imagines that more attention is required in the IaaS model. At least following cloud security management solutions should be adopted to protect information at the control level:

• Privileged identity management
• Access Management
• Identity Management

Role of Access and Identity Management – This management solution is important responsibility of customer in case of IaaS model because providers only operate the virtual or physical architecture. In case of PaaS and SaaS, more shared responsibility is there because access management duty is under user domain and, provider’s duty is for API security & auditing. Identity management with privileged user management is a shared responsibility in between cloud provider and clients. Information classification & collection, data encryption and masking, data access control, data and file operations monitoring, and cloud data security – these are the basic online information protection approaches that need to be undertaken by every organization.

Cloud Security in Application and Infrastructure

Presence of essential product security measures is essential to establish strong protection boundaries in a shared environment. This comprises of:

• Source code analysis and designing security
• Testing of data protection and vulnerability
• Secure deployment
• Prevention of trending Cyber threats

The SaaS model products need to be developed by the cloud provider and operated & delivered by the business clients to their employees. A vendor can render a high-level cloud security by adopting application security management and vulnerability detection. The product belongs to the online customers when it is about IaaS and PaaS. In general, organizations should undertake the possible use of cloud services at the time of designing and developing new organizational software. The online data protection architecture involves general approaches to network security, communication encryption, endpoint security and physical security.

Cloud computing users should always keep an eye on the endpoint security, which is used for accessing their online services. This is the responsibility of clients to apply policies for architecture protection. If required then, enterprises can migrate this cloud security responsibility to providers who give security-as-a-service. These cloud protection vendors will first understand the existing clients’ data security level and then, suggest them the DLP policies required in one’s business. After the suggestion, it is totally dependent upon the business whether to go with the recommended solutions or not. They will help enterprises in complying with the security standard and regulations. These standards demand the security controls to inbuilt them in cloud software.

Conclusion

All the protection measures required in traditional IT infrastructures can be implemented in cloud services too. Because of the regular use of cloud machines, security objectives should be encountered with regard to information, people, infrastructure, and products. Equally, it is important to determine the individual who controls several elements of cloud architecture. This states that where and how protection measures should be appended, with a major focus on the information. While ending this post, we only want to state that ‘cloud security is a teamwork, it cannot be handled individually either by a service provider or consumer’.