subject: Security Concerns With Cloud Computing Services [print this page] One of the recent and most appreciable technology used now-a-days by most of the IT organizations around the globe is Cloud computing. Companies providing cloud computing services are helping organizations in managing their data right from the storage, retrieval, updating to the deleting of data at their data centers. Cloud services are accessed over the internet that gives a freedom to the user to access the data anytime anywhere. But, this freedom also raises a concern about the privacy of data. If the access is provided over the internet then anyone on internet can easily access the data.
Though cloud services are very much in these days, yet number of security measures are associated with deployment of cloud services as many cloud computing companies are not yet capable enough to provide a secure medium of data storage and data transfer to its clients which results in the intrusion in their data center and ultimately client's data is compromised. Failing in deploying secure features in cloud strategies can arise due to any reason like unqualified policy makers or architect or coders, improper technical mechanisms and risk-control processes.
The Client should always check for few cloud security measures so as to avoid data hampering situations that may have a negative impact on their organization. Here, in this article, we have listed few points below which needs to be taken care of and well analyzed before taking up the cloud services from a vendor:
Location of data: The physical location of the data should be known to the client while using cloud services. In fact, most of the time, client don't even know where their data is physically located in. Due to this reason, sometimes local jurisdiction policies create a chaos for the customers for storing or accessing data.
Non-personnel user access: As cloud service outsource the data storage necessities of an organization, which takes away the authorized user control over data, so all the time customers should know which personnel of vendor is managing the data and also the level of access on data.
Segregation of data: Data centers are shared in cloud environment which means number of users' data is residing on the same data storage device. So, data segregation schemes should be checked so as to ensure the proper security of data.
Data Back-up: The roll-back criterion should be properly explained by the vendor to ensure the recovery of data in disaster situations like database crash. Information regarding the restoring policy of data and the time that will be required to restore the data should be verified.
Privacy and security: A proper encryption method has to be there to protect data from unwanted entities over web. And a user management system should be provided so that user with intended amount of information access should be provided.
Transparency: A cloud vendor should be transparent in providing all his internal policies regarding the cloud services and also the clients should ask for it before signing any legal document of agreement over the policies.
Each and every parameter should be analyzed before deploying the cloud services because this virtualization of IT infrastructure Services and de-localization of data brings up the security concerns for the clients to take control of the data, logically, even if it is physically located outside its locations area.
