Cloud Computing Attacks and Countermeasures: A Case Study

ITC596 - IT Risk Management
Assessment 1: Cloud computing attacks and countermeasures
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Table of Contents
Form 1..............................................................................................................................................3
Characteristics of Cloud computing............................................................................................3
Risks associated with cloud computing.......................................................................................3
Form 2..............................................................................................................................................5
A recent security breach or incident............................................................................................5
Vulnerabilities associated with the cloud computing..................................................................5
Point of failures............................................................................................................................5
Mitigation approaches.................................................................................................................6
Recommendations........................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
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Form 1
According to Jabir, et. al., (2016), Cloud computing is liable to several security threats that
include network threats, risk to information and other underlying infrastructure risks. It is a
booming technology that has been adopted and utilized by many companies. There are different
attacks and one of them is distributed denial of service attacks. It is an important technique for
data storage and there are different benefits of using such technique related to management of
data, Workload resilience, Pay per use and Migration flexibility etc. It is necessary for any
organization that before implementing cloud computing techniques in their business they should
be aware of its risks. Cloud computing reduces the traffic in devices and helps them performing
smoothly but there is always some risk of data leakages and different other security issues. Loss
or theft of the data and intellectual property of organization, lack of the control over the actions
of end users, diminished trust of customers etc are some issues and risks that an organization
may face due to the use of cloud computing in their businesses.
Characteristics of Cloud computing
Independence of Device and location: With the use of cloud computing the users can access
such information from any device and from any location. This tool is used through internet that
is why it can be connected from anywhere.
Easier maintenance: The maintenance of cloud computing is an easy process. These
applications are not required to be installed in each user’s device because these can be accessed
from any device and anywhere (Jabir, et. al., 2016).
Increased productivity: Cloud computing applications are useful in increasing the productivity
of users because any user can access the information and work on it rather than waiting for it to
be emailed or saved.
Risks associated with cloud computing
Reduced Visibility and control: If an organization is using Cloud computing technique then
there is risk of losing the visibility and control over those assets or the operations. Because the
responsibility regarding policies and infrastructure move to the CSP.
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