Cloud Computing and Security

This essay examines cloud computing, cloud storage, and different types of cloud services. It also discusses the difference between data privacy and security and outlines measures companies can take to ensure the privacy and security of their cloud servers.

Individual essay

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Cloud computing..........................................................................................................................1
Cloud Storage...............................................................................................................................1
Types of Cloud Computing..........................................................................................................2
Difference between privacy and security.....................................................................................3
Measures to ensure privacy and security of the company's cloud server....................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing is an effective use of services and components related to the computer
that includes the use of servers, storage of data and software development platforms over the
internet which is referred as cloud. This report will highlight the impact of cloud computing in
businesses in providing services in the current business environment. The report will also discuss
cloud computing, cloud storage, different types of cloud used by the businesses and explain the
difference between privacy and security and measures to be taken by the company in order to
have its cloud private and secured.
MAIN BODY
Cloud computing
Rittinghouse and Ransome (2016) states that the cloud computing is a component that
involves the delivery of different services through internet. It includes various applications like
data storage, servers, databases,, networking and software. Botta and et.al., (2016) argues that the
cloud computing is a software that store files and application of users on remote servers and
enable them to access all the data through Internet. In the views of Hashem and et.al., (2015),
Cloud computing are public or private. Public cloud computing are those that provides services
to the users for a particular fee whereas private cloud computing provide their services only to
certain number of people. Almorsy and et.al., (2016)states that cloud computing service is a new
service and is being used by many organizations, big firms to small business as well as non
profits to government agencies and even by the individual users.
Cloud Storage
In the views of Marinescu (2017) Cloud storage is a service model that initiates the
maintenance, management and backing-up of users data over the internet. Whereas Ali and et.al.,
(2015) argues that the cloud storage is a paid subscription where the users have to pay for their
data storage on a per consumption and on monthly basis. Di Spaltro and et.al., (2016) argues that
the cost of cloud storage as per gigabyte is reduced but the service providers have increased the
operational cost that makes the technology even more expensive than the users expectation.
Messerli and et.al., (2017) states that the cloud storage operates through a web based API which i
remotely implements by its interaction with the client application's in-house cloud storage
infrastructure for input/output and read/write operations. Sen (2015) mentions different types of
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cloud storage such as- Public cloud storage, Private cloud storage and Hybrid cloud storage.
Public cloud storage service provide multi-tenant storage to the multiple customers and is
suitable for data that is unstructured. The data in Public cloud storage is stored at global data
centers across a particular region or continent. Amazon Simple Storage Service, Amazon
Glacier, Google Cloud storage, Microsoft Azure etc are some examples of Public cloud storage
applications. Private Cloud storage provides service to the specific customers who need more
customization as well as control over their data. Hybrid cloud storage is a combination of both
private and public cloud between the platforms of management.
Types of Cloud Computing
The types of cloud computing are as follows -
Software-as-a-service (SaaS)- This type of cloud computing involves license for the use of
software by the customers. Licenses are provided on the the payment and purchase made by the
customers. For example- Microsoft Office 365. The use of (Saas) leads to rapid scalability for
the company, the users will be able to access the information from any location through the use
of internet whereas Dawson and et.al., (2016) argues that the (SaaS) system eliminates the
infrastructure cost and provides custom level of service offerings.
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)- IaaS involves delivery of all the components from operating
system to servers and storage in the form of IP- based connectivity on the demand of the
customers. Here the users need not purchase the software or servers but obtain then through
outsourcing, based on demand of the service. IBM cloud, Microsoft Azure etc., are some of the
(IaaS). Rao and Selvamani (2015) states that IaaS reduces the total cost of ownership and
expenditures of the company whereas Chang and Ramachandran (2015) argues that it provides
access to to enterprise-grade IT resources and infrastructure. Also, the users using IaaS can scale
up and down based on their requirements at any time.
Platform-as-a-service (Paas)- (Paas) is the complex system among the three layers of cloud
computing. (Paas) posses some similarities to (SaaS) but the difference is, instead of delivering
the software online, it is the a platform for creating software that is delivered through the
Internet. IT includes platforms like- Force.com, Google App engine and Heroku. (PaaS) system
are mostly used by the companies that need to develop, test, collaborate and deploy cloud
solutions for particular applications.
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Recovery as a service (RaaS)- (RaaS) help the companies to backup, replace the backup files,
archive the data as well as recovery of data during disaster etc., in a single integrated platform. Li
and et.al., (2018)states that the 30% of medium sized companies have adopted the cloud
recovery service by 2014. RaaS providers protect and help the companies to recover the entire
data centers, servers and all the files and database as well as help them to reduce the impact of
downtime after the happening of disaster. RaaS prevents the temporary and permanent loss of
critical data of the company and IT infrastructure and also terms it as an cost-effective way of
recovering data whereas. This service provides more flexibility on the type of backup required.
Difference between privacy and security
Privacy Security
Novotny and et.al, (2015) states that Data
privacy refers to the appropriate use of the
data. For instance the companies and the users
must use the data provided or entrusted to them
for the agreed purpose and not for any unfair
practices. Pancholi and et.al., (2016) argues
that Data privacy avoids the manipulation of
the data such as selling of the data and
information of the customers, as well as
disclose of the information to the other parties
without getting a prior approval is avoided in
Data privacy.
In the views of Manogaran and et.al., (2016)
Data security is termed as the confidentiality,
availability and integrity of data. It is a process
or a practice that ensures that the data is not
being used or accessed by the unauthorized
individuals or parties. Liu and et.al., (2015)
argues that Data security ensures that the data
is reliable and accurate as well as available
when the authorized user needs it. Hu (2016)
mentions that Data security includes collection
of the required data, keeping it secure and safe
and deleting any information that is no longer
required. It helps the business to meet out the
legal obligations of possessing sensitive data.
Measures to ensure privacy and security of the company's cloud server
1. Initiate a local backup- The companies must be more careful as in case of business data
as even after uploading the data on cloud server the companies must have a local backup
for the data and also have additional backup on hard drives and storage devices.
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2. Data Encryption- It is one of the best way of data protection as it involves decryption
while accessing the data by the user. It also protects the data against the service providers
and the users as well. The company must ensure cloud encryption during uploading and
downloading the data in order to make the cloud more protected.
3. Encryption of cloud service- The cloud service provides local encryption and
decryption of files and information in it other than backup and storage. This service is
concerned with both encrypting the files as well as storing them on cloud. The company
must enable this service as it ensures no other person rather than the service provider or
the administrator have the access to the files.
4. Use of anti-virus- Anti-virus is a software that protects the computer system from bugs
and viruses so that the data in the computer can be secured and can be protected form
those malware software. The company must enable an effective and robust anti-virus
system to protect its files and information.
5. Continuous system updating- Cloud data security is effective when it is operated with
regular patching and upgrading of systems and the application software in the cloud
platform. Company must ensure the use of new patches, updates and the service packs for
the operating system in order to maintain high level security of its data. Company must
also regularly update the system in order to ensure that it works efficiently in the data
protection and security.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is studied and observed regarding the Cloud computing, Cloud
storage and also regarding the types of cloud computing software that could be utilized by the
company for their data storage over cloud. The report also studied the effectiveness of various
cloud computing software and its benefits. Further the report studied the difference between the
data security and privacy and concludes by mentioning several safety measures that must be
taken by the company in order to secure and protect their data in cloud computing as well as on
their system.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Ali and et.al., 2015. Security in cloud computing: Opportunities and challenges. Information
sciences. 305. pp.357-383.
Almorsy and et.al., 2016. An analysis of the cloud computing security problem. arXiv
preprint arXiv:1609.01107.
Botta and et.al., 2016. Integration of cloud computing and internet of things: a survey. Future
generation computer systems. 56. pp.684-700.
Chang, V. and Ramachandran, M., 2015. Towards achieving data security with the cloud
computing adoption framework. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing. 9(1).
pp.138-151.
Dawson and et.al., International Business Machines Corp, 2016. Optimizing cloud service
delivery within a cloud computing environment. U.S. Patent 9,274,848.
Di Spaltro and et.al., 2016. Methods and systems for cloud computing management. U.S.
Patent 9,501,329.
Hashem and et.al., 2015. The rise of “big data” on cloud computing: Review and open
research issues. Information systems. 47. pp.98-115.
Hu, F. ed., 2016. Big data: storage, sharing, and security. CRC Press.
Li and et.al., 2018. Secure attribute-based data sharing for resource-limited users in cloud
computing. Computers & Security. 72. pp.1-12.
Liu and et.al., 2015. Two-factor data security protection mechanism for cloud storage
system. IEEE Transactions on Computers.65(6). pp.1992-2004.
Manogaran and et.al., 2016. MetaCloudDataStorage architecture for big data security in cloud
computing. Procedia Computer Science. 87. pp.128-133.
Marinescu, D.C., 2017. Cloud computing: theory and practice. Morgan Kaufmann.
Messerli and et.al, 2017. Multi-level cloud computing system. U.S. Patent 9,563,480.
Novotny and et.al, 2015. Method and apparatus for achieving data security in a distributed
cloud computing environment. U.S. Patent 9,137,304.
Pancholi and et.al., 2016. Enhancement of cloud computing security with secure data storage
using AES.International Journal for Innovative Research in Science and Technology.
2(9). pp.18-21.
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Rao, R.V. and Selvamani, K., 2015. Data security challenges and its solutions in cloud
computing. Procedia Computer Science. 48. pp.204-209.
Rittinghouse, J.W. and Ransome, J.F., 2016. Cloud computing: implementation, management,
and security. CRC press.
Sen, J., 2015. Security and privacy issues in cloud computing. In Cloud Technology:
Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1585-1630). IGI Global.
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