Cloud Computing Strategy: Webb's Retail Data Migration and Security

This report analyzes the cloud computing strategy for Webb's, a retail company facing operational and data management complexities. The company plans to migrate its MS SQL Server 2012 R2 database to the cloud using IaaS, and the report recommends a hybrid cloud approach. It delves into cloud security measures, including physical security, identity management, and data encryption, to protect the database from unauthorized access. The report discusses the benefits of cloud computing, such as cost reduction and business focus, while also addressing potential risks like data breaches and integrity issues during migration. It emphasizes the importance of secure data migration, IaaS infrastructure optimization, and robust communication. The report also covers data backup and recovery strategies, highlighting the need for regular, automated backups and secure data retrieval, along with measures to prevent corporate espionage. The conclusion stresses the importance of prioritizing security, monitoring data access, and controlling IaaS infrastructure access during the migration process.

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Cloud Computing
Students Name
Institution

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Webb’s is a retail company which has various stores around the Country. It has been
faced with increasing issues of operational and application complexity. The management of their
data has also become an issue to the company. The company has sought the services of a
consultant who will give them the best strategy they can enforce to solve the problems they are
facing. Webb’s in solving their current issues have decided to move their MS SQL Server 2012
R2 database to the cloud as an IaaS. IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a service. This means that
the company will be provided with the database infrastructure as a service instead of them
having to buy any equipment to store and maintain the database. A cloud is a virtual space where
data can be stored and the providers of these cloud instances offer their clients the infrastructure
as a service so that their clients never have to worry about maintaining the needed infrastructure.
Cloud computing is an information technology term used to describe a model which enables
ubiquitous access to a collection of resources (Qusay, 2011). Cloud computing allows the users
of this service to access the cloud over the internet and be able to manipulate and store their data.
Webb’s on consulting an expert in cloud computing have been advised to utilize a hybrid cloud.
A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing model where a private cloud which is on premises
and a third party cloud are used together to help achieve the needed tasks of a company. Cloud
computing ensures that accessing of data is more reliable and efficient. The whole premise of
cloud computing is sharing of resources to achieve economies of scale and coherence. The
benefits of cloud computing are that it first enables the companies which use it to minimize on
initial IT infrastructure costs. In such a scenario the company is given more headway to focus
more on their core business and not spending a lot of resources on acquiring the IT
infrastructure.

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When Webb’s database is migrated to the cloud it needs to be protected from anyone who
might have any kind of malicious intent. The Webb’s database is critical in their operations and
therefore needs to be protected to ensure there is no unauthorized access when the database is
uploaded to the public cloud. Cloud security is the use of certain technologies, controls and
policies to ensure that the applications, data and associated infrastructure being used in the cloud
are protected. The security measures that need to be implemented to ensure the mission critical
database being used by Webb’s is secured include physical security. In this case the service
providers of the cloud need to ensure that they have physically secured the cloud infrastructure
that is routers, servers and IT hardware from theft, unauthorized access, fires and tampering or
interference. Physical security also means that the service provider needs to ensure the needed
resources to run the cloud such as electricity are always present so that there is never any kind of
disruption in the services being provided. Identity management is another way to ensure security
is maintained in the cloud. Identity management systems control and monitor who has access to
specific data and features in an organization. Cloud service providers usually integrate identity
management systems into their infrastructure so that they are able to maintain security within the
cloud. Identity management is integrated to the cloud through features such as SSO or federation
technology, custom identity management systems or the use of biometrics to access the cloud.
Data encryption also ensures security within the cloud in that if the cloud is breached by
unauthorized personnel the data they may acquire will be useless to them since it will be
encrypted and they will not have the decryption key. The company should conduct training
sessions with the staff to ensure that they are aware of how they can become a threat to the
security of the cloud. If they are aware of the dangers they may pose to the security of the cloud
they become more self-active and alert in ensuring the cloud data is protected from anyone who

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might try to get information from them to access the cloud through initiatives such as social
engineering.
The benefits of enacting security measures on the cloud are that the cloud will be more
protected from any unauthorized access. The use of biometrics and encryption to access and
view data on the cloud ensures that the cloud is only accessible to people who have been granted
prior access after thorough screening. In the event that the cloud is breached encryption is
important in that the individuals who have gained unauthorized access will not be able to
understand or decrypt the data. Protecting the physical location of the cloud infrastructure is also
beneficial to ensure that no one can be able to tamper with client’s data by gaining access to the
physical infrastructure of the cloud. The issues that may arise when setting up these security
measures may include users not being able to access the cloud or data in it if they are unable to
understand how the cloud operates and how data can be decrypted for them to understand it. In
the case of a virus or ransomware affecting the cloud infrastructure the company in proxy to the
cloud service provider might be locked out of their data and have to pay money to ensure their
data is returned. When there is minimal security on the part of the company it can cause
individuals who are skilled in man in the middle attacks to tap data as it is sent and received from
the cloud. The use of biometrics is good in securing access to the cloud however if an
unauthorized person is able to attain these authentication measures such as the fingerprint of an
authorized individual they can easily gain access to the cloud. The presence of several security
measures including two factor authentication and encryption is important in ensuring cloud
security is maintained (Haghighat, Zonouz & Abdel-Mottaleb, 2015).
The risks associated with migrating the database to the cloud are data breaches and data
integrity. When data is being migrated it is moving from the physical location where the data is

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held to the cloud service provider. This migration has to go through the internet for it to be
successful. It is therefore important to ensure as this data is being migrated it is not in any way
tapped or hijacked by any unwanted parties. The cloud service provider should provide a secure
connection in which the database can be migrated with very minimal chance of it being
breached. Data integrity is also very important during migration. If the database being migrated
is altered in any way it may cause the company to incur heavy losses in its business. It is
therefore important to ensure the manner in which the database is being migrated is efficient and
maintains its data integrity. The IaaS infrastructure as a service is the cloud infrastructure which
is used to house and power the database as it in the cloud. When migrating the database to the
cloud the IaaS infrastructure should be running at optimum levels. This will ensure that the
database is migrated to the cloud with ease and efficiency without any loss of data. The
probability of the IaaS infrastructure suffering a problem such as a data breach, power fault on
no internet connection will hinder a safe migration. All these aspects and risks of migration
should be planned for and mitigated so that there is minimal if at all no chance of there being a
problem during the migration.
Communication between the IaaS and Webb’s during the migration should be at peak
levels. For the database to be migrated there has to be a connection from Webb’s to the cloud.
During the migration both parties should ensure that they have scheduled the migration and that
there can be no unforeseen communication problems during the migration. In case there are any
communication issues Webb’s should ensure it has a backup of all the data they are moving to
the cloud so that is there is any tampering or loss of data, communication and migration of data
can be scheduled to be done at a later date after all the issues have been solved.

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The risks of backing up data to the cloud are that the data is on the internet. There are
rising cases of various institutions being hacked and their data being leaked. In such a case
Webb’s should be aware that there might be a possibility of the cloud service provider being
breached. The cloud service provider should always ensure that cloud security is enforced and
maintained to avoid any chance of a data breach. Backing up of data can sometimes be a problem
if the data is manipulated by other parties as it is being sent to the cloud. The risk of having data
in the cloud which is not reflective of what Webb’s has can cause future problems if they utilize
the backed up data. There should be secure connections and communication measures
implemented when backing up of data is being done to ensure data integrity is maintained. Data
being stored on the cloud means that it can be accessed by people who may know what they are
doing. If the cloud service provider is breached the backed up data can be sold to the competitors
of Webb’s. This is referred to as corporate espionage and Webb’s should have measures in place
to mitigate such kinds of risks. They can do this by ensuring all the backed up data is encrypted
so even if the data is breached it cannot be understood without a decryption key. Retrieval of
data from the cloud should also be done securely through the use of a secure connection. When
data is being retrieved only individuals with authorized access should be able to perform such
actions to ensure that data integrity is maintained. The security measures such as antiviruses on
both ends should be up to date to ensure that when data is being backed up or retrieved it does
not contain any kind of virus that may cause harm or corrupt their database.
Webb’s had an initial data recovery plan where their data was stored in data centers and
recovered from those in-house data centers. When they move their data to the cloud their data
recovery plans do not change significantly. Instead of them recovering data from their in-house
servers the will simply retrieve their data from their cloud service provider. Webb’s also needs to

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have put in place measures to ensure that data is regularly backed up to the cloud so that when
they need to recover data it is updated and they do not lose any data in the process. Their backup
strategy will be more secure and most likely automated because their cloud service provider will
handle most of the work. The strategy to backup data will be to ensure that data can be backed up
to the cloud automatically maybe twice in a day to ensure that the backed up data is always up to
date. Their retrieval strategy will remain the same only that now their data will be coming from
their cloud rather than from their in-house servers.
As Webb’s migrate their data to the cloud they need to ensure that security is a top
priority in guarding their data and its integrity. Access to their data in the cloud should be
monitored and maintained efficiently to ensure that it is accessed only by authorized personnel.
The IaaS infrastructure should be protected from access by a lot of individuals. Webb’s should
entrust access to the IaaS to a select few who will be able to manage how data is backed up and
retrieved from the cloud. Webb’s should also ensure that they entrust their data to a reputable
cloud service provider who is capable of keeping their data safe and secure from any threats. The
cloud service provider should also be able to ensure there is never any downtime between the
cloud and the company so that Webb’s can get the full benefits of using the IaaS infrastructure.
Webb’s MS SQL Server 2012 R2 cloud instance should always be up to date to ensure
that it cannot be a victim of any malicious activity. Webb’s should ensure that only a few people
are able to access the server and can be able to maintain it properly to ensure maximum
efficiency is achieved from it. The cloud network infrastructure Webb’s is using should be
protected from various kinds of attacks. The network infrastructure should be modeled in a way
that ensures there is always a secure connection between Webb’s and the cloud. The network
should be able to deliver maximum efficiency and have good security measures such as use of

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firewalls to ensure that any kind of tapping or attacking on the network to obtain Webb’s data is
avoided. Secure network connections will mean that the cloud network infrastructure has been
designed in a way that it always maintains data integrity and discourages any unwanted parties
from being able to access any data going to or from the cloud to Webb’s. The cloud backup
should be done in a professional manner. As data is being backed up access to this process
should be granted to various individuals who may handle specific departments to ensure they are
each responsible for backup of data in their respective department. Data should be encrypted
before it is backed up to the cloud. This will ensure that data is secured through encryption so
that if there is a chance of a data breach the unauthorized users will not be able to understand the
data. Data can be encrypted when backing it up by ensuring it follows a secure connection from
Webb’s to the cloud.
Restoring of data can be done in a well-organized manner whenever the company may
need their data. The data as it is being backed up should be encrypted and should be secured
when it is in transit to the cloud. No one from the cloud service provider should be able to access
Webb’s data without their knowledge. This is important so that any employees working for the
cloud service provider are not able to manipulate and put Webb’s data integrity at risk. While
data is being restored only individuals with authorized access from Webb’s should be able to
access this data. Keeping the number of people who can access the cloud and perform backup
and restore operations minimal ensures that the possibility of any kind of data breach is averted.
These authorized individuals are the ones who are the gatekeepers of the company between the
cloud and their in-house infrastructure. They should be in a position to know who is given what
kind of access to data and what privileges they have been given to modify or update the data.
Cloud computing is essential for companies today to maintain an edge in the growing demands

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that they have. It is essential that cloud computing is secure to maintain data integrity of all the
users data which is stored on the cloud.
References
Haghighat M., Zonouz S. & Abdel-Mottaleb M. (2015). CloudID: Trustworthy Cloud based and
Cross-Enterprise Biometric Identification. Expert Systems with Applications. 21: 7905-
7916.
Qusay H. (2011). Demystifying Cloud Computing. The Journal of Defense Software
Engineering.