Cloud Computing Security Models - Essay Example

? Topic: Cloud computing is known for its efficiency and flexibility in producing services that are able to meet the escalating business needs. Cloud computing has a wide range of benefits but it also encounters issues regarding security such as application security, access control, virtualization security, identity management and authentication. However, the issue of cloud security is the main focus for the various cloud computing potential customers and it is also considered the major barrier to most of its widespread applications (Patrick, 2013). This research paper will focus on current research done on cloud security. The main focus of the paper will be to survey the popular cloud computing security models as well as the diverse parameters of cloud security which will involve virtualization, compliance, framework, risk management, dynamic access security, internet access security and access management. Introduction The biggest problem facing network computing and distributed systems is security. Cloud computing refers to internet computing and it is the latest concept that has the capability to increase an organization’s service delivery efficiency. The security models of cloud computing that are cloud multiple tenancy model of NIST, cloud risk accumulation model of CSA, Jerico forum’s cloud cube model and the mapping model of cloud, compliance and security are supported by the three cloud services models. Resources for cloud computing are scalable and dynamic .The representation of cloud computing is elaborated through three cloud computing service models which are platform as a service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Patrick, 2013). The main aim of these cloud computing service models is to be able to provide the IT departments with focus on the various strategic projects as well as cutting down on the operational costs (Ritesh, Anantwar& Swati, 2012). The cloud computing models are considered to have a variety of dimensions that are used to further worsen the security problem. The cloud computing model comprises of two main features which are elasticity and multi-tenancy. Elasticity depends on the presence of secure placement strategies andsecures service migration while multi-tenancy feature results to virtualization and thus the boundaries among different host services need to be improved. At present the available security strategies are only for the single cloud user and single cloud provider but if cloud computing in the future moves to a multiple provider environment security there will be a greater challenge in addressing the issue of security (Patrick, 2013). Users of cloud computing are able to access their database resources from the internet regardless of their location. It is quite clear that the use of cloud services is important and offers a lot of benefits to the user or the enterprise that has adapted the new technology. Cloud computing can thus be regarded as a model that enables convenience on the demand network access to the shared computing resources. As stated by Amarnath et. al.2010 virtualization technology is used to optimize the performance of the application in a cost effective way but this technology can introduce some security risks. Therefore, cloud computing security plays a major role because the customers outsource computation tasks and data on cloud computing servers which are managed by cloud providers who cannot be trusted (Amarnath, 2010). Cloud computing has become popular as a result of many enterprise applications moving to the cloud platforms. However, the issue of security has become a major barrier point for cloud computing adoption. Based on a recent survey research conducted by the International Data Corporation almost 87.5% of the IT executives stated that security is a major challenge that must be dealt with in each cloud service. Therefore, there is need to come up with applications that will be used to curb the threats brought about by security by using some security elements such as confidentiality, integrity, authentication, authorization, non-repudiation and availability (Patrick, 2013). Problem statement Based on past research studies done on cloud computing security models, there is need for an up to date insight into the required security requirements and the relevant solutions due to the increase in cloud services. The main objective of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the different varieties of cloud computing security models as well as the proposed solution required to deal with the provided requirements. This paper will thus focus on the past studies done on cloud computing with the look upon to the security issues of concern. It will also aim in addressing and helping the developers and consultants with a comprehensive overview that will quickly focus on addressing the gaps that exist in cloud security issues. Literature Review Many researches have been conducted on comparative approach to cloud security models. According to Amarnathet al.2010, he stated that the virtual machines (VMs) that are placed and shared acrossa physical infrastructure will therefore be rapidly grown in a cloud computing platform. This will introduce much new vulnerability like VM Escape and VM Hopping. In this literature review different authors have emphasized the main importance of virtualization in the context of cloud computing security. This research will list the benefits of cloud computing as well as the major security issues experienced in the cloud platform. The research will aim to bring out the main problems in terms of privacy and cloud securitymodels (Amarnath, 2010). According to Mahbubet.al, 2011, he introduced a mechanism that was aimed at providing security in Software as a Service (SaaS). Based on his findings user registration, control of data and permission to gain access to the data will be managed by the data owner. The functions of the data owner will be to keep a record of all the registered users as well as issuing a trust ticket to the user. The process involves the data owner sending a user’s public key, capability list and the trust ID to the Cloud Service Provider (CSP). His research was aimed at providing a mechanism that would offer the relevant security to the SaaS cloud computing model. According to Kresimirpopovi et.al, 2010 he conducted a survey on cloud computing security and it was elaborated in a manner that dealt with security challenges and issues. However his research analyzed cloud computing security from a point where virtualization was disregarded and thus the research was not able to show the effects of the various cloud computing service models. According to Behl et.al, 2011, he investigated the issues of security that are related to cloud computing. He discussed the existing security approaches that are used to secure the cloud computing infrastructure, the applications as well as their drawbacks. However, his work did not discuss the threats related to the service models and virtualization. According to Ahmed et.al, 2011, he conducted a developed a new strategy for his research that was aimed at delivering the cloud security by use of the reconfigurable computing. In his research, he proposed solutions that were aimed at increasing the trust that existed in cloud computing through ensuring that the data was controlled exclusively by the data owner. According to him if there exists an association between the physical hardware and the user the challenges that emerge from anonymity are thus greatly reduced while measures towards increasing security may be created around the concept. The physical hardware is associated with the user and the FPGA device is set aside from the cloud. According to Ahmed the idea that exists of security is received through the participation of client and also the client’s willingness of ensuring security and therefore not depending on the commitment of security that is provided by the cloud service vendor. Therefore, based on the literature review done on cloud computing it is evident that the major concerns facing this new technology are that of privacy and security. The argument that is mainly brought up with regards to cloud computing is that many companies that tend to offer cloud services basically live by the expectations of their reputations. Cloud computing generates a lot of benefits with regards to the set goals of an enterprise and thus strategies should be enforced that will be able to deal with the problem. Conclusion Cloud computing is regarded as type of paradigm which can be used to access with convenience a configurable and dynamic set of public computing resources such as storage, application, network and other related services. These resources with use of the cloud services can be provided and published with the least management and intervention. However, the prevalence of using cloud computing is affected by the problem of security. Therefore, efforts should be put to ensure that the security of cloud is improved for better performance. In future security strategies should be imposed on cloud computing. References Amarnath, J.(2010). ‘Security in Multi-tenancy Cloud’, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT),Volume 1 Issue 7. Ahmed,J.(2011).Cloud Security Solutions using FGPA IEEE:Journal of Global Research in Computer Science,Volume 3,Issue 9. Behl, A.(2011).‘Emerging Security Challenges in Cloud computing, an insight to Cloud security challenges and their mitigation’, International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) pp. 217-221. Kresimir, P.(2010). ‘Cloud computing security issues and challenges’, IEEE,International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) pp. 344-349. Mahbub, A.,& Yang, X.(2011).Trust Ticket Deployment: A Notion of a Data Owner’s Trust in Cloud Computing, IEEE. Patrick,H.(2013).Cloud Computing Requirements and Solutions:a Systematic Literature Review. The Netherlands: University of Twente Ritesh, G.,Anantwar,P., &Swati,G.(2012).Cloud Computing and Security Models: A Survey: International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology, Volume 1,Issue 2. Read More