There are many advantages of Cloud Computing over traditional Computing but as they say – Everything has its own Pros and Cons. In our earlier posts What is Cloud Computing and Types of Cloud Computing, we have mostly talked about the advantages of Cloud Computing. In this post, we will talk about the Risks involved in Cloud Computing.
Data in the cloud is typically in a shared environment alongside data from other customers and since it’s in shared environment, so the customers are ultimately responsible for the security and integrity of their own data, even when it is held by a service provider. Many customers have no idea how exposed they really are when they put a website or other corporate application on someone else’s hardware.
SaaS Chronicles has put together a good list that can help gain more insights into security and provide some additional context for the ways data does flow in the cloud:
- Where will my data be stored?
- Who will have access to my sensitive data?
- What controls do you have in place to ensure safety for my data while it is stored in your environment?
- What type of employee / contractor screening you do, before you hire them?
- Will my data be replicated to any other datacenters around the world (If yes, then which ones)?
- What is your Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity strategy?
- Is your Cloud Computing service SAS70 compliant?
- Do you offer single sign-on for your services?
- How do you detect if an application is being attacked (hacked), and how is that reported to me and my employees?
- Do I have full ownership of my data?
- Will you provide me my data in a readable format – Pdf, Excel, Access…?
- Do you offer a way for me to run your application locally and how quickly I can revert to the local installation?
While cloud security is still a critical issue and something that must be taken extremely serious by all vendors, the mood is shifting towards general acceptance of security in the cloud.
What do you think? What questions do you suggest asking about cloud security?
Reads:711Posted: July 20th, 2010 under Cloud Computing, Gwt - GlobalWorldTech.
Tags: Cloud Computing, Risks involved in Cloud Computing