Cloud Computing: Reflections On The Topic Of Security
Experts warn that there is still insufficient attention paid to security when it comes to the newfangled, more and more an emerging trend of “IT – Cloud Computing”. What are the main reasons for the choice made in favor of the clouds? The answer is obvious: in the first place, it is economical and easy to use.
In a broad sense, “cloud solutions” is outsourcing data previously placed on personal computers. If you use e-mail services, such as Gmail, or if you have an account with social networking sites, then you’re already using cloud computing, since your data is stored and processed on remote dedicated servers. The main advantage of such an organization working with data is their availability in any place where there is Internet access.
In terms of corporate consumer cloud technologies enable growing businesses to reduce IT costs by reducing the budgets for the purchase of hardware and software necessary for processing and storing information.
Private users, for example, can upload pictures or documents to the cloud, using services such as Flickr or Google Docs, and access them from home, internet cafe, or, for example, with a variety of portable devices.
“Cloud” mechanisms and principles of treatment, storage, and access to it, of course, are very comfortable and profitable. However, according to experts, the main problem is that the user has no idea of who, where and how to manage the infrastructure, ensuring the safety of information. The user does not know whether in fact, data is protected or not. He has no confidence in the fact that his information will not disappear or will not be disclosed at some point.
Many studies show that despite the increasing popularity of outsourcing of IT resources, half of the heads of organizations are extremely concerned about the issues of information security and what are the potential threats to virtualized computing environments that can create the problem, whose solution requires an integrated approach.
Having its own IT infrastructure, companies take their own security measures for protection, for example, using tools such as network filters and antivirus software. If the data is stored and processed in the external environment, the security issues are beyond the control of the owners of the data.
Currently there are no official regulations that would regulate the safety issues for suppliers of cloud solutions and services, through which the user can be completely confident that the security of its data is provided properly.
Virtualization technologies not only reduce costs and save energy consumption, but also generate a lot of questions for data protection. In particular, the concentration of cloud technologies require a huge amount of information in a single space, which, in turn, can bring computer criminals of all shades and degrees. For example, in January of this year, the functioning of email service by Google was in jeopardy because of hacker attack.
With the development and popularization of cloud technologies, it can be expected that a new generation of malicious software will be developed that can serve as a significant reason to compromise themselves, and cloud services providers offering services.
Finally, of particular concern in the development of cloud technologies is the possibility of interference with privacy of service users. For example, various governmental and other entities are much easier to gain access to user data stored in the cloud, rather than the data that the user stores locally. Such examples are already there. For example, many lenders are using social networks as a tool to find debtors.
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