CLOUD COMPUTING SECURITY BASIC INFORMATION

One of the biggest user concerns about Cloud Computing is its security, as naturally with any emerging Internet technology. In the enterprise data centers and Internet Data Centers (IDC), service providers offer racks and networks only, and the remaining devices have to be prepared by users themselves, including servers, firewalls, software, storage devices etc.

While a complex task for the end user, he does have a clear overview of the architecture and the system, thus placing the design of data security under his control. Some users use physical isolation (such as iron cages) to protect their servers. Under cloud computing, the backend resource and management architecture of the service is invisible for users (and thus the word

“Cloud” to describe an entity far removed from our physical reach). Without physical control and access, the users would naturally question the security of the system.

A comparable analogy to data security in a Cloud is in financial institutions where a customer deposits his cash bills into an account with a bank and thus no longer have a physical asset in his possession. He will rely on the technology and financial integrity of the bank to protect his now virtual asset.

Similarly we’ll expect to see a progression in the acceptance of placing data in physical locations out of our reach but with a trusted provider. To establish that trust with the end users of Cloud, the architects of Cloud computing solutions do indeed designed rationally to protect data security among end users, and between end users and service providers.

From the point of view of the technology, the security of user data can be reflected in the following rules of implementation:

1. The privacy of user storage data. User storage data cannot be viewed or changed by other people (including the operator).

2. The user data privacy at runtime. User data cannot be viewed or changed by other people at runtime (loaded to system memory).

3. The privacy when transferring user data through network. It includes the security of transferring data in cloud computing center intranet and internet. It cannot be viewed or changed by other people.

4. Authentication and authorization needed for users to access their data. Users can access their data through the right way and can authorize other users to access.