The Dark Side Of The Cloud

It hasn't been a banner year for cloud-based services: First it was Amazon's outage, and then the breaches of email marketing provider Epsilon, Sony's PlayStation Network, and others, fueling concerns about just how safe it is to move data out of the data center and into the cloud.

Cloud providers aren't quite there yet when it comes to keeping data as secure as traditional enterprise networks do, security experts say, and it pays to look at their DNA: They tend to host an infrastructure that mirrors the source of their computing power, according to Chris Whitener, chief security strategist for Hewlett-Packard. Amazon’s cloud services are based on its experiences providing an available retail experience. A cloud based on a bank’s excess capacity, meanwhile, might have more security built into it, he notes in Dark Reading's newly released Analytics Alert, "Dark Side of the Cloud Becoming Clearer."

And making things worse, cloud services providers and users see security differently, according to a recent survey by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by CA Technologies: The data indicates that cloud providers are more focused on cost and speed of deployment than on security. Nearly 80 percent of cloud providers allocate just 10 percent or less of IT resources to security or control-related activities. Fewer than half of the service provider respondents agree or strongly agree that security is a priority, and less than 20 percent of U.S. and European providers consider security a competitive advantage.

This doesn't bode well for cloud adoption: "If the risk of breach outweighs potential cost savings and agility, we may reach a point of ‘cloud stall’ -- where cloud adoption slows or stops -- until organizations believe cloud security is as good as or better than enterprise security," said Mike Denning, CA Technologies' general manager, security, in a statement. The majority of cloud providers (69 percent) believe security is primarily the responsibility of the cloud user, according to the report.

What should enterprises do? Rather than focus on contracts and limiting liability in cloud services deals, focus instead on controls and auditability, according to Josh Corman, director of research at The 451 Group. Corman says there's typically not enough due diligence done before signing with a cloud services provider and handing over your data: “It’s like if you had a date tonight, would you let a random stranger watch your kids?” he says. “No. There is a whole bunch of questions you would ask.”

And not all software-as-a-service providers sufficiently encrypt data. According to Russ Dietz, CTO for SafeNet, a maker of secure network and cloud technologies: “We still have a long way to go,” Dietz says. “SaaS providers could deploy [encryption technologies], but it takes time to integrate them into their systems. We are still in the early days.”

So authentication is as important as encryption to protect sensitive information. Meanwhile, compliance is still an enigma in the cloud. Auditors and enterprises alike are trying to sort out what compliance means in diverse and complex cloud environments -- a process that will continue to evolve as organizations figure out what cloud providers should be held accountable for, and how.

The full Dark Reading report is available for download here.

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