One of the biggest concerns of cloud computing has been security. It is very similar to when people were worried about using their credit cards online fearing their data would be stolen. However, with time and tight security controls, online shopping has grown to the point that Cyber Monday was created and well over $1 billion in purchases were made on Cyber Monday 2012. Similarly, significant innovations have been made in protecting data and systems since the introduction of cloud computing and there is proven success with this relatively young computing model, increasing the comfort level and adoption of public, private and hybrid clouds. With organizations like Forrester Research predicting that the public cloud market will grow to $160 billion by 2020, it is evident that security concerns have been addressed and this is the new direction that organizations are headed to manage their computing environments.
Just like with on-premise computer systems, public, private and hybrid cloud environments must have similar protections for privacy, authentication and security. The careful selection of a service provider is essential. They need to have the expertise to properly configure and manage a cloud computing environment, have the necessary certifications to verify their expertise and have a robust infrastructure in place to ensure a secure and reliable computing environment for their clients.
The January 26, 2013 Forbes article titled “7 Tips for Securing Your Cloud, from the Federal Government,” provides the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s key action steps to ensure the security of your cloud computing environment. It is a quick read and worth the time.
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