In the ever-changing world of business

communication and demand for

instantaneous information, there are
many issues surrounding cloud computing
in relation to storage, access, and security.
These sources will prepare the reader to
argue the affirmative, that cloud
computing would positively answer the
demand for instantaneous information; or
to argue the negative, that cloud
computing is not the answer to
instantaneous information.

Cloud
Computing
12 October 2016

Annotated Bibliography and

Abstracts

Jarod Cielo

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What is cloud computing? TechTarget

Cloud computing refers to delivering hosted services over the internet. The computing
resources are consumed as a utility, like electricity, instead of having to maintain physical
computing infrastructures. Cloud computing offers benefits for businesses and end users,
such as self-service positioning and elasticity. The cost is also based on usage, measured
down to a miniscule level, so users pay only for the resources they use. The services can be
private, public, or hybrid. A private cloud service delivers from a business data center to
internal users. Public cloud services are delivered over the internet by a third-party
provider and sold on-demand. The hybrid cloud model takes advantage of public cloud
service while still allocating sensitive workloads within the business. IaaS-type providers
supply virtual-server storage and APIs (application program interfaces) to transfer data to
virtual machines, PaaS providers like Google App Engine host development tools on their
servers, and SaaS providers like Office 365 deliver software apps over the internet.
http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-computing

What is Cloud Computing? IBM

Cloud computing, or the cloud, delivers computing resources, such as apps and data
centers, over the internet on a pay-per-use basis. Cloud computing offers elastic resources
so clients can scale usage up or down to meet demand; the services are metered so the cost
is only for the resources used; and the resources are provided with self-service access.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provides cloud-based applications, Platform-as-a-Service
eliminates the complexity of purchasing and maintaining hardware, and Infrastructure-as-aService provides companies with computing resources such as servers and networking.
https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/learn-more/what-is-cloud-computing/

8 Reasons to Fear Cloud Computing |Business News Daily

The cloud provides instant access to data anytime and anywhere there is an Internet
connection. However, business still concern over exactly how safe the cloud is. Experts say
there is no such thing as a completely safe cloud system. The risks users take when
migrating to and storing data in the cloud include placing ones responsibility in someone
elses hands, as some cloud providers are not always looking at the clients best interests.
Although most cloud providers take security measures, the chance of cyberattacks
increases with the sophistication of technology, and volumes of data can be stored by all
sorts of people on the same cloud. Insider threats and security breaches by privileged users
are also a problem; once an employee gains or gives others access to a cloud, the clients
data is open for taking. Government intrusion is also a threat, given by the ensuing reports
on government surveillance programs. Businesses also concern themselves over the legal
liabilities present in the aftermath of cloud disasters, such as lawsuits filed by or against
them. The standardization of cloud safety is sketchy, since not all cloud providers are built
the same. Overall, there is always a risk up ahead with cloud computing. As technology
advances, so do the risks that follow. The key is getting to know cloud providers as much as
possible.

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http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5215-dangers-cloud-computing.html

12 cloud security threats |InfoWorld

The shared and on-demand nature of cloud computing introduces new security breaches
that can cancel out the benefits of switching to cloud technology. CSA reports show that
cloud services, by nature, enable users to bypass organization-wide policies. The first
threats are data breaches, which can cause companies to incur fines or face lawsuits and
criminal charges. Broken authentication and comprised credentials are the second in the
list. These result from poor management for certificates or keys, as companies struggle with
giving the appropriate permissions to a certain job or they forget to remove access for a
former employee. The rest of the threats listed are hacked interfaces, exploited
vulnerabilities, account hijacking, malicious inside users, parasitic (recurring) threats,
permanent data loss, inadequate diligence within the company, service abuse, Denial-ofService cyberattacks, and the base risk of using widely shared technology.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/3041078/security/the-dirty-dozen-12-cloud-securitythreats.html

The top 5 issues with the top 5 cloud storage services

|Computerworld
Surveys about Dropbox show (40%) of the reported issues are comprised of security
problems. Users who rely on Dropbox for personal content like music and entertainment
arent discouraged by security issues, but using Dropbox to store financial or sensitive items
is a risk users should steer clear of. (30%) of those surveyed for Google Drive complained
about missing folders and another (20%) faced problems with synchronization. (30%) of
SugarSync users complained about the lack of support for financial users, another (30%)
complained about storage space pricing, higher than most other cloud services. iCloud
users (35%) faced a hit after the OS X Mountain Lion update, (25%) complained about the
incompatibility with non-Apple devices, (15%) complained about syncing in general,
another (15%) were dissatisfied with storage space. For the cloud storage service Box,
(25%) chose security concerns as their top issue, another (25%) chose upload issues, and
(20%) chose laggy response.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2493144/cloud-computing/the-top-5-issues-withthe-top-5-cloud-storage-services.html

The 5 cloud risks you have to stop ignoring | InfoWorld

Cloud users face three types of risks: the known knowns (visible threats), known unknowns
(anomalies), and unknown unknowns (undiscovered). One of the major obstacles to
adopting cloud systems is the calculation of additional risk from all the unknown threats,
known and otherwise. The first risk any business faces as a customer of cloud service is

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shared access, in essence multitenancy. The second risk group is that of virtual exploits
between servers, hosts, and guests, uncalculated in most risk models. The third risk group is
that of authentication, which depends on how often business clean and remove stale
accounts and how many privileged users can access the system. A fourth risk is the
availability of cloud service. Some allegedly fantastic services have been down for hours or
days with service interruptions. The fifth risk is ownership, as a customer is not the only
owner of the data, and many providers have clauses in their contracts that explicitly states
that the data is theirs, not the customers. Cloud vendors like owning other peoples data
because it acts a security and legal protection in the event of something going wrong.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2614369/security/the-5-cloud-risks-you-have-to-stopignoring.html

What Are the Security Benefits of Cloud Computing? |Robert

Half Management Resources
Robert Half company writes about making the move to cloud computing. Higher
International Organization Standards are a benefit, as cloud computing is a multibilliondollar industry and business is based in part on security. Another listed benefit is that the
effects of human error are reduced, under the notion that people makes mistakes while
computers dont, and that data can be retained by companies despite the loss of physical
machines. The article lists that more is better and that cloud computing, with its many
methods of storage and iteration, are friendly aspects to businesses. The article ends with
the statement, While there were early concerns about the potential security risks its
becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to ignore the potential benefits of cloud
computing.
https://www.roberthalf.com/management-resources/blog/what-are-the-security-benefitsof-cloud-computing

11 Advantages of Cloud Computing and How Your Business

Can Benefit From Them |SkyHigh Networks
Cameron Coles writes that Cloud adoption is accelerating faster than anticipated. According
to Forrester, SaaS, IaaS, and Paas all have the same predictions in the cloud computing
forecast with fast growth of the workloads placed in cloud and increased total IT budget
going toward cloud computing. According to a study by Cloud Security Alliance, 33%
percent of organizations have a full-forward attitude toward cloud services and 86% spend
at least part of IT budgets on cloud service. A report by market research company Vanson
Bourne compiled the interviews of 460 senior decision makers of various enterprises,
summarized in 11 drivers of cloud adoption. Fresh software, the ability to do more with
less, flexible prices, always-on availability, improved mobility, better collaboration, cost
effectiveness, quick expense scaling, flexible capacity, facilitation with M&A (mergers and
acquisitions), and less environmental impact, according to the report.

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https://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-blog/11-advantages-of-cloudcomputing-and-how-your-business-can-benefit-from-them/

Benefits of cloud computing |Queensland Government

There are many benefits to migrating business to the cloud. The reduced IT (Informational
Technology) costs come from the reduction of effort in maintaining and managing IT
systems, the disappearing need to hire and pay experts, lower energy consumption, and
fewer time delays. There is more scalability with cloud computing, since there is no more
need to purchase and install upgrades by oneself and the storage and operation
requirements are flexible. The protection of data and systems allows for more assured
business continuity, shielding against the event of natural disaster. Collaboration efficiency
is also much better, work practices are more flexible, the business has access to automatic
updates.
https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/technology-for-business/cloudcomputing-business/cloud-computing-benefits

NIST Definition of Cloud Computing

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition of cloud computing
provides a model composed of five essential characteristics: on-demand self-service, broad
network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. The definition
also includes four deployment models -organized between private, public, hybrid, and
community clouds- and three service models. Software-as-a-Service (Saas) gives the
consumer provider-based applications running on the cloud, which allows accessibility from
various client devices through either a web browser or program interface; Platform-as-aservice (PaaS) provides consumer-created applications created using program resources
from the provider. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (Iaas) provides processing, storage, network,
and some operating systems.
http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-145.pdf

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Bibliography
Angeles, Sara. "8 Reasons to Fear Cloud Computing." 1 October 2013. Business News Daily. Document.
10 October 2016.
Coles, Cameron. "11 Advantages of Cloud Computing and How Your Business Can Benefit From Them."
10 June 2015. Skyhigh Networks Web site. Document. 10 October 2016.
Grimes, Roger. A. "The 5 cloud risks you have to stop ignoring." 19 March 2013. InfoWorld Web site.
Document. 10 October 2016.
IBM Corporation. "What is cloud computing." 9 June 2016. International Business Machines Corporation
Web site. Document. 10 October 2016.
Mearian, Lucas. "The top 5 issues with the top 5 cloud storage services." 1 November 2012.
ComputerWorld Web site. Document. 10 October 2016.
Mell, Peter and Grance Timothy. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. Technical. Gaithersburg, MD:
National Institue of Standards and Technology, 2011. Document.
Queensland Government. "Benefits of cloud computing." 4 May 2016. Queensland Government Business
and Industry portal. Document. 12 October 2016.
Rashid, Fahmida Y. "The dirty dozen: 12 cloud security threats." 11 March 2016. InfoWorld Web site.
Document. 10 October 2016.
Robert Half . "What Are the Security Benefits of Cloud Computing?" 24 February 2014. Robert Hald
Management Resources Web site. Document. 10 October 2016.
Rouse, Margaret. "Cloud Computing." 2015. TechTarget Web site. Document. 10 October 2016.