Cloud computing

Overview
Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources, not a new technology. It involves the sharing or storage by users of their own information on remote servers owned or operated by others and accessed through the Internet or other connections. Cloud computing services exist in many variations, including data storage sites, video sites, tax preparation sites, personal health record websites, photography websites, social networking sites, and Web-based e-mail applications and common business applications that are accessed online through a browser, instead of through a local computer. The term cloud is a metaphor for the Internet, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.

Cloud computing provides convenient, remote, on-demand utilization (e.g., rental) of computing power and applications that the user cannot afford to maintain locally, but may need from time-to-time. This capability provides ubiquitous network access, on-demand self-service of computing power, metered-use (rent by the hour), elasticity of the capability meeting real-time requirements, and resource pooling.

Cloud capability may be deployed by various cloud providers to a multitude of cloud customers in various ways, including: software as a service, platform as a service, and infrastructure as a service. Delivery models of service providers include: private, community, public, and hybrid. Each has benefits and some controversy.

Two basic kinds of clouds include storage clouds and processing clouds; both require extremely fast, reliable, secure and low-cost networking. Clouds are a good fit for very large-scale applications involving huge quantities of data and vast computing power that is often highly variable in quantity over time. Any information stored locally on a computer can be stored in a cloud, including email, word processing documents, spreadsheets, videos, health records, photographs, tax or other financial information, business plans, PowerPoint presentations, accounting information, advertising campaigns, sales numbers, appointment calendars, address books, and more. The entire contents of a user’s storage device may be stored with a single cloud provider or with many cloud providers.

The concept incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the user. Often-quoted examples are Salesforce.com and Google Apps which provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on remote servers.

Cloud computing is rapidly becoming an integral part of the U.S. economy, with implications for business development, security, and privacy. As  of  September  2008,  69%  of  Americans  were  using web-based email  services,  [[data storage|storing  data]] online,  or  otherwise  using  [[software  program]]s  such  as [[ word  processing  application]]s  whose  functionality  is  located  on  the web. A March 2009 study indicated that corporate IT spending on cloud computing services are expected to triple, reaching US$42 billion by 2012.

The rise of cloud computing can be ascribed at least in part to efforts by cloud computing providers to make their services as user-friendly as possible. Cloud computing consumers enjoy the convenience of accessing their information from any Internet-connected device, the ability to share documents and information with others, and the security of protection from data loss.

An example of cloud computing is Google Docs, in which the word processing program is accessible through a web browser, and the content in the document resides in Google’s servers.

Definitions
The NIST defines "cloud computing" as a means:

"for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction."

The Yankee Group defines "cloud computing" as "dynamically scalable virtualized information services delivered on demand over the Internet."

Key characteristics

 * On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider.
 * Ubiquitous network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).
 * Location independent resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve all consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. The customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.
 * Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned to quickly scale up and rapidly released to quickly scale down. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be infinite and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.
 * Measured service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

Note: Cloud software takes full advantage of the cloud paradigm by being service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.



Delivery models

 * Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure and accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.
 * Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created applications using programming languages and tools supported by the provider (e.g., java, python, .net). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but the consumer has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.
 * Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to rent processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly select networking components (e.g., firewalls, load balancers).



Deployment models

 * Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is owned or leased by a single organization and is operated solely for that organization.
 * Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations).
 * Partner cloud. The cloud computing services are offered by a cloud provider to a limited and well-defined number of parties.
 * Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is owned by an organization selling cloud services to the general public or to a large industry group.
 * Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (internal, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting).

Each deployment model has one of two types: internal or external. Internal clouds reside within an organizations network security perimeter and external clouds reside outside the same perimeter.



Benefits of cloud computing
There was a time when every household, town, farm or village had its own water well. Today, shared public utilities give us access to clean water by simply turning on the tap; cloud computing works in a similar fashion. Just like the water from the tap in your kitchen, cloud computing services can be turned on or off quickly as needed. Like at the water company, there is a team of dedicated professionals making sure the service provided is safe and available on a 24/7 basis. Best of all, when the tap isn’t on, not only are you saving water, but you aren’t paying for resources you don’t currently need.


 * Economical. Cloud computing is a pay-as-you-go approach to IT, in which a low initial investment is required to get going. Additional investment is incurred as system use increases and costs can decrease if usage decreases. In this way, cash flows better match total system cost.
 * Flexible. IT departments that anticipate fluctuations in user load do not have to scramble to secure additional hardware and software. With cloud computing, they can add and subtract capacity as its network load dictates, and pay only for what they use.
 * Rapid implementation. Without the need to go through the procurement and certification processes, and with a near-limitless selection of services, tools, and features, cloud computing helps projects get off the ground in record time.
 * Consistent service. Network outages can send an IT department scrambling for answers. Cloud computing can offer a higher level of service and reliability, and an immediate response to emergency situations.
 * Increased effectiveness. Cloud computing frees the user from the finer details of IT system configuration and maintenance, enabling them to spend more time on mission-critical tasks and less time on IT operations and maintenance.
 * Energy efficient. Because resources are pooled, each user community does not need to have its own dedicated IT infrastructure. Several groups can share computing resources, leading to higher utilization rates, fewer servers, and less energy consumption.

Security implications
Cloud computing can both increase and decrease the security of information systems, depending on the cloud sourcing model used.



Potential information security benefits
The use of cloud computing has the potential to provide several benefits related to information security. These benefits are related to the attributes of cloud computing &mdash; specifically, its use of virtualization and automation, broad network access, potential economies of scale, and use of self-service technologies.

The use of virtualization and automation in cloud computing can expedite the implementation of secure configurations for virtual machine images. Virtualization allows a cloud computing provider to rapidly replicate secure configurations for cloud-based virtual servers, rather than manually applying secure configurations to physical servers, which could be required in a traditional environment that has not employed virtualization techniques. Virtualization can allow faster deployment of secure server configurations, security upgrades, and patches for security vulnerabilities than a traditional computing infrastructure can.

Other advantages relate to cloud computing’s broad network access and use of Internet-based technologies. Cloud computing provides a reduced need to carry data in removable media because of the ability to access the data through the Internet, regardless of location. NIST officials have stated that shifting public data to a public cloud using the Internet that is separate from the agency’s internal network is a means of network segmentation that may reduce exposure of sensitive data on the agency’s internal network.

Additional advantages relate to the potential economies of scale and distributed nature of cloud computing. Low-cost disaster recovery and data storage are also potential benefits. Specifically, cloud computing may provide a cheaper way to store backup copies of information.

A cloud provider may have more resources to devote to security than the customer may have available. The large-scale and mitigation techniques that cloud providers offer may also reduce vulnerability to denial of service attacks. It also may require less effort for cloud computing customers to ensure effective information security if information security controls were already implemented by the provider. Customers could also be freed from the responsibility of maintaining a physical infrastructure, as well as resolving management, operational, and technical issues related to the underlying cloud platform, although the customers would still be responsible for ensuring these issues are addressed and that data are adequately protected.

The self-service aspect of cloud computing may also provide benefits. The ability to apply security controls on demand is a potential benefit. Cloud computing provided the ability for more flexible and granular control of security. For example, features such as encryption and monitoring could be individually applied as needed.

Potential information security risks
The use of cloud computing can create numerous information security risks for federal agencies. Thee are serious concerns about the potential information security risks associated with cloud computing. These concerns include risks related to being dependent on a vendor’s security assurances and risks related to the use of multitenancy.

Several cloud computing information security risks relate to the ability to rely on a vendor’s security assurances and practices. Specifically, there are concerns about:


 * the possibility of ineffective or noncompliant service provider security controls &mdash; which could lead to vulnerabilities affecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information;


 * the potential loss of governance and physical control over data and information &mdash; that is, in using cloud computing services, the customer cedes control to the provider for the performance of certain security controls and practices;


 * the insecure or ineffective deletion of customer data by cloud providers once services have been provided and are complete; and


 * potentially inadequate background security investigations for service provider employees &mdash; which could lead to an increased risk of wrongful activities by malicious insiders.

Of particular concern is dependency on a vendor andthe possibility of loss of data if a cloud computing provider terminated its services. For example, the provider and the customer may not have agreed on terms to transfer or duplicate the data. The European Network and Information Security Agency also has identified dependency on a vendor as a high risk, noting the lack of tools, procedures, or standard data formats to ensure data, application, and service portability. The agency stated that this can make it difficult for the customer to migrate from one provider to another or to migrate data and services back to an in-house IT environment.

Multitenancy and use of shared resources can also increase risk because one customer could intentionally or unintentionally gain access to another customer’s data, causing a release of sensitive information.

Additional concerns relate to exchanging authentication information on users and responding to security incidents. Another concern is the increased volume of data transmitted across public networks. This could lead to an increased risk of the data being intercepted in transit and then disclosed.

NIST has stated that cloud computing security is dependent on the security of a user’s Internet browser, and that vulnerabilities in the browser can create vulnerabilities for the cloud computing service.

Although there are numerous potential information security risks related to cloud computing, these risks vary based on the particular deployment model. For example, NIST has stated that private clouds may have a lower threat exposure than community clouds, which may have a lower threat exposure than public clouds.

However, these risks may vary based on the cloud deployment model. Private clouds may have a lower threat exposure than public clouds, but evaluating this risk requires an examination of the specific security controls in place for the cloud’s implementation.

Further, the growing interconnectivity among information systems, the Internet, and other infrastructure presents increasing opportunities for attacks. For example, in 2009, several media reports described incidents that affected cloud service providers such as Amazon and Google. According to these reports, in December 2009, Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud experienced two attacks on its cloud infrastructure. Google reported that in December 2009, an attack was made on e-mail accounts that it provided, which resulted in the inadvertent release of sensitive information.

Legal implications
Most legal issues involved in cloud computing will currently be resolved during contract evaluation (i.e., when making comparisons between the proposals of different cloud providers) or negotiations. The more common case in cloud computing will be selecting between different contracts on offer in the market (contract evaluation) as opposed to contract negotiations. However, opportunities may exist for prospective customers of cloud services to choose providers whose contracts are negotiable.

Unlike traditional Internet services, standard contract clauses may deserve additional review because of the nature of cloud computing. The parties to a contract should pay particular attention to their rights and obligations related to notifications of breaches in security, data transfers, creation of derivative works, change of control, and access to data by law enforcement entities. Because the cloud can be used to outsource critical internal infrastructure, and the interruption of that infrastructure may have wide ranging effects, the parties should carefully consider whether standard limitations on liability adequately represent allocations of liability, given the parties’ use of the cloud, or responsibilities for infrastructure.

Until legal precedent and regulations address security concerns specific to cloud computing, customers and cloud providers alike should look to the terms of their contract to effectively address security risks.

Privacy implications
Whenever an individual, a business, a government agency, or other entity shares information in the cloud, privacy or confidentiality questions may arise. According  to  a  report  of  the  Pew  Internet  and  American  Life  Project,  an  overwhelming  majority  of  users  of  cloud  computing  services  expressed  serious  concern  about  the  possibility  that a [[ service  provider]]  would  disclose  their data  to others.

A typical information exchange in cloud computing occurs when a user shares information with the cloud provider. Can any and all information be legally shared in a cloud service? With cloud computing, many factors affect the answer to this fundamental question. The shortest answer to the question, however, is that for some information and for some users, sharing may be illegal, may be limited in some ways, or may affect the status or protections of the information shared. Generally, an individual is free to share his or her personal information with a cloud provider. For a business, disclosing the personal information of customers or employees, or other business information to a cloud provider is often unrestricted by law because no privacy law or other law applies. For example, privacy laws do not cover most marketing records in the United States. Even when privacy laws apply to particular categories of customer or employee information, disclosure to a cloud provider may not be restricted. For a federal agency, various laws may have bearing on the decision to employ a cloud provider. For example, the Privacy Act of 1974 imposes standards for the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information. The use of cloud computing for personal information held by a federal agency may violate the Privacy Act of 1974, especially if there is no contractual arrangement between the agency and the cloud provider. If a cloud provider offers services to the public on behalf of agencies, other Privacy Act requirements may apply, as may security obligations under various federal laws and policies. Federal record management and disposal laws may also be relevant.