Cloud Security Issues and Solution in Data - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Cloud Security Issues and Solution in Data. Answer: Introduction Cloud computing is the virtual computing system that is used to store, manage and process data within a virtual interface. It is very convenient to use for the large scale business organizations as there is no physical device required to store the data. Furthermore, manual processing and management of data is also not necessary. Cloud computing provides virtual interface that can literally provide unlimited space for data storage as well as provide automated data processing and management options (Hashem et al, 2015). However, in spite of the advantages presented by the cloud computing, there are a lot of issues and problems that have only been partially solved till now. The main problem with cloud computing is that all the files and data are hosted in an open online environment and hence, they are vulnerable to breach of access attack. Furthermore, although cloud provides an unlimited data storage and management space, it does not provide the user with the control of data i.e. it do es not allow the user to control where the data will be placed and stored in the virtual interface (Baek et al., 2015). Hence, the user does not have option to secure the storage interface where the data is stored. The only option of the user is to use encryptions and other security measures on the data itself that is to be stored in the cloud. This annotated bibliography is based on the works of various researchers who have published their opinions on the cloud security issues and solutions in Big Data management. Cloud Security Issues and Solutions in Big Data Management Since the development of cloud computing, business organizations and other sectors that use and manage huge amounts of data have been using cloud storage services for storing and managing data. The use of cloud storage enabled them to get of most physical storage devices as well as manual data management systems as the cloud computing system provided unlimited storage space as well as data processing and management options. However, with increasing usage of cloud computing in the business organizations, the vulnerabilities, issues and threats slowly became evident (Assuno et al., 2015). Unethical internet users like hackers and third party invaders slowly unlocked the door to enter cloud servers and started stealing information from the same. Most of the organizations use cloud servers to save secure information like business strategies, financial details, contracts and others. The hackers steal these data and information for ransom or sell them to rival organizations at high rates. Hence, the need for securing the cloud servers became necessary. Initial measures were taken to secure the cloud server itself using various softwares and other online tools. However, these could not used for securing cloud servers as the users do not have any control over the cloud server itself (Ahmed Saeed, 2014). Each cloud server acts independently while storing, managing and processing data and hence, it does not allow users to control it. Since then, attempts have been made to secure the data to protect it from external attacks. The main threats that have been found for cloud computing are in various levels of the entire system. These are discussed as follows. Network Level Network level threats mainly include the challenges for the network that is used to connect to the cloud server. Network level threats mainly attack the network protocols, distributed nodes, intermodal communications and others. The threat agents connect to the network nodes and access the information send through these nodes by breaking through the network protocols (Terzi, Terzi Sagiroglu, 2015). In order to avoid these threats, it is important to encrypt the data in addition to enforcing stronger network protocols. Authentication Level Authentication level challenges mostly affect the authentication layers that exist within the overall cloud system. Authentication layers are mainly used to provide access to authorized users to the data stored in the cloud storage. Authentication level attacks breach the authentication layer directly and capture the authentication process while a user tries to log in to the system. Later, the authentication process is followed by the unauthorized user to access the secure files inside the cloud server. Data Level The attacks that mainly affects data integrity and availability are termed as data level threats in cloud computing (Inukollu, Arsi Ravuri, 2014). These threats mainly affect the actual data that is being stored in the cloud server and it affects all the layers of the system including network and authentication levels through which the attacker is able to enter into the data level for stealing secure and confidential data. Generic Types These are generic types of threats that can attach through any of the levels discussed above and are extremely hard to counter. In order to prevent generic types of threats, the system must be able to provide resistance in any of the layers including network, authentication or data and hence, full system immunity must be available to counter them. There are also some other causes behind the cloud computing issues faced by the big data users. Distributed nodes and data are some of the main architectural and data transmission techniques that can give rise to several threats to the cloud system (Chen Zhang, 2014). While a distributed node is an architectural issue, distributed data is a computational issue. Distribution nodes can cause significant issue when the data processing is done in clusters and the clusters cannot be noted accurately by the user. Since the user has no control over the data processing and management inside a cloud system, a user is also unable to detect data processing clusters. Hence, if the data processing is done in the wrong way, the user cannot rectify it easily. Distributed data can cause threats when there are some corrupt files and data that occur inside the cloud server (Almorsy, Grundy Mller, 2016). In a regular server, when a corrupt data is detected, the user can locate it inside the server an d remove it in order to improve the performance of data processing. However, since cloud does not give control access to the server, a user cannot identify the corrupt file which as a result can cause serious problem inside the cloud server. The challenge is also further aggravated if there are no authentication lock used during data transmission and storage. As per the analysis, it has been found that the main challenge of the cloud computing in big data is mainly due to lack of internal access of the cloud server provided to the user. Hence, the proposed solutions mainly include methods that mainly emphasize on securing the network layers that the users have access to and can be controlled. Researchers have proposed various solutions that can be applicable for solving issues of cloud computing (Patil Seshadri, 2014). However, as stated previously, these are only temporary solutions and these also need to be updated constantly with the development of computing technology. Some of the possible solutions to the challenges are also discussed below. File Encryption The most primary step that the user can take in order to prevent unauthorized access is using file encryption. As the user is unable to control the server storage space in the cloud, he can encrypt the file that is to be stored inside the cloud server. An encrypted file is hard to break and hence, the attacker will not be able to access the data contained inside the file. However, unethical internet users are also developing better and efficient decryption techniques that are even able to break strong encryptions. Hence, it is important to update encryption techniques in order to create strong encryptions that cannot be broken easily (Puthal et al., 2017). The encryptions are mainly done using various combinations of letters, numbers and characters and it is recommended that the encryption code should be as long as possible so that during breaking the code, the probability to find the right combination reaches 1 in a million. It is also recommended that for very confidential files (e .g. government policies, strategies, defense data, etc.), several layers of encryption should be used in order to provide additional security as well as prevent any attempts of unauthorized decryption of the files. Network Encryption In some cases, due to lack of strong and secure network, file encryption is not sufficient. Some advanced hackers can steal the files and data even if they are not able to decrypt them. Furthermore, there is a rogue software named ransomware that can apply its own strong and unbreakable encryption on the files it is able to access. Ransomwares are extreme levels of threats that cost the user with a huge amount of money as ransom or the loss of secure and confidential files he stored in the cloud server (Kuo et al., 2014). In order to prevent this, network encryption is a proposed solution that is done in order to ensure unauthorized users, rogue files, malwares and others cannot enter inside the server. The network encryptions are mainly applied on the transport layer of the network so that even if a hacker tries to tap the line to steal data and information, they do not get any access to the data transmitted through the transport layer. Logging Logging does not necessarily and actively prevent any threats of cloud computing but helps to monitor and control any unauthorized activities performed on the server. In this process, all the data entered into the server should logged including the user who is responsible to adding the data into the server (Suthaharan, 2014). Further, regular audits are to be done of the log in order to identify any unauthorized or malicious activities that might have been attempted during the data entry process. Node Maintenance and Software Formatting Another recommended solution in this regard is regular formatting of the nodes that run the software. Regular formatting eliminates any type of malicious files, virus and other unwanted files that may enter the system during data processing. It is also to be ensured that the softwares used in the system are updated regularly in order to keep the system up to date. Honeypot Nodes Honeypot nodes are very efficient in eliminating some main threats to the cloud server including unauthorized access and breach of security by the hackers and third party users. Honeypot nodes appear to be regular nodes and used in clusters in the network layer but they act as traps (Bahrami Singhal, 2015). Whenever a hacker or unethical user tries to access the server through these nodes, the honeypot nodes trap the hackers and suitable actions are then taken so that they can be eliminated from the system in order to keep the server safe and secure. Conclusion From the annotated bibliography on the cloud security issues and solutions, it has been found that only limited amount of work has been possible in securing cloud computing data from the issues discussed above. This is mainly because cloud security is an extremely complex issue and all the available solutions for the issues are only temporary fixes as cloud technology is changing and upgrading day by day. Furthermore, the increasing use of big data technology using cloud storage interface further requires more secure cloud environment. As more and more business organizations are using big data, external threats and issues like malwares, breach of security, unauthorized access are targeting these cloud servers in order to steal secure and confidential data from the large organizations. This is mainly because the data and information stored in these servers are of extremely high value and can be used for ransom or be sold to rival organizations for large sums of money. Some of the comm on methods used for cloud computing security include data encryption, network encryption, node authentication, honeypot nodes, access control and others. However, these are considered as temporary solutions as the technologies are evolving, the illegal side of technology is also being upgraded by unethical users. Hence, the current solutions also need to be upgraded at a continuous basis unless any permanent solutions are determined. References Ahmed, E. S. A., Saeed, R. A. (2014). A survey of big data cloud computing security.International Journal of Computer Science and Software Engineering (IJCSSE),3(1), 78-85. Almorsy, M., Grundy, J., Mller, I. (2016). An analysis of the cloud computing security problem.arXiv preprint arXiv:1609.01107. Assuno, M. D., Calheiros, R. N., Bianchi, S., Netto, M. A., Buyya, R. (2015). Big Data computing and clouds: Trends and future directions.Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing,79, 3-15. Baek, J., Vu, Q. H., Liu, J. 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