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Cloud computing is a process which enables an organizations to empower their assets without the need for maintaining a physical infrastructure. The following report includes an analysis of the risks that are present in case of database migration using the IaaS approach. The analysis further includes the risk present in the various aspects of database migration as well.

Cloud computing is a process which enables an organizations to empower their assets without the need for maintaining a physical infrastructure.

This section of the report discusses about the various security aspects that can be applied to the database in the cloud along with the benefits of such applications.

The first security to be applied is the protection of data leak and monitoring. The IaaS methods help in successful monitoring and analysis and needs to be referenced by the administrative authorities of the company.

The next security application is the presence of authorization and authentication (Garrison, Kim & Wakefield, 2012). These methods are used to limit the level of access to verified users only.

Exhaustive logging is the next security application to be applied that is used to monitor the device use, files accessed and the time of access. This process is used during cases of security breaches.

The application of technologies present in the IaaS approach is to be applied which facilitates the offline model of operation. This greatly enhances the security model of the system. Furthermore, the testing of the applied features is also acquisitioned for better security addressing.

The last security process to be applied is end-to-end encryption. This helps in encrypting the files present in the system. In addition, the connection of the system should also be encrypted by adopting SSL/TLS or IPSec.

The benefits of applying such technologies are the enhancement in security. In addition, the authentication procedure helps to keep the system safe from outside attackers. This not only removes the problems associated with the systems but also helps in protecting the customer data.

The main issue is that the administrator may forget the key to the system which may lead to disruptive flow in operation (Jula, Sundararajan & Othman, 2014).  Furthermore, as the security is being increased, the skill sets of the attackers are also increasing which makes it necessary to apply better security in repetitive intervals.

The risks pertaining to the migration of the database is addressed in this section.

Database Migration

The main risks in database are the problem in license for some software as well as the reduction in transparency. As the cloud implementation may cause some software to not work properly due to their license of use. In addition, as the database is migrated to the cloud, the transparency is reduced and the organization is to contact the vendor for each application to be used.

Due to the migration procedures, there are various risks in infrastructures like misconfiguration, shadow-IT and vulnerabilities

Misconfiguration is the first risk that is evident in most of the systems and the administrative authorities must search for any misconfiguration in the system (Jadeja & Modi, 2012). This includes the deployment of the IaaS APIs to compare the designs of the system with pre-designed parameters.

Vulnerability is another threat that is to be addressed by not only the vendors but the clients as well. This includes automated scanning procedures and analysis to detect changes in the security protocols.

Shadow-IT is another concept which includes the presence of orphan storage and ghost servers. Orphan storages denote the presence of servers that are not used for a long time. Ghost servers are servers which are not useful anymore but are operable. These can lead to various threats as outsiders can generally hack into theses servers to get previous data.

The main risks in communication among the Webb’s Store and the cloud database are the data availability and concerns regarding privacy (Kavis, 2014). As the information is stored by the vendors who provide cloud solutions, there is always a risk concerned with the data that is being provided by a client to the vendor.

In addition, the company needs to communicate with the vendors for changes to be implemented. In case any threat is detected, the company needs to communicate with the vendor to operate the system in offline mode (Hashizume et al., 2013). This will be a great threat as absence of network access will put the company at risk.

This section of the report discusses about the various risks that are to be considered during the backing up of data.

During the backing up of data, the vendors are required to implement stronger security protocols to their solutions. In case of different adoption of technologies, the company might face risks in case of business if weak security protocols are applied.

Another risk in backing up of data is that the vendors apply different methods of storage where the newer data might replace the older ones. The companies thus need to discuss with their vendors about the type of methods applied.

Types of Security

The risk in data storage is the presence of LAN connection to facilitate transfer of data. As the data to be transferred is very huge, storage is not possible quickly (Sanaei et al., 2014). In cases of disasters, the data to be transferred might not reach the cloud immediately.

s data to be retrieved is much large in size, the retrieval process may range form days to weeks. This is the first risks as it affects the business operation. Another risk is the disappearance of the vendors responsible for the cloud solutions. In cases like this, the company may lose all of their valuable data.

Due to the application of the cloud solutions, the most advantage for the company is the reduced cost of infrastructure. The cost is reduced which makes up for better business profits. This also leads to faster deployment of the business (Mauch, Kunze & Hillenbrand, 2013). Furthermore, business expansion is also achieved efficiently as the cost for more infrastructures is reduced.

In addition, the cloud solution of migration of the database is much enhances with respect to the traditional database management systems.

This section of the report discusses about the various access protection to be referenced for the system of Webb’s Store.

Access to the infrastructure is usually provided by physical or internet access. In case of physical access, better authorization is required to tighten security (Kumar & Goudar, 2012). Internet security is done by getting the solutions of cloud security like the Cloud Sigma.

Access to the server is to be initiated by adopting secure access protocols like the TLS/SSL. In addition, the VM instances are to apply multi-factor authentication to provide access.

The main access protection that can be applied is the reduction in the use of normal browsers for access. As they are very prone to the DDOS injection attacks, the need for antivirus programs are to be applied for better security.

During the backing up of data and restore, the vendors are required to implement stronger security protocols to their solutions. In case of different adoption of technologies, the company might face risks in case of business if weak security protocols are applied (Li et al., 2012). The company is recommended to discuss the application of the protocols needed for security related functions.

Conclusion:

Thus the conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is that the cloud instance of the processes is used to consider the removal of the physical existence of the infrastructures of the company to achieve cloud infrastructure. After considering the various risks presents in all the parameters of the cloud parameters, Webb’s Store is recommended to consider such risks to successfully apply the solutions to address them.

References:

Garrison, G., Kim, S., & Wakefield, R. L. (2012). Success factors for deploying cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 55(9), 62-68.

Hashizume, K., Rosado, D. G., Fernández-Medina, E., & Fernandez, E. B. (2013). An analysis of security issues for cloud computing. Journal of Internet Services and Applications, 4(1), 5.

Jadeja, Y., & Modi, K. (2012, March). Cloud computing-concepts, architecture and challenges. In Computing, Electronics and Electrical Technologies (ICCEET), 2012 International Conference on (pp. 877-880). IEEE.

Jula, A., Sundararajan, E., & Othman, Z. (2014). Cloud computing service composition: A systematic literature review. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(8), 3809-3824.

Kavis, M. J. (2014). Architecting the cloud: design decisions for cloud computing service models (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS). John Wiley & Sons.

Khan, A. N., Kiah, M. M., Khan, S. U., & Madani, S. A. (2013). Towards secure mobile cloud computing: A survey. Future Generation Computer Systems, 29(5), 1278-1299.

Kumar, S., & Goudar, R. H. (2012). Cloud Computing-Research Issues, Challenges, Architecture, Platforms and Applications: A Survey. International Journal of Future Computer and Communication, 1(4), 356.

Li, J., Qiu, M., Ming, Z., Quan, G., Qin, X., & Gu, Z. (2012). Online optimization for scheduling preemptable tasks on IaaS cloud systems. Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, 72(5), 666-677.

Mauch, V., Kunze, M., & Hillenbrand, M. (2013). High performance cloud computing. Future Generation Computer Systems, 29(6), 1408-1416.

Sanaei, Z., Abolfazli, S., Gani, A., & Buyya, R. (2014). Heterogeneity in mobile cloud computing: taxonomy and open challenges. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 16(1), 369-392.