Security lies at the core of whether or not cloud computing will become a mainstream business tool. This is the unsurprising conclusion of a report which states: “The security assessment is based on three use-case scenarios: 1) SME migration to cloud computing services, 2) the impact of cloud computing on service resilience, 3) cloud computing in e-Government (e.g., eHealth).
The report has been produced by ENISA, the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) which is an EU agency created to advance the functioning of the internal market. ENISA is a centre of excellence for the European Member States and European institutions in network and information security, giving advice and recommendations and acting as a switchboard for information on good practices. The agency facilitates contacts between European institutions, the Member States, and private business and industry actors.
The executive summary of the report states: “Cloud computing is a new way of delivering computing resources, not a new technology. Computing services ranging from data storage and processing to software, such as email handling, are now available instantly, commitment-free and on-demand. Since we are in a time of belt-tightening, this new economic model for computing has found fertile ground and is seeing massive global investment. According to IDC’s analysis, the worldwide forecast for cloud services in 2009 will be in the order of $17.4bn (1).
“The estimation for 2013 amounts to $44.2bn, with the European market ranging from €971m in 2008 to €6,005m in 2013 (2). The key conclusion of this paper is that the cloud’s economies of scale and flexibility are both a friend and a foe from a security point of view. The massive concentrations of resources and data present a more attractive target to attackers, but cloud-based defences can be more robust, scalable and cost-effective.”
The report can be downloaded here.
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