Analysis of security in cloud platforms using OpenStack as case study

Masteroppgave i informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi IKT590 2013 – Universitetet i Agder, GrimstadIn the last few years, cloud computing has grown from being a promising business concept to one of the fastest growing segments of the IT industry. Big companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc., expand their market by adopting Cloud Computing systems which enhance their services provided to a large number of users. However, security and privacy issues present a strong barrier for users to adapt into the Cloud.This research investigates the security features and issues of cloud platforms using OpenStack as a case study. The goal was to identify security weakness in terms of Authentication and Identity Management(IAM), and Data Management. Base on the findings, specific recommendations on security standards and management models have been proffered in order to address these problems. These Recommendations if implemented, will lead to trust in cloud computing systems, which in turn would encourage more companies to adopt cloud computing, as a means of providing better IT services