CLOUD COMPUTING AND SECURITY OF DATA

Cloud computing presents a new model for IT services and delivery and it usually involves over-a-network, on-demand, self-service access, which is dynamically scalable and elastic, utilizing pools of often virtualized resources. Through these features, cloud computing has the potential to improve the way businesses and IT operate by offering fast start-up, flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency. Even though cloud computing provides compelling benefits and cost-effective options for IT hosting and expansion, new risks and opportunities for security exploits are introduced. Security standards, policies and controls are therefore of the essence to assist management in protecting and safeguarding systems and data. Cloud computing risks should be analyzed and understood to be able to protect environments and avoid data being exposed. The focus of this paper is analyzing current and future trends on cloud computing and mitigation for cloud computing security risks as a fundamental step towards ensuring secure cloud computing environments. It is of essence to understand the capabilities and risks of cloud computing before a decision is made to move to a cloud computing provider