Report on Cloud System

Question: Write a report for S-mart, a national retail organization that owns and manages stores across many cities in Australia and has its head office in Melbourne. Answer: Introduction A Study report is created for S-mart, a national retail organization that owns and manages stores across many cities in Australia and has its head office in Melbourne. With more than 50000 products and a huge client base, it indicates a robust workload for its employees and IT resources. Therefore, every day, they are required to retain a huge quantity of data. This study has been carried out on the advantages and hazards connected to cloud computing. Thus, the study speaks about business advantages which can assist S-mart in developing further and the risks too, so that S-mart is able to consider them and take the necessary their steps and plan so that they can circumvent these risks. Advantages of Using a Cloud System Public Cloud: Cloud system offers the Public Cloud where the computer is operated without paying any charges. It can be upgraded easily from a small structure to a larger one. Private Cloud: Cloud system also offers the Private cloud where means are shared collectively, remote desktop is offered and management turns out to be simple. Quicker distribution of new Business proficiencies: Latest IT-based business competencies are being executed which either, needs additional time to augment the idea of business or to create a brand new one. Therefore, the cloud system is utilized to reduce the deferment and executes the creation of application quickly. Lesser-Hazard Business Modernization: Applications are created [3] on the cloud which can be increased from minor ones and later on spread out to major ones. Prices can be reduced because of a fiasco which makes the cloud system simpler. Accessibility: Business necessities can be [4]provided space for the availability with great speed, storing and the applications since cloud suppliers have the groundwork amd bandwidth too. Effectiveness: Data management functional [4] actions are transferred to the cloud which allows the business a variety of options to concentrate on work that leads to modernization, improvement and research. Stand-by: Stand-by is one of the [5] significant advantages of cloud. It is effective and simpler since is not carried out over any physical equipment but can be carried only over the cloud. Huge Storage: Infinite storing facility is offered by the cloud which implies that cloud can hold a huge amount of data since it is not necessary to rely upon hard drives or hard disks which are physical euqipments. Simplicity of use: Since it is possible to enter the cloud service from any place by using an internet connectivity, it is very easy to use. Lesser Price: Prices are greatly lessened as virtual equipment is put to use which transfers hardware procedure from the cloud user to the supplier. Due to this, the price is reduced to a great extent. Threats Connected to Cloud Computing Offensive and Immoral Use: At times, a legal [2] credit card is utilized by the consumers for registering their account to use the facilities of the cloud. Also, free-of-charge restricted time offers are given by the suppliers due to which crooks or cyber hackers exploit the easy secrecy and carry out actions quite blatantly. PaaS vendors mostly undergo such cyber-attacks and it is being found out that the LaaS too has been a target for the same. To avoid such hazards, rigorous registration process must be followed and authentication must be carried out diligently. Checking of the clients network traffic must also be carried out. Uncertain APIs and Interfaces: A set of APIs or interfaces [2] are provided by the cloud providers which is used by customers to interact and manage with cloud services. These interfaces perform the functions of provisioning, management, and orchestration. These interfaces should be designed in a way so that malicious and accidental attempts must be protected. These interfaces are built on by the third parties for value added services which leads to increase of risks because organizations would have to provide their credentials to the third parties. To overcome the risk, security model of cloud provider interface should be analyzed, strong authenticationand access controls should be ensured. Malevolent Insiders: This hazard is [1] shared by almost every company. Clients and IT services are united below one solitary field of management which is assimilated with the loss of clarity into process of the supplier. Since the supplier does not show the method of getting through for staff or the method of report analysis, this is the reason why hackers get an opportunity to break the law and breach business intelligence. In order to avoid this hazard, human resource needs should be clarified, stringent supply chain management should be imposed and clarity is essential. Shared Technology: LaaS suppliers offer [2] Facilities by allocation of groundwork. Since the expertise is divided between the suppliers, there is a possibility that they may use the private information or confidential statistics too. Therefore, topmost safety rules must be carried out for the erection or alignment. Proper Scrutiny of the environment to avoid unwanted alterations and checks and inspection should done regularly. Data Loss At times, data is modified or removing without duplicating and saving the original content somewhere else, and this might cause data loss. When an encoding key is misplaced, it might cause wide-scale destruction. The threat happens due to inadequate authentication, controls of audit, operational failures, disposal problems, recovery from disaster, etc. To mitigate the risk, robust API access control need to be put in place. Data protection needs to assessed at run time and designs. Techniques of retention and backup need to be properly stipulated. Account Hijacking When an unauthorized individual embezzles an authorized users credentials, the unauthorized individuals may be capable of stealing all the private or sensitive data for his/her exclusive advantages. This is called account hijacking. By hijacking, they might be capable to change data, eavesdrop on transactions, provide false data, etc. [7] To prevent his from happening, account credentials must not be revealed between the services and users. Monitoring needs to be performed to perceive or locate an illegal action. Securities for the cloud service providers need to be comprehended. Unknown Risk Profile A major cloud computing principle involves diminished software and hardware ownership and organizations are permitted to focus on the strengths of their business. It is critical to acknowledge the one who shares the foundation, however, at most times, this information is unknown and this might cause this risk. [8] To mitigate this risk, necessary information need to be modified and observed; revealing partial or full details of the infrastructure need to be performed. Cloud Based System Design Justification For the creation of the suggested cloud-centric system for S-Mart, the following elements will be utilized [6] CISCO Routers At the backend, all the components will be linked via them. They offer internet connection to numerous units such as storage systems, servers, workstations, etc. All other headquarters and/or offices can be linked to the system through a VPN connection. Legacy Suppliers and Systems They are linked to S-Mart to the internet, via VPN. Internet It is utilized via hardware-centric firewall. Conclusion If a technology has various advantages associated with it, then, the chance exists that some risks will also be linked with it. Thus, it can be said that, cloud computing consists of various advantages, however, there will be risks involved with cloud computing. Numerous advantages that have been stated in this analysis are backup facility, big facility for storage, efficiency, reliability, availability, scalability, etc. Risks which mainly take place within cloud computing are associated with information or data security. Some of these risks which have been stated in the analysis are insecure interfaces or APIs, account hijacking, unknown profile of risks, loss of data, data being used illegally, etc. Techniques which can be put in place to mitigate these risks have also been stated, in addition to the risks, so that, adoption of cloud computing might happen without any problems. Thus, from the above analysis, an individual might get the knowledge regarding the manner in which cloud computing will be taken up in S-Mart. References [1]G. Hogben and D. Catteddu, "ENISA",Enisa.europa.eu, 2009. [2]C. Security Alliance,Top Threats to Cloud Computing V1.0., 1st ed. 2010. [3]D. CHAPPELL,THE BENEFITS AND RISKS OF CLOUD PLATFORMS - A GUIDE FOR BUSINESS LEADERS, 1st ed. 2012. [4]Cloud Computing: Business Benefits With Security, Governance and Assurance Perspectives, 1st ed. 2014. [5]T. Merrill,CLOUD COMPUTING: IS YOUR COMPANY WEIGHING BOTH BENEFITS RISKS?, 1st ed. 2014. [6]C. Nero, A. Neogi and V. Somisetty, "Optimising the cloud infrastructure: tool design and a case study",International Journal of Cloud Computing, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 191, 2014. [7]L. Chao, "Design of Cloud Services for Cloud Based IT Education",Journal of Information Technology and Application in Education, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 106, 2014. [8]C. Lee and A. Sill, "A design space for dynamic service level agreements in OpenStack",Journal of Cloud Computing, vol. 3, no. 1, 2014.