Service Level Agreement-based GDPR Compliance and Security assurance in (multi)Cloud-based systems

Compliance with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and security assurance are currently two major challenges of Cloud-based systems. GDPR compliance implies both privacy and security mechanisms definition, enforcement and control, including evidence collection. This paper presents a novel DevOps framework aimed at supporting Cloud consumers in designing, deploying and operating (multi)Cloud systems that include the necessary privacy and security controls for ensuring transparency to end-users, third parties in service provision (if any) and law enforcement authorities. The framework relies on the risk-driven specification at design time of privacy and security level objectives in the system Service Level Agreement (SLA) and in their continuous monitoring and enforcement at runtime.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 644429 and No 780351, MUSA project and ENACT project, respectively. We would also like to acknowledge all the members of the MUSA Consortium and ENACT Consortium for their valuable help

Decision Support Tools for Cloud Migration in the Enterprise

This paper describes two tools that aim to support decision making during the migration of IT systems to the cloud. The first is a modeling tool that produces cost estimates of using public IaaS clouds. The tool enables IT architects to model their applications, data and infrastructure requirements in addition to their computational resource usage patterns. The tool can be used to compare the cost of different cloud providers, deployment options and usage scenarios. The second tool is a spreadsheet that outlines the benefits and risks of using IaaS clouds from an enterprise perspective; this tool provides a starting point for risk assessment. Two case studies were used to evaluate the tools. The tools were useful as they informed decision makers about the costs, benefits and risks of using the cloud.Comment: To appear in IEEE CLOUD 201

Assessing database and network threats in traditional and cloud computing

Cloud Computing is currently one of the most widely-spoken terms in IT. While it offers a range of technological and financial benefits, its wide acceptance by organizations is not yet wide spread. Security concerns are a main reason for this and this paper studies the data and network threats posed in both traditional and cloud paradigms in an effort to assert in which areas cloud computing addresses security issues and where it does introduce new ones. This evaluation is based on Microsoft’s STRIDE threat model and discusses the stakeholders, the impact and recommendations for tackling each threat

An Integrated Framework for the Methodological Assurance of Security and Privacy in the Development and Operation of MultiCloud Applications

x, 169 p.This Thesis studies research questions about how to design multiCloud applications taking into account security and privacy requirements to protect the system from potential risks and about how to decide which security and privacy protections to include in the system. In addition, solutions are needed to overcome the difficulties in assuring security and privacy properties defined at design time still hold all along the system life-cycle, from development to operation.In this Thesis an innovative DevOps integrated methodology and framework are presented, which help to rationalise and systematise security and privacy analyses in multiCloud to enable an informed decision-process for risk-cost balanced selection of the protections of the system components and the protections to request from Cloud Service Providers used. The focus of the work is on the Development phase of the analysis and creation of multiCloud applications.The main contributions of this Thesis for multiCloud applications are four: i) The integrated DevOps methodology for security and privacy assurance; and its integrating parts: ii) a security and privacy requirements modelling language, iii) a continuous risk assessment methodology and its complementary risk-based optimisation of defences, and iv) a Security and Privacy Service Level AgreementComposition method.The integrated DevOps methodology and its integrating Development methods have been validated in the case study of a real multiCloud application in the eHealth domain. The validation confirmed the feasibility and benefits of the solution with regards to the rationalisation and systematisation of security and privacy assurance in multiCloud systems

Design and initial validation of the Raster method for telecom service availability risk assessment

Crisis organisations depend on telecommunication services; unavailability of these services reduces the effectiveness of crisis response. Crisis organisations should therefore be aware of availability risks, and need a suitable risk assessment method. Such a method needs to be aware of the exceptional circumstances in which crisis organisations operate, and of the commercial structure of modern telecom services. We found that existing risk assessment methods are unsuitable for this problem domain. Hence, crisis organisations do not perform any risk assessment, trust their supplier, or rely on service level agreements, which are not meaningful during crisis situations. We have therefore developed a new risk assessment method, which we call RASTER. We have tested RASTER using a case study at the crisis organisation of a government agency, and improved the method based on the analysis of case results. Our initial validation suggests that the method can yield practical results

Technology transfer of dynamic IT outsourcing requires security measures in SLAs

For the present efforts in dynamic IT outsourcing environments like Grid or Cloud computing security and trust are ongoing issues. SLAs are a proved remedy to build up trust in outsourcing relations. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether SLAs can improve trust from the perspective of the outsourcing customer by integration of security measures. The conducted survey indicates that customers see SLAs as an approach to increase their level of trust in IT outsourcing partners. In addition, security measures in SLAs are of high relevance to support trust but not yet integrated appropriately. However, SLAs are very important for the technology transfer of eScience projects in Grid computing. Again, Grid based outsourcing of biomedical IT services requires security measures in SLAs. Thus, the technology transfer process of dynamic IT outsourcing infrastructures requires adequate SLAs in order to be successful

Cloud adoption and cyber security in public organizations: an empirical investigation on Norwegian municipalities

The public sector in Norway, particularly municipalities, is currently transforming through the adoption of cloud solutions. This multiple case study investigates cloud adoption and is security challenges that come along with it. The objective is to identify the security challenges that cloud solutions present and techniques or strategies that can be used to mitigate these security challenges. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) provided valuable insights into the prevalent challenges and associated mitigation techniques in cloud adoption. The thesis also uses a qualitative approach using Semi-Structured Interviews (SSI) to gather insight into informants’ experiences regarding cloud adoption and its security challenges. The study’s empirical data is based on interviews with six different Norwegian municipalities, providing a unique and broad perspective. The analysis of the empirical findings, combined with the literature, reveals several security challenges and mitigation techniques in adopting cloud solutions. The security challenges encompass organizational, environmental, legal, and technical aspects of cloud adoption in the municipality. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Norwegian municipalities act on these issues to ensure a more secure transition to cloud solutions