Information Security and the Cloud

Abstract

In today’s business environment companies are looking for ways to differentiate their services as well as maintain low costs to provide these services. Leveraging information technology has proved to be one of the most successful ways to accomplish this. One of the rapidly growing technologies that both small and large companies can utilize is cloud computing. A ubiquitous term for many IT managers and C-level executives, cloud computing is in fact a poorly understood term to many outside the realm of information technology. This paper develops a clear definition of cloud computing and also discusses information security in cloud computing. Information security has become a large concern for businesses because consumers are putting their trust into these companies’ hands and want to keep sensitive information, such as credit card numbers and medical records, protected. In addition, this paper introduces privacy laws that every company using cloud computing should be familiar with. Specifically, laws dealing with patient healthcare information and credit card safety are discussed in detail. I conclude with security guidelines for businesses that use CC services.