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Cloud Compliance Len Padilla
IS THERE A WAY T O WI N T HE CLOUD
CONUNDRUM? Len Padilla explains how companies can ensure they take the right steps in the right direction when it comes to compliance with cloud services Once upon a time, data storage was a very ‘static’ concept.
COMPLI AN C E
It lived in a server or storage array, either elsewhere in the same building or in the corporate data centre: its geographic location was a non-issue. These days, this picture is very different: cloud computing has removed the restrictions that tie data to a fixed geographical location. While the scalable nature of the cloud has allowed organisations to do business without being constrained by the capabilities of their local information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, its intangible nature also raises important questions about how one can guarantee data governance and regulatory compliance in the cloud.
Firms are subject to a variety of regulations that stringently govern how they gather, store and use different types of data, in order to protect consumers, businesses and national interests. For example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) regulates how compa- nies manage payment card data, and specifies the type of networks, protection and access controls that must be in place. For companies operating inside the European Union, the Data Protection Directive provides additional guidance on the safeguarding of personal data and its movement outside of the EU. In the UK, the Financial Services Author- ity publishes a range of regulatory measures that financial organisations must comply with. On the face of it, therefore, there is a big risk that companies could fall foul of data protection rules and other regulations as they embrace the cloud. For example, a lack of encryption, or storage on servers in locations where the regulatory regime is different (for example, data stored in the United States can be subject to government inspection), may make it impossible for organisations to declare themselves compliant with total confidence.
CCI Magazine January 2013
ADDRESSING THE COMPLIANCE CONUNDRUM The first step for ensuring compliance with cloud services
is for a firm to identify the data that might be governed by particular rules. Businesses will have their own internal requirements for safeguarding business-critical data, such as financials, test results, and product specifications, and these are often influenced by external regulations. Safeguarding other data, such as HR information, customer databases and payment card data, is often governed solely by highly stringent legislation or industry codes of conduct. With PCI DSS for example, there are a number of measures firms must have in place, including firewalls, encryption, monitoring of access and regular testing of security systems and processes.
With this in mind, organisations can start to set out how their sensitive data can be deployed securely in the cloud with minimal risk. They will need to ask hard ques- tions of their cloud providers to establish exactly how ef- fectively they can help them navigate the cloud compliance conundrum. With hosted applications and platforms, the provider will need to establish certification for each element of the solution. In so doing, it will often harness bespoke ‘private’ clouds, which live inside the corporate firewall, alongside more ‘public’ cloud services. This tailored ap- proach makes it much easier for an organisation to ensure their cloud solution is tightly aligned with their needs and policies. Ideally, it should be the cloud service provider itself, which demonstrates how each part of its proposed solution enables their client to achieve compliance. The compliance conundrum can put the average compute cloud or SaaS solution out of reach of very risk- averse organisations. However, the sophisticated use of private, public and hybrid enterprise cloud services, along with solid compliance methodologies, mean that these organisations need not miss out on the productivity, busi- ness agility and global growth prospects the cloud can help make possible. The key lies in choosing a partner that understands compliance issues, both at national and global level, supporting your international expansion plans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Len Padilla
Padilla is a highly-experienced IT professional with considerable experience in areas from scientific super-computing to shared and dedicated hosting to selective outsourcing. He is experienced in all technical aspects and management levels of IT: supercomputing and financial systems programming, administration of large server and content delivery networks, PCI DSS certification, management of international operations teams,
product engineering and strategy. He’s current role is as Senior Director of Technology at NTT Europe.
www.cloudcomputingintelligence.com
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