For cloud vendors and businesses alike, security is one of the most important factors when choosing a solution. One suggested approach is to make extensive use of encryption, be it whole disk or partial encryption. But before you decide to move ahead with implementing an encryption system, it’s important to understand the various challenges involved.
Challenges in Cloud Encryption
Here’s a roundup of what needs to be considered before cloud encryption can be put into place:
- Key management: A robust encryption system rests on the encryption key used to map user accounts to data stored. The best practices call for separating the key database by using a different server, but for most vendors this gets overlooked or is not feasible. Whatever be the case, the result is a weaker system as far as security is concerned.
- Reseller challenges: For resellers there’s an additional layer of challenge because they are not in direct control of the resources. If the base solution doesn’t provide mechanisms to put in place an encryption system, then the client’s data is compromised. This, of course, is a severe limitation both for the reseller as well as the enterprise involved.
- Performance: Encryption is a processor-intensive activity, and more advanced forms of it can drain system resources. This can cramp the entire performance or the cloud server considerably, and is another reason why end to end encryption is not possible for most.
Those looking to truly secure cloud services need to look into the sharp bends of encryption and reach maximum effectiveness. For many it calls for investing in secure systems, which may not have been part of their original planning.
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