From threats subverting cloud security to a secure trust paradigm

Cloud computing and virtualization go hand in hand and have provided unlimited opportunities for Information Technology (IT) to achieve dynamicity and flexibility in the provisioning of value based services to the cloud end users including large business enterprises. However one of the primary obstacles to widespread acceptance of the cloud are the complex issues of security and the consequent lack of trust by end users concerned with data security, integrity and confidentiality. With virtualization opening up several new attack surfaces typical to a virtual cloud scenario, the cloud security and trust have emerged as major concerns to adoption of cloud services. This paper highlights key complexities in the cloud security perimeter arising from virtualization, consequent potential security challenges and threats manifest in a cloud environment, persistent attack vectors and key issues which need to be addressed to propose a secure trust paradigm for a robust and hardened virtual cloud environment.