Classification of Data to Enhance Data Security in Cloud Computing

The cloud computing model has revolutionized the computing world for more than a decade. The cloud computing has enormous advantages over the traditional computing. The cloud computing encompasses several benefits like, cost effectiveness, faster speed, takes lesser set up time, works on pay per use, has resilient service, round the clock availability, service availability on the go and may more. Along with all these advantages there are some issues and challenges with cloud computing. The one of the major issue in cloud computing is security of data or information shared in virtual environment of cloud. As the cloud model is based on the virtual machines which provide a virtual environment. Hence the data shared on the cloud becomes vulnerable for security breach. There is requirement to protect the data from every stake holders including cloud service providers. Various data security mechanism is used in the cloud computing to secure the data. One of the important ways is encryption methods. The encryption methods varies in terms of its efficiency, speed, effectiveness and costing. The security level of data does not always remain same. Rather it varies as per the type of data or some time as per demand of owner of data. Thus a base for classification of data, which is to be shared on cloud, needs to be identified. So that a suitable encryption method can be applied dynamically, to make the data encryption optimum and cost effective. In this article the efforts are being put to analyze the foundation of data classification in cloud computing and to propose a data classification based on some important parameters which are responsible for security level of data shared in cloud environment.