Security of cloud computing, storage, and networking

Convergence and ubiquity are the key characteristics of tomorrows service provision infrastructures. Cloud architectures will constitute cost-efficient backbones that will support the transmission, storage, and computing of the applications contents. These architectures can be used for business, scientific, and pervasive computing purposes. The diversity of the services delivered through cloud infrastructures increases their vulnerability to security incidents and attacks. The cost and complexity reduction requirements render the design and development of protection mechanisms even more challenging. In addition, key design features such as confidentiality, privacy, authentication, anonymity, survivability, dependability, and fault-tolerance are, in some extent, conflicting. The objective of this tutorial is to present the state-of-the-art of security and explore research directions and technology trends to address the protection of cloud communications and networking infrastructures. An emphasis will be made on the collaboration of mobile devices in cloud based infrastructures. The fundamental concepts of cloud computing security will be explored, including cloud security services, cloud security principles, cloud security requirements, and testing techniques.