Cloud Computing MobileCloud computing allows computational power, IT infrastructure, applications, and business processes to be delivered to customers via on-demand. Cloud computing is also offered via public Clouds, private Clouds, and hybrid Clouds (a combination of both public and private Clouds). The Cloud itself refers to the hardware, networks, storage, services, and interfaces that provide a Cloud computing as a service. Cloud services range from hosted software, IT infrastructure, and data storage. Cloud users range from the end user that is unaware of the underlying technology; to the organization’s management team which is responsible for the IT governance of data in the Cloud; and the Cloud service providers, which provides and guarantee the service levels and security to their customers.

If your company is using the Cloud to store or process its core data, then there is a whole realm of security and controls issue that need to be thoroughly audited by experienced individuals to ensure all institutional risks are identified.

At Turner and Associates, we have experience with performing Cloud-based audits. We ensure your company understands all security aspects, which are implemented via the controls environment that protects your data in the Cloud. During our Cloud audit, we specifically test all of the compliance driven areas compared against industry ‘Best’ practice to ensure risks are identified so they can be remediated. This increases your company’s security posture and meets compliance driven regulations that examiners will want to see, as ‘Proof’ during an examination audit. If your company has specific requirements that need to be met based on regulation(s), Turner and Associates can help. These are just a few of the areas we test during a Cloud-based audit:

  Data protection

  Vulnerability management

  Identity management

  Physical and personnel security

  Availability

  Application security

  Incident response

  Privacy

  Business continuity and disaster recovery

  Logs and audit trails

  Specific compliance requirements

  Liability

  Intellectual property

  End-of-service support

  SLA’s

In Cloud computing, data is separated from infrastructure and there are many operational factors and controls that exist which need to be thoroughly examined. These operational differences in the Cloud give rise to a unique set of security and privacy issues that directly impacts your organization’s risk management practices. There are also many new legal issues in the areas of compliance, auditing, and eDiscovery, as they relate to the Cloud. If you are unsure how to test the security of your Cloud, let Turner and Associates experienced staff members assist with auditing your organization’s Cloud. We have extensive experience in performing Cloud-based audits.