Cloud Security Alliance announces security guidelines

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

In an effort to address growing security concerns surrounding the cloud, the Cloud Security Alliance recently released a set of tools to promote best practices and standards.

The Cloud Security Alliance governance, risk management and compliance stack is now available for download. It provides a comprehensive set of guidelines that allow organizations to implement and test the security of both private and public cloud environments against industry standards.

The GRC stack includes three CSA initiatives designed to strengthen organizations' understanding of security and ensure data compliance through greater cloud transparency. These initiatives include CloudAustin, Cloud Controls Matrix and a Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire.

“Cloud computing brings tremendous benefits to business, but these models also raise questions around compliance and shared responsibility for data protection,” said Scott Charney, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group. “With the Cloud Security Alliance’s guidance, providers and enterprises can use a common language to ensure the right security issues are being considered and addressed for each type of cloud environment.”

Several initiatives have been launched to promote standardization of cloud practices. Several industry leaders recently formed the Open Data Center Alliance, which is designed to create open standards for the cloud.