Abstract

Securing the Cloud is the first book that helps you secure your information while taking part in the time and cost savings of cloud computing. As companies turn to burgeoning cloud computing technology to streamline and save money, security is a fundamental concern. The cloud offers flexibility, adaptability, scalability, and in the case of security - resilience. Securing the Cloud explains how to make the move to the cloud, detailing the strengths and weaknesses of securing a company's information with different cloud approaches. It offers a clear and concise framework to secure a business' assets while making the most of this new technology.

This book considers alternate approaches for securing a piece of the cloud, such as private vs. public clouds, SaaS vs. IaaS, and loss of control and lack of trust. It discusses the cloud's impact on security roles, highlighting security as a service, data backup, and disaster recovery. It also describes the benefits of moving to the cloud - solving for limited availability of space, power, and storage.

This book will appeal to network and security IT staff and management responsible for design, implementation and management of IT structures from admins to CSOs, CTOs, CIOs and CISOs.

• Named The 2011 Best Identity Management Book by InfoSec Reviews
• Provides a sturdy and stable framework to secure your piece of the cloud, considering alternate approaches such as private vs. public clouds, SaaS vs. IaaS, and loss of control and lack of trust
• Discusses the cloud's impact on security roles, highlighting security as a service, data backup, and disaster recovery
• Details the benefits of moving to the cloud-solving for limited availability of space, power, and storage

"With so much buzz around Cloud Computing, books like this one written by Winkler are much in demand. Winkler’s experience in the computing business shines through and as readers we are spoiled with a great deal of useful strategic information  jam packed almost 300 page volume on securing the cloud. As a former pre-sales engineer, what I loved most about this book was the obvious hands-on strategic and technical experience that Winkler bought to every aspect of it. It is really a practitioner’s guide to cloud computing security. I appreciated the descriptive figures, the tips, the warnings, the notes, the tools, the stories of failures and successes but most of all the comprehensive nature of the real world descriptions."--Computers & Security

"Securing the Cloud is the most useful and informative of all the books published to date on cloud security. If you are going to procure a cloud solution, or are already operating a cloud system, I would strongly recommend that you buy a copy."--Best Identity Management Book by InfoSecReviews Book Awards

"The author states this book will be a practical resource for anyone who is considering using, building or securing a cloud implementation, including infrastructure engineers, integrators, security architects, right up to execute-level management. The challenge with such a broad audience is pitching the text at the right level; I suspect some security professionals and executives may find the book far too detailed …. In the final chapter the author covers the operational aspects of managing a secure cloud. Overall a fairly technical but effective book, although perhaps a little too in-depth for execute-level management"--BCS.org

"Overall, this book is effective in delivering its message. However, it is very technical in nature; readers should be aware that it is more than a basic level text for understanding the requirements to be considered in securing cloud computing networks."--Security Management.com"[Winkler] – who has an impressive background in security, including at government level – makes a valiant attempt to cover the challenges that face them…The book doesn’t so much as tell you how to do it as provide a generic blueprint detailing all the factors you’ll need to consider to make safe use of cloud services…What [Winkler] does successfully is create a document against which you can judge your own policies and strategies. There are so many facets to cloud computing – and particularly to securing it – that it’s easy to overlook something important. With this book, you can evaluate your plans and see where the gaps are."--networksecurity.com

"provides the reader with a good overview of what you need to do to ensure that your cloud-based infrastructure provides you with an adequate level of security…The booked is written for those who need a good high-level framework in which to design security around their cloud initiatives. The author provides many real-world examples of how you can implement the various scenarios he details. This makes some of the more abstract concepts a bit easier to understand."--Ben Rothke: Security Reading Room

"Overall, Winkler’s book certainly achieves its goal, that is to ‘help one facilitate the design, deployment and secure using of a cloud.’ The work confirms that even advanced issues may be presented and explained in a transparent and comprehensible way. The author manages to guide a reader through all steps in cloud computing, from implementation or choice of a service provider to efficient protection of a user’s data. This book is highly recommended to network engineers but may also be worth reading for anyone interested in cloud computing."-- IEEE Communications September 2011, p. 20

"This comprehensive guide to security concerns and best practices for cloud computing and cloud services provides practical advice for assessing security risks in remote infrastructure and applications and implementing security standards both in the design of new cloud products and the use of existing services. Topics discussed include cloud computing architectures, risk issues and legal topics, data security, internal and external clouds, information security frameworks and operational guidelines. Chapters include summaries, numerous illustrations and organizational charts, tables and sidebars. Winkler works for Booz Allen Hamilton, a security consulting firm working for the US government."--SciTech Book News

"Securing the Cloud might be the very first considerably technical book that I read as if it were a novel, and I attribute that to the author's great writing. He doesn't complicate what is simple, and has a way of simplifying complex concepts that makes for some very easy reading."--HelpNetSecurity.com