Managing Risk in a Cloud Ecosystem

Economies of scale, cutting-edge technology advancements, and higher concentration of expertise enable cloud providers to offer state-of-the-art cloud ecosystems that are resilient, self-regenerating, and secure--far more secure than the environments of consumers who manage their own systems. This has the potential to greatly benefit many organizations. The key to successful implementation of a cloud-based information system is a level of transparency into the cloud provider's service. This article focuses on security risks related to the operation and use of cloud-based information systems.