Can a cloud be really secure? A socratic dialogue

Abstract

Issues related to Cloud Computing security are emerging to be important and of concern to various stakeholders. However there is little consensus as to what the nature and scope of such challenges might be. Clearly there are multiple points of view with respect to management of Could Computing security. In this paper we adopt an innovative way - the Socratic Dialogue - as a means to present several perspectives and the discordances therein. One of the authors, a technology enthusiast, makes a case for technical security and the benefits of Cloud Computing. The other authors points to the systemic problems in Cloud Computing and warns of the looming dangers. As the dialogue progresses, both authors seems to agree that the answer resides in adopting a socio-technical perspective. In a final synthesis a set of conditions necessary for Cloud Computing security are presented. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.