| dc.description.abstract | Cloud storage is becoming a fast emerging resource used for storage of information by corporates and organizations
as a substitute to get data available anywhere and anytime. The extremely scalable nature of cloud computing allows
its users to access huge amounts of data and use distributed computational resources via different interfaces. Cloud
entities such as cloud service providers, users and business associates share the offered resources at diverse levels of
technological operations. The cloud computing model is considered to be a very capable and able internet-based
computing platform which offers numerous benefits like mobility, flexibility, reliability and cost effectiveness.
However, like any other technology, cloud computing is not without a challenge or as problem free as it may seem.
Many clients, especially SMEs, worry about their susceptibility to attack if their businesses’ crucial IT resources and
information are outside the firewall. Numerous security and privacy concerns like loss of control, lack of trust and
multi-tenancy issues appear with the usage of cloud. These challenges, if left unaddressed, could lead to severe data
breaches and possible business losses. The lack of knowledge, governance and improper policies can also sometimes
create further vulnerabilities in the cloud. This paper is intended on proposing a framework for implementing security
in (SaaS) cloud computing paradigm and, therefore, aid SMEs to counter the possible threats and vulnerabilities
associated with the cloud. The researcher devised security checks to counter the cloud threats, which included Cloud
provider’s security and risk management, backups, internal human resources security, access control, software
security and encryption, logging and compliance with legislation. The framework is a vital tool for SMEs to test and
rate their cloud security and, therefore, make improvements to mitigate the security threats associated with cloud
computing. | en_US |
