For anyone in the IT industry and for any business looking to utilize a Cloud hosting platform, security is always of paramount concern. The basic problem of Cloud Computing security is as follows: web developers and programmers are tasked with creating Cloud applications and mobile applications which allow the public to connect and utilize a service while also ensuring those users don’t take down the service through their activities.
But how can this be done? If you think about the problem, the security threat posed by Cloud applications is a threat of one against millions. The one – an application – and the millions – the public marketplace.
To deal with security issues posed by Cloud applications, developers created the API. The API, application programming interface, allows developers to define how users connect to an application while also ensuring verification of the application developer. The API allows developers to be protected from the market and the market to be protected from the application developer.
Cloud Security API Unification
The API allows Cloud based applications to run smoothly. The issue is how do developers deal with so many moving parts? Just like a NASA spacecraft, the more moving parts in the equation (i.e. the marketplace), the more likely the chance of failure (i.e. hacking, security breaches). In 2010, the answer came in the form of OAuth. OAuth, or the open authorization service for web services, acts as the standard API controlling marketplace access and developer security for all mobile and Cloud based applications.
As the service has evolved to higher versions, for the most part, OAuth has held its own on the Cloud security front. Yet, as with all things online, OAuth isn’t perfectly secure. With every passing version of OAuth, hackers and programmers are finding more ways to infiltrate and breach the Cloud security solution. For proof of this, go ahead and ask Twitter, Linkedin, Google and Facebook about recent security breaches. All, in some way or another, will partially point the finger at faulty API security encryption.
No Cloud API Is Prefect
With major Cloud based companies being hacked on a monthly basis, the truth is when it comes to Cloud security – even with OAuth taken into consideration – there is no fully secure Cloud Computing application. As all API’s are based on public infrastructures and deal with the public marketplace, the problem continues to be one against millions. Even with all controls, authentication, encryption and active service monitoring, no API is fully secure.
Understanding no Cloud API is fully secure has led developers to secure levels of access to parts of applications. Instead of working to provide full security for an entire application, developers have taken to securing and tightening restrictions based on user privilege access. By limiting access varying on level of application access allows developers to pinpoint the use of API’s to protect data and code which needs higher levels of security and encryption.
The simple truth is regardless of how vigorously Cloud developers and programmers secure an application, faults in OAuth coupled with faults in API layers, will always end in an application capable of being hacked. From this, the lasting solace should be found in, if your application of choice is hacked, it isn’t you. It’s the overall security of the Cloud application market.