Security, Privacy, and Digital Forensics in the Cloud

In a unique and systematic way, this book discusses the security and privacy aspects of the cloud, and the relevant cloud forensics. Cloud computing is an emerging yet revolutionary technology that has been changing the way people live and work. However, with the continuous growth of cloud computing and related services, security and privacy has become a critical issue. Written by some of the top experts in the field, this book specifically discusses security and privacy of the cloud, as well as the digital forensics of cloud data, applications, and services. The first half of the book enables readers to have a comprehensive understanding and background of cloud security, which will help them through the digital investigation guidance and recommendations found in the second half of the book. Part One of Security, Privacy and Digital Forensics in the Cloud covers cloud infrastructure security; confidentiality of data; access control in cloud IaaS; cloud security and privacy management; hacking and countermeasures; risk management and disaster recovery; auditing and compliance; and security as a service (SaaS). Part Two addresses cloud forensics – model, challenges, and approaches; cyberterrorism in the cloud; digital forensic process and model in the cloud; data acquisition; digital evidence management, presentation, and court preparation; analysis of digital evidence; and forensics as a service (FaaS). Thoroughly covers both security and privacy of cloud and digital forensics Contributions by top researchers from the U.S., the European and other countries, and professionals active in the field of information and network security, digital and computer forensics, and cloud and big data Of interest to those focused upon security and implementation, and incident management Logical, well-structured, and organized to facilitate comprehension Security, Privacy and Digital Forensics in the Cloud is an ideal book for advanced undergraduate and master's-level students in information systems, information technology, computer and network forensics, as well as computer science. It can also serve as a good reference book for security professionals, digital forensics practitioners and cloud service providers.

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors xv Part I Cloud Security and Privacy 1 1 Introduction to the Cloud and Fundamental Security and Privacy Issues of the Cloud 3 Hassan Takabi and Mohammad GhasemiGol 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Cloud Computing and Security Issues 4 1.3 Identity Security in the Cloud 9 1.4 Information Security in the Cloud 9 1.5 Cloud Security Standards 16 1.6 Conclusion 20 References 20 2 Cloud Infrastructure Security 23 Mohammad GhasemiGol 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 Infrastructure Security in the Cloud 24 2.3 Infrastructure Security Analysis in Some Clouds 31 2.4 Protecting Cloud Infrastructure 45 2.5 Conclusion 49 References 49 3 Confidentiality of Data in the Cloud: Conflicts Between Security and Cost 51 Nathalie Baracaldo and Joseph Glider 3.1 Introduction 51 3.2 Background 51 3.3 Confidentiality: Threats and Adversaries 54 3.4 Achieving Data Confidentiality in Cloud Storage Systems 55 3.5 Reducing Cloud Storage System Costs through Data‐Reduction Techniques 57 3.6 Reconciling Data Reduction and Confidentiality 59 3.7 Trusted Decrypter 62 3.8 Future Directions for Cloud Storage Confidentiality with Low Cost 74 3.9 Conclusions 76 References 77 4 Access Control in Cloud IaaS 81 Yun Zhang, Ram Krishnan, Farhan Patwa, and Ravi Sandhu 4.1 Introduction 81 4.2 Background 82 4.3 Access Control in OpenStack Cloud IaaS 83 4.4 Access Control in AWS Cloud IaaS 90 4.5 Access Control in Azure Cloud IaaS 99 4.6 Conclusions 107 References 107 5 Cloud Security and Privacy Management 109 Patrick Kamongi 5.1 Introduction and Background 109 5.2 Security and Privacy Analysis 111 5.3 Best Security Practices and Recommendation 117 5.4 Use Case Example: Microsoft Office 365, SaaS Version 118 5.5 Current Trends and Future Direction 125 5.6 Related Works 125 5.7 Conclusion 126 Acknowledgments 126 References 126 6 Hacking and Countermeasures in the Cloud 129 Farzaneh Abazari, Hassan Takabi, and Morteza Analoui 6.1 Introduction 129 6.2 Background 130 6.3 Cloud Security Threats 130 6.4 Cloud Security Countermeasures 134 6.5 Hacking the Cloud: Reality Check 136 6.6 Future of Cloud Security 137 6.6.1 Cloud Security for the IoT 138 6.7 Conclusions 139 References 139 7 Risk Management and Disaster Recovery in the Cloud 143 Saman Zonouz 7.1 Introduction 143 7.2 Background 143 7.3 Consequence‐ Centric Security Assessment 145 7.4 Future Directions 154 7.5 Conclusions 155 8 Cloud Auditing and Compliance 157 Paolina Centonze 8.1 Introduction 157 8.2 Background 157 8.3 Cloud Auditing 162 8.4 Cloud Compliance 170 8.5 Future Research Directions for Cloud Auditing and Compliance 183 8.6 Conclusion 184 References 185 Further Reading 187 9 Security‐as‐a‐Service (SECaaS) in the Cloud 189 Saman Taghavi Zargar, Hassan Takabi, and Jay Iyer 9.1 Introduction 189 9.2 Related Work 192 9.3 Security‐ as‐a‐Service Framework 194 9.4 Conclusions 199 References 199 Part II Cloud Forensics 201 10 Cloud Forensics: Model, Challenges, and Approaches 203 Lei Chen, Nhien‐An Le‐Khac, Sebastian Schlepphorst, and Lanchuan Xu 10.1 Introduction 203 10.2 Background 204 10.3 Process and Model of Cloud Forensics 207 10.4 Cloud Forensics Methods, Approaches, and Tools 211 10.5 Challenges in Cloud Forensics 213 10.6 Conclusions 214 References 214 11 Cyberterrorism in the Cloud: Through a Glass Darkly 217 Barry Cartwright, George R. S. Weir, and Richard Frank 11.1 Introduction 217 11.2 What is Terrorism? 218 11.3 Defining Cyberterrorism 220 11.4 Cyberterrorism vs. Terrorist Use of Cyberspace 221 11.5 Cyberterrorism in the Cloud 222 11.6 The Benefits of the Cloud to Cyberterrorists 225 11.7 Cyberlaw and Cyberterrorism 227 11.8 Conclusion: Through a Glass Darkly 230 References 232 12 Digital Forensic Process and Model in the Cloud 239 Nhien‐An Le‐Khac, James Plunkett, M‐Tahar Kechadi, and Lei Chen 12.1 Introduction 239 12.2 Digital Forensics Models 240 12.3 Cloud Forensics Process and Model 243 12.4 Toward a New Cloud Forensics Model 246 12.5 Evaluation and Analysis 251 12.6 Conclusion 253 References 253 13 Data Acquisition in the Cloud 257 Nhien‐An Le‐Khac, Michel Mollema, Robert Craig, Steven Ryder, and Lei Chen 13.1 Introduction 257 13.2 Background 258 13.3 Data Center as a Source of Evidence 259 13.4 Cloud Service Providers: Essential Requirements, Governance, and Challenges 260 13.4.1 Business Model 261 13.5 Cloud Storage Forensics 264 13.6 Case Study 1: Finding Data Centers on the Internet in Data‐Dense Environments 265 13.7 Case Study 2: Cloud Forensics for the Amazon Simple Storage Service 274 13.8 Conclusion 281 References 281 14 Digital Evidence Management, Presentation, and Court Preparation in the Cloud: A Forensic Readiness Approach 283 Lucia De Marco, Nhien‐An Le‐Khac, and M‐Tahar Kechadi 14.1 Introduction 283 14.2 Cloud Forensics and Challenges 284 14.3 Digital Forensics Readiness 285 14.4 Cloud Forensics Readiness 287 14.5 Forensics Readiness in Evidence Management, Presentation, and Court Preparation 291 14.6 Conclusion 295 References 296 15 Analysis of Cloud Digital Evidence 301 Irfan Ahmed and Vassil Roussev 15.1 Introduction 301 15.2 Background 305 15.3 Current Approaches 307 15.4 Proposed Comprehensive Approaches 312 15.5 Discussion 317 15.6 Conclusions 317 References 318 16 Forensics‐as‐a‐Service (FaaS) in the State‐of‐the‐Art Cloud 321 Avinash Srinivasan and Frank Ferrese 16.1 Introduction 321 16.2 Background and Motivation 323 16.3 State of the Art in Parallel and Distributed Forensic Analysis 325 16.4 Conclusion and Future Research Direction 334 References 335 Index 339