EU Agency Releases Report on Governmental Cloud Computing Security in EU

The main goal of the report is to support governmental bodies in taking informed, risk-based decisions regarding security of data, resilience of service and legal compliance on their way to the cloud.

  • Feb 08, 2011
The EU's cybersecurity agency, ENISA, has launched a new report on governmental cloud computing that targets at senior managers of public bodies who have to make a security and resilience decision about how to “go cloud,” if at all. The main goal of the report is to support governmental bodies in taking informed, risk-based decisions regarding security of data, resilience of service and legal compliance on their way to the cloud. It also highlights security and resilience pros and cons of community, private and public cloud computing services for public bodies.

"The new report presents a decision-making model for senior management to determine the best cloud solution from a security and resilience point of view,” said Daniele Catteddu, author of the report, which details and explains the different steps of the decision-making model, and applies the model to four sample services (electronic healthcare services, electronic administrative procedures, e-mail and human resources applications). Analysis and conclusions are mainly based on three scenarios, which describe the migration to cloud computing of a healthcare authority, a local public administration and the creation of governmental cloud infrastructure.

The Agency concludes that private and community clouds appear to be the solutions that best fit the needs of public administrations if they need to achieve the highest level of data governance. If a private or community cloud infrastructure does not reach the necessary critical mass, most of the resilience and security benefits of the cloud model will not be realized.

The executive director, professor Udo Helmbrech, said, "Public cloud offers a very high level of service availability, and is the most cost-effective. Yet, currently its adoption should be limited to non-sensitive or non critical applications, in the context of a well-defined cloud adaptation strategy with a clear exit strategy."

The report makes several recommendations to governments and public bodies, including:

National governments and the EU institutions should investigate the concept of an EU Governmental cloud.
Cloud computing will soon serve a significant portion of EU citizens, SMEs and public administrations. National governments should thus prepare a cloud computing strategy and study the role that cloud computing will play for critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP).
A national cloud computing strategy should address the effects of national/supra-national interoperability and interdependencies, cascading failures, and include cloud providers into the reporting schemes of articles 4 and 13 of the new Telecom Framework Directive


Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.