Developing and Securing the Cloud

Although the use of cloud computing platforms and applications has expanded rapidly, most books on the subject focus on high-level concepts. There has long been a need for a book that provides detailed guidance on how to develop secure clouds.

Filling this void, Developing and Securing the Cloud providesa comprehensive overview of cloud computing technology. Supplying step-by-step instruction on how to develop and secure cloud computing platforms and web services, it includes an easy-to-understand, basic-level overview of cloud computing and its supporting technologies.

Presenting a framework for secure cloud computing development, the book describes supporting technologies for the cloud such as web services and security. It details the various layers of the cloud computing framework, including the virtual machine monitor and hypervisor, cloud data storage, cloud data management, and virtual network monitor. It also provides several examples of cloud products and prototypes, including private, public, and U.S. government clouds.

Reviewing recent developments in cloud computing, the book illustrates the essential concepts, issues, and challenges in developing and securing today?s cloud computing platforms and applications. It also examines prototypes built on experimental cloud computing systems that the author and her team have developed at the University of Texas at Dallas.

This diverse reference is suitable for those in industry, government, and academia. Technologists will develop the understanding required to select the appropriate tools for particular cloud applications. Developers will discover alternative designs for cloud development, and managers will understand if it?s best to build their own clouds or contract them out.

Introduction. Supporting Technologies. Secure Services Technologies. Cloud Computing Concepts. Experimental Cloud Computing Systems. Secure Cloud Computing Concepts. Experimental Secure Cloud Computing Systems. Experimental Cloud Systems for Security Applications. Toward a Trustworthy Cloud. Building an Infrastructure, an Education Initiative, and a Research Program for a Secure Cloud.

Dr. Bhavani Thuraisingham is the Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. I Distinguished Professor in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) since September 2010. She has unique experience working in the commercial industry, federal research laboratory, US government and academia, and her 30+ year career includes research and development, technology transfer, product development, program management, and consulting to the federal government.

Dr. Thuraisingham joined UTD in October 2004 as a Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Cyber Security Research Center which conducts research in data security and privacy, secure systems, secure networks, secure languages, secure social media, data mining and semantic web. She is an elected Fellow of several prestigious organizations including the IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2002), the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003), the BCS (British Computer Society, 2005), and the SPDS (Society for Design and Process Science - a society that promotes transdisciplinary research - 2011). She is the recipient of numerous awards including (i) the IEEE Computer Society's 1997 Technical Achievement Award for outstanding and innovative contributions to secure data management, (ii) the 2010 Research Leadership Award for Outstanding and Sustained Leadership Contributions to the Field of Intelligence and Security Informatics presented jointly by the IEEE Intelligent and Transportation Systems Society and the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society (iii) the 2010 ACM SIGSAC (Association for Computing Machinery, Special Interest Group on Security, Audit and Control) Outstanding Contributions Award for seminal research contributions and leadership in data and applications security for over 25 years and (iv) the 2011 AFCEA (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) Medal of Merit for Sus