Migrating Data To Cloud For An Australian Regional Retailer Of Foodstuffs – A Case Study

Overview of Webb’s Stores

Question:

Discuss About The Australian Regional Retailer Of Foodstuffs?

Webb’s Stores is an Australian regional retailer of foodstuffs. The main data centers of this retailer are in Melbourne and Sydney. The other regional data centers are in Brisbane, Wagga, Auckland, Port Macquarie and Bathurst. They have decided to take cloud computing in their business. The main problem that Webb’s Stores are facing is the operational complexity, application complexity and management of data (Almorsy, Grundy & Müller, 2016). They have thought of closing their data center in Auckland rather than replacing or updating the existing infrastructure. The services and the data are moved to the cloud. They are also planning to run a Risk and Security Workshop to assess the security threats, risks and the probable methods of control required for hybrid cloud.

The report outlines the brief description of the case study of Webb’s Stores. It covers the advantages of migration of data from MS SQL Server 2012 R2 database to IaaS instance in cloud. It also covers the risks that are associated for the migration of data and services with proper details (Garg, Versteeg & Buyya, 2013). The report further describes the utilization of cloud in backup and for the removal of records. The final part of the report gives a description about the procedure of protecting access to the services for moving to the cloud. Proper recommendations are also provided in the report.

Webb’s Stores are migrating their data and services from MS SQL Server 2012 R2 databases to an IaaS instance in the cloud. The type of cloud security policy that can be deployed for protecting the critical database after moving to an IaaS instance in a public cloud is the authorization and authentication (Hashizume et al., 2013). Cloud computing is the way of utilizing the network of several remote servers that is hosted to control, store and process data on the Internet.  Authentication is the procedure to enable confidence in the identities of the users. The Security Assertion Markup Language or SAML is an open standard data format that are utilized for authentication in cloud computing. Authorization is the permission given to a sanctioned individual or organizational body to access any confidential data or service. Webb’s Stores is dealing with high security data and services. It is evident that the authority will not give permission to access their data and services. The security policy of authentication and authorization will provide them excess security and there will be extremely low chances of the data being hacked (Malawski et al., 2013). Moreover, cloud computing modules are extremely safe and secured and thus it can be claimed that if Webb’s Stores will migrate their MS SQL Server 2012 R2 database to an IaaS instance, they should undertake authentication and authorization security policy.

Migrating data to IaaS instance in Cloud

Webb’s Stores is taking authentication and authorization policy for the security of their data in the cloud. They will get several benefits if they will deploy this particular policy in their organization. The main advantages of this policy are as follows:

i) Scalability: This security policy provides excellent scalability to the database (Li et al., 2013). This will be extremely helpful to the company.

ii) Flexibility: Another main advantage of this security policy is that the entire system becomes flexible.

iii) Cost Effective: The third advantage of this security policy is that the maintenance cost becomes lower and thus can be claimed as cost effective.

iv) High Security: This is the most important benefit if this policy. The security level is extremely high, which makes it popular for all organization (Arora, Parashar & Transforming, 2013). The authentication and authorization policy allows only authorized users to access the data in authenticated servers.

However, in spite of the above-mentioned benefits, authentication and authorization policy undergoes several issues (Tao et al., 2014). The issues that Webb’s Stores can have after deploying this security policy are as follows:i) Complexity: The main issue that is faced after deploying this type of security is the complexity. The authentication and authorization sometimes become extremely complex after it is deployed.i) Brute Force Attacks: This is another dangerous issue that is faced when this type of security is deployed (Wei et al., 2014). Brute force attacks are extremely dangerous for any organizational databases. It opens the way for intruders and hackers and the data can be leaked.

iii) Storage: When password authentication is used, the usernames and passwords should be stored in a database for authentication purposes. Storing of these passwords are done in a particular database. The storage can be easily hacked and the passwords and the usernames can be easily stolen.

iv) Encryption: Encryption is mandatory for this type of security (Garg, Versteeg & Buyya, 2013). However, there is a high chance that symmetric or the asymmetric key would be lost and the user can be in problem.

Risks and threats are evident and common in case of data migration. Webb’s Stores is migrating their database to an IaaS instance in public cloud. Several risks can occur in case of database. The risks that applies to the database are as follows:

1. i) Data Loss: This is the principal risk that comes into account when data migration is done. There is a high chance that the data would be loss when the data is being migrated (Hashem et al., 2015). The database might lose the data completely.
2. ii) Corruption of Database: There is always a chance that the database would be corrupted. This type of risk is very common in migration of data. The database even cannot be recovered any more. Webb’s Stores should be careful before they migrate their data.

The risks applied to the Infrastructure as a Service database are as follows:

1. i) Insider Threats: The main risk that is applied to the IaaS instance while migration of data is the insider threats (Hashizume et al., 2013). An IaaS database in a public cloud allows and enables internal administrator to access the entire database and data. Webb’s Stores should be careful enough before migrating their data.
2. ii) Denial of Service: This is another important risk that can take place in case of migrating the data in IaaS infrastructure. When a client utilizes the cloud resources, the service quality of the other clients are degraded. The hackers use this opportunity and utilize all the shared resources to slow down the system and even deny the cloud services (Malawski et al., 2013). This type of attack is known as denial of service or DoS attack that prevents the clients from accessing the resources.

There are several risks in communications between the Webb’s Stores and the IaaS database. They are as follows:

1. i) Data Breach: This is the main risk that can occur while communication between IaaS and Webb’s Stores (Fernando, Loke & Rahayu, 2013). Data can be easily breached while migration.
2. ii) Incompatible Database: This is the second type of risk that can occur while communications between IaaS and Webb’s Stores. Database should be compatible so that there exists no issues.

1. Webb’s Stores should back up their data periodically. However, there are few risks that can take place while this backup. They are as follows:

Security Policy for Cloud Computing

Security: This is the most common risk while backing up of data is done. Data gets lost and can never be recovered once lost.

Control over Data: When data is backed up, the client of the cloud gets complete control over that data (Hashem et al., 2015). This sometimes turns out to be risky as the cloud provider gets complete access and control over that data. He might not be trusted person and data can be theft.

 Webb’s Stores may face several risks while storing their data in the cloud storage. The risks related to this are as follows:

Security: This is again the most common risk in case of cloud storage. There is a high chance that the data would be lost and cannot be recovered (Wei et al., 2014). Moreover, there is a chance that the data can be theft or hacked.

Lack of standardization: Vendors do not follow a standard set of rules and protocols for business support. Therefore, Webb’s Stores should select their vendor carefully to avoid any type of storage risks.

Webb’s Stores might undergo several risks while retrieving their data from the cloud (Dinh et al., 2013). The risks applied to retrieval of data are as follows:

Data Leakage: There is a high chance that the data can be leaked while retrieval. This type of leakage is extremely common in case of public cloud.

Snooping: This is another most common risk in case of data snooping in cloud. The hacker or the intruder can snoop in or look into the data while retrieval of data is done.

Cloud disaster recovery or DR is the strategy for backup and recovery of data, which is used for maintaining and storing of the electronic records for a security measure (Li et al., 2013). Cloud backup plays a very significant role in cloud disaster recovery plan. When Webb’s Stores is migrating their data to the cloud database, the DR plan helps them to simplify the process. They do not have to migrate everything rather if they will only migrate their storage. The main advantage that Webb’s Stores will get is that after deploying cloud back up is that a copy of their data will be sent in a public network to an offsite server (Rahimi et al., 2014). A provider of third party, who charges, normally hosts this server to the customers.

The main advantage of backup and restore strategy is that the data can be easily backed up. It will be helpful to Webb’s Stores as there will be a scope for backing up of data. This will change the entire system of database of this organization. Another advantage of data backup and restore strategy is that the data can be easily recovered by this strategy (Sanaei et al., 2014). If there is a chance that the data can be lost during migration, this strategy will help Webb’s Stores to recover their data quickly and easily.

Risks in Data Migration and Storage in Cloud

Webb’s Stores should be careful before providing access to the data and services. Only the authorized and sanctioned individuals would get the permission to access the services and data. There should be an authority only to look into the matter of authorization of access to the services.

The infrastructure of IaaS is an extremely delicate infrastructure that should be utilized by only authorized users. Two methods are recommended to Webb’s Stores for protecting access to IaaS infrastructure. They are as follows:

1. i) Physical Access to Infrastructure: The physical access to the IaaS infrastructure should be secured and protected so that unauthorized users are not able to access it (Dinh et al., 2013). Cloud vendor controls these. Precisely, it is recommended that the access to the physical server must be monitored and managed regularly.
2. ii) Access via API: Cloud infrastructure works best and with great speed with management. It is automatic via API (Xiao, Song & Chen, 2013). It is recommended for Webb’s Stores that they should take care of the fact that unauthorized utilization of API should not exist at all.

The access to the MS SQL Server 2012 R2 can be easily protected by adopting certain security measures. The recommended security measures of access for MS SQL Server 2012 R2 are as follows:

1. i) Physical Access: There should be a strict limit for accessing the physical server and the hardware components. The server should utilized by authorized users so that the access can be controlled.
2. ii) Operating system Access: Webb’s Stores should be careful about their access to the operating system of cloud network infrastructure. The main protection that Webb’s Stores can take is the firewalls (Fernando, Loke & Rahayu, 2013). They provide excess security and thus protect and control the access to the operating system. Moreover, it separates and restricts the network traffic.

Webb’s Stores should be careful about the protection and control of access to the infrastructure of cloud network. The recommendations that would be helpful for the cloud network infrastructure are as follows:

1. i) Protection against External and Internal Threats: Security infrastructure should be secured so that no external and internal threats can attack (Rittinghouse & Ransome, 2016). The information security team can assess the performance of the system on regular basis for relevant improvements. Webb’s Stores should protect and control the access of their cloud network infrastructure so that the threats do not take place.
2. ii) Server Monitoring: The server should be monitored and controlled time to time so that the access can be protected easily (Whaiduzzaman et al., 2014). The cloud network infrastructure is the most important hardware and software components that complete the entire cloud infrastructure.

Webb’s Stores should be careful about the control and protection of access to the cloud backup and restoration infrastructure (Rahimi et al., 2014). There are certain recommendations for this organization for backing up and restoring their data in the infrastructure. This particular infrastructure can be protected by few recommendations. They are as follows:

1. i) Encryption: This is the best solution for any confidential data. The data should be encrypted so that all the users are unable to retrieve those data (Avram, 2014). This encrypted data form will be helpful for protecting access to the cloud backup and restore infrastructure.
2. ii) Passwords: The cloud backup and restore infrastructure should be password protected so that it is not accessible to everyone (Botta et al., 2016). Moreover, this password should be biometric protected so that only authorized individuals will be able to access it.

These recommendations would be helpful and useful to the Board of Webb’s Stores for their successful migration of data to the IaaS cloud and their backup and restore strategies.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the above discussion it can be concluded that Webb’s Stores is an Australian regional retailer of foodstuffs. The main data centers of this retailer are in Melbourne and Sydney. The other regional data centers are in Brisbane, Wagga, Auckland, Port Macquarie and Bathurst. They have decided to take cloud computing in their business. The main problem that Webb’s Stores are facing is the operational complexity, application complexity and management of data. They have thought of closing their data center in Auckland rather than replacing or updating the existing infrastructure. The services and the data are moved to the cloud. They are also planning to run a Risk and Security Workshop to assess the security threats, risks and the probable methods of control required for hybrid cloud. The above report gives a detailed discussion about the benefits and problems in migration of data to the IaaS instance in cloud. The report also provides the detailed research about the risks and challenges about the database, the infrastructure of IaaS and the communications between Webb’s and the IaaS database in the cloud. Webb’s Stores is also considering to utilize cloud for their backup and archival of records. The report also helps to understand the probable risks and issues associated with the backup, storage and retrieval of data from the cloud. This cloud backup will also affect in their disaster and recovery plans. This strategy would be helpful for Webb’s Stores. Moreover, relevant recommendations are provided for protecting the access to the MS SQL Server 2012 R2, infrastructures of IaaS, cloud network and cloud back and restore.

Backup and Restore Strategy in Cloud

References

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