Cloud Shared Responsibility Model: Comparing IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS Service Provider and Customer Duties

TL;DR:
The shared responsibility model defines security obligations between cloud providers and customers, ensuring accountability.

Key Points:

• On-Premises vs. Cloud Computing:
  • Enterprises manage security entirely on-premises, while in the cloud, responsibilities shift.
• Responsibilities for IaaS, PaaS, SaaS:
  • IaaS: Customer manages data and configurations; provider manages infrastructure.
  • PaaS: Provider secures infrastructure, customer focuses on application security.
  • SaaS: Provider handles entire stack; customer secures application configurations and data.
• Key Responsibilities:
  • Data Security, IAM, Application Security for customers; Security of the Cloud, Services for providers.

Key Terms:

• Shared Responsibility Model: Defines security obligations between cloud providers and customers, ensuring accountability.
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Cloud provider manages infrastructure; customer manages data and configurations.
• PaaS (Platform as a Service): Provider secures infrastructure; customer focuses on application security.
• SaaS (Software as a Service): Provider manages entire stack; customer secures application configurations and data.
• Data Security: Implementing policies, classifying data, and applying security measures.
• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Defining access rights, managing user accounts and credentials.
• Application Security: Securing applications with access controls, encryption, and application-specific measures.
• Security of the Cloud: Provider’s responsibility for infrastructure security and reliability.
• Security of the Services: Provider’s responsibility for securing platform and software layers.

The cloud shared responsibility model is a fundamental concept in cloud computing that outlines the security and compliance responsibilities between cloud service providers (CSPs) like Google Cloud and their customers. This model is crucial for understanding the security obligations and ensuring accountability in cloud environments, whether it’s on-premises or in the cloud (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS).

On-Premises vs. Cloud Computing Models

• On-Premises: In an on-premises model, the enterprise is responsible for the security of its infrastructure, applications, and data. This includes managing physical security, implementing security policies, and maintaining the integrity of the infrastructure and applications.

• Cloud Computing Models: When moving to the cloud, some security responsibilities are shifted to the CSP. However, the customer still retains certain responsibilities related to the security of their data and applications.

Shared Responsibility for IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS

• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): In this model, the cloud provider is responsible for the security of the cloud infrastructure, including the physical data centers, networks, and hardware. The customer is responsible for securing the operating systems, applications, and data stored within the cloud. This means you manage your data and configurations, but the provider manages the underlying infrastructure ⁴.

• PaaS (Platform as a Service): The cloud provider secures the infrastructure and platform software, including the operating system, middleware, and runtime. The customer is responsible for securing the application layer, including the application code, data, and configurations. This model places more responsibility on the cloud provider for the underlying infrastructure and platform, while the customer focuses on the application and its security ⁴.

• SaaS (Software as a Service): The cloud provider is responsible for the entire stack, including the hardware, software, runtime, middleware, and applications. The customer is responsible for securing the application configurations and data. This model offers the highest level of abstraction, with the cloud provider managing the majority of security responsibilities ⁴.

Key Responsibilities for Customers

• Data Security: Customers are universally responsible for securing their data in the cloud. This includes implementing proper policies for data security, classifying and categorizing data, and applying appropriate security measures ³.

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Customers are responsible for defining access rights to cloud-based resources and granting access to authorized users. This includes managing user accounts, credentials, and ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive data and resources ³.

• Application Security: Customers are responsible for securing their applications, including setting up secure access controls, encrypting data in transit and at rest, and implementing application-specific security measures ⁵.

Key Responsibilities for Cloud Providers

• Security of the Cloud: Cloud providers are responsible for securing the underlying infrastructure, including data centers, networking equipment, and physical security. This includes tasks such as patching and updating operating systems, ensuring the availability and reliability of cloud services, and protecting against infrastructure-level threats ⁵.

• Security of the Services: Depending on the model, cloud providers may also be responsible for securing the platform and software layer (PaaS) or the entire stack (SaaS). This includes securing the operating system, middleware, and runtime, as well as the applications themselves ⁵.

Understanding the shared responsibility model is essential for businesses transitioning to the cloud or operating in a multi-cloud environment. It helps in defining clear security and compliance obligations, ensuring that both the cloud provider and the customer play their part in maintaining a secure cloud environment. This shared approach is particularly important in the context of digital transformation, as it allows businesses to leverage the benefits of cloud computing while maintaining control over their data and applications’ security.