Core security, privacy, and compliance tenets

As we learned in Chapter 1, Introduction to Cloud Computing, security is a shared responsibility model. This means that certain responsibilities transfer to the cloud provider in a cloud environment operating model, while other responsibilities are retained by the customer; you should understand when it is your responsibility to provide the appropriate level of security and control, and when it is not your responsibility but instead that of the cloud services provider to ensure that their platform is kept compliant and your data is kept private.

The following security model diagram visually sets out the division or separation of responsibilities between the consumer of the cloud resources and the cloud services provider itself:

Figure 10.1 – Shared responsibility model

The most critical responsibilities to be aware of are the responsibilities that you, as the consumer of cloud services, always retain and...