Towards the Integration of Security Transparency in the Modelling and Design of Cloud Based Systems

The lacks of security transparency and mutual auditability have recently been acknowledged by the industry and research community as one of the most salient security concerns inherent to the cloud model. This paper discusses the topic of security transparency and mutual auditability considering the cloud based services. In particular, the existing state of the art practice and initiatives for promoting more trust within the realm of cloud services are analysed throughout this paper. Finally, we highlight a number of avenues that can be further researched by the secure information system community to ensure the development of cloud systems that seamlessly blend concepts that help capture, not only the resource need of the future cloud service users, but also their need for further visibility on a security matter which responsibility somehow lies in the hand of a third party.