One of the main components of system audits is the ability to track changes over time and to match these changes with continued compliance and internal processes.
Which aspect of cloud computing makes this particular component more challenging than in a traditional data center?
One of the main challenges in system audits within cloud computing environments is the dynamic and transient nature of virtualized environments. Virtualization involves the creation, modification, and deletion of virtual machines (VMs) which can change frequently. This variability makes it difficult to ensure the same systems and configurations persist over time, complicating the tracking of changes and ensuring compliance. Unlike traditional data centers where physical machines and configurations remain relatively static, the virtualized infrastructure in cloud computing constantly evolves, making it challenging to maintain consistent audit trails and compliance records.
Virtualization as the creation and destruction of virtualized resources happens all the time so meaningful compliance reporting becomes very difficult, even if you use a baseline for all resources.
wow that is a tough question. I can see valid justifications for all of them!
so, if its virtualization only on cloud-computing, is that mean you don't have virtualization in on-prem ? resource pooling makes it tough in cloud because it leads to other clients also using the same resource (hardware CPU, RAM, space) as you which makes it tough to audit.
B: Virtualization
Virtualization as it is difficult for the audit trail
While virtualization and resource pooling are foundational technologies that enable cloud computing, they don’t inherently create the rapid, transient changes that complicate audit trails. Elasticity is the characteristic that allows resources to scale up or down quickly based on demand. This dynamic provisioning and deprovisioning of resources means that the environment is continuously shifting, which makes it harder to track changes over time and ensure ongoing compliance. Virtualization abstracts hardware, but the virtual instances often remain relatively stable once provisioned. Resource pooling means sharing resources among multiple customers, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to rapid changes in individual system configurations. Thus, it’s the elastic nature of cloud resources that poses the biggest challenge for auditing over time.