Are You Working in the Cloud or Using Cloud Computing?

K. Virginia HembyBusiness Communication & Entrepreneurship Dept.

Middle TN State University, Murfreesboro, TN

Robert E. “Skip” Grubb, Jr.Director, Criminal Justice Technology

Columbia State Community College, Columbia, TN

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iGoogle, Firefox

Cloud…What Cloud?

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A metaphor for the Internet

Cloud Computing…Working on the Internet?

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After a fashion, yes . . . BUT adding the word computing expands the definition to mean “Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid” (Wikipedia, 2011).

The Economics of Cloud Computing

• Significant savings for capital expenditures (hardware, software, personnel, and space)

• Savings on maintenance, licensing agreements, and energy costs

• Student work does not reside on individual computers, USBs, or CDs as ALL applications and data are stored in the cloud

• No more downloads

• REQUIREMENTS: – Cheap access device (laptop,

iPad, iPod, smartphone)– A web browser– Broadband in the schools

with select wireless hotspots– Most students already

possess some type of access device so school districts need ONLY fill the gaps—not replace existing access devices

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Cloud-Based Systems for School Districts Mean…..

• No worries about students’ lost, stolen, crunched, or fried computers

• No hard drive malfunctions to manage

• No lost computing files or data

• No CD-drive breakage or bad track reads

• No Operating System reboots

• No “blue screen of death” • No black screens with

strange and scary code• No endless uploads,

downloads, upgrades, or storage

• No stacks of app boxes taking up space in school offices or closets

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The Yin of Cloud Computing

• CLOUD STORAGE

– Off-site, web-based system called storage as a service (StaaS); aka “taking data into the cloud”

• CLOUD-BASED APPLICATIONS

– A program that is accessed via the Internet; the software is hosted and powered by the service provider; aka Software as a Service (SaaS)

“. . . Cloud computing could serve as the strategic component that has been missing in K-12 (and post-secondary) technology efforts—a way to deliver more and better services” (Kuglin, 11/17/2010, in Wancheck, N., Education in the Cloud: 5 Questions with John Kuglin, THE Journal).

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Basic Cloud Computing: Operating Systems (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMWO9JxZjA)

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CLOUD STORAGE

• http://www.dropbox.com

• 2 GB free space

• File storage solution

• Solution for sharing files in folders that other people need to modify

LiveMesh (Windows Live Mesh in 2011)

• http://www.mesh.com

• 5 GB free space

• Microsoft cloud computing storage solution

• More of a web application designed for file storage

• Requires use of SilverLight technology (makes necessity of another download to get things up and running)

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DropBox

Cloud Storage (Continued)

Box.net

• http://www.box.net

• 5 GB free space

• Mobile app access

Mozy

• http://mozy.com

• 2 GB free space

• Works with a desktop program to sync your files to the web

• Works with both PC and Mac

• Restore and access capabilities

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Cloud Storage (Continued)

MyOtherDrive

• http://www.myotherdrive.com

• 2 GB free space

• Drag and drop upload (from your desktop, Internet browser, or other applications

• Automated or manual backup

syncplicity

• http://www.syncplicity.com

• 2 GB free space

• Real-time backup and instant restore

• Share files with friends or collaborate with one-click file-sharing

• Sync files across PCs, Macs, file servers, and Google Docs

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Cloud Storage (Continued)

• ActiveCloud

• http://www.activecloud.pocketwatchllc.com/

• Remove barriers between the Cloud and your iPad or iPhone

• Copy and paste files between local and cloud-based storage services

• Send files to others via email

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K-12 Web-Based Tools for Collaboration, File Sharing, and Online Storage

School Web Lockers• http://www.schoolweblockers.co

m

• Digital Lockers - Personal file storage

• Homework drop boxes - get and turn-in homework

• Message Boards - School-wide/District-wide Discussions

• Teacher Talk - Class Discussions

• Teacher Blogs

• Calendars - Public and Private calendars

eBackpack

• http://www.ebackpack.com

• Create classes / groups and easily share content

• Electronically submit files to staff.

• Secure homework drop boxes

• Collaborative discussion

• ePortfolios

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Key Cloud-Based Applications/Tools

• WordPress (blog)– www.wordpress.org

• Delicious (bookmarking and sharing bookmarks)– www.delicious.com

• LinkedIn (professional networking)– www.linkedin.com

• Twitter (microblog)– www.twitter.com

• Screenr (screencasts)– www.screenr.com

• Google Docs– docs.google.com

• Gmail (email)– mail.google.com/mail/

• YouTube (video)– www.youtube.com

• Flickr (photo storage and sharing)– www.flickr.com

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GOOGLE APPS (Samples for Educators)

• Google Apps Marketplace– Aviary Design Suite for

Education (set of free tools and templates for creating multimedia projects)

– Rcampus ePortfolio Builder and Assessment System

• Easy Bib (automatic bibliography composer)

• Digication e-Portfolio (allows students to showcase work online)

• EduTone Connector for Moodle (trial version of utility that facilitates single sign-on authentication through Google Apps)

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CLOUD-BASED APPLICATIONS(in addition to Google Apps)

Bookmarking Tools

• Evernote– http://www.evernote.com

• Diigo– http://www.diigo.com

• Notefish– http://notefish.com

• Snipit– http://snipit.org

Notetaking Tools

• Toodledo– http://www.toodledo.com

• Remember the Milk– http://www.rememberthemilk.

com/

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Cloud-Based Applications(Continued)

Collaboration

• HiTask– http://hitask.com

• Writeboard– http://writeboard.com/

• Springnote– http://www.springnote.com/

• Wiggio– http://wiggio.com/

Multimedia and Multitasking

• ThinkFree– http://member.thinkfree.com

/member/goLandingPage.action

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Project Management

• Enter the Group– http://enterthegroup.com/

Cloud-Based Applications(Continued)

ePortfolio

• LiveBinders– http://livebinders.com/

Social Networking for Educators• Diipo

– http://diipo.com/

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Learning Management System

• Novachi– http://www.novachi.com/b/

novachi-features/

– COURSEsites (By Blackboard)

– https://www.coursesites.com/webapps/Bb-sites-course-creation-BBLEARN/pages/learn.html

CLOUD OPERATING SYSTEMS

• Your Desktop Lives in the Cloud

Cloudo

oos.cc

eyeos

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“. . . Looking at peer institutions, we found that there’s probably not a school out there that doesn’t spend 90 percent of its IT budget on the first day of the year, on recurring licenses and upgrades—leaving no money to do anything else. It has become more and more obvious to us that moving even 10 to 20 services to the cloud can save the time and budget needed to work more effectively on the innovative solutions that are so important to our institutions” (Sheard, 9/22/2010, Cloud Computing in Education: A Practitioner’s Viewpoint, Campus Technology).

The Yang of Cloud Computing

• “Research from (ISC)2 finds while most organizations are embracing mobile technologies, social media, and cloud computing, their security staff are not upgrading skills and policies to insure adequate protection.”

Goodchild, J. (2011 ). Security Departments Not Prepared for New Technologies. http://www.csoonline.com

Security Departments Not Prepared for New Technologies

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Security Departments Not Prepared for New Technologies

• “The adoption of cloud computing is also posing a threat, the survey finds. Among 10,000 information security professionals [sic], 73 percent said that cloud computing requires new skills for security professionals. When asked what new skills would be required for cloud computing, half of the participants identified contract negotiation skills as one of their top three requirements. This selection trailed the desire to develop a detailed understanding of cloud computing chosen by 93 percent, as well as the desire for enhanced technical knowledge chosen by 81 percent of participants”

(Goodchild, 2011)

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Get Off Of My Cloud

• “The single biggest objection to cloud computing, however, is whether or not data can be truly safe in the cloud.”

• How do you authenticate in the cloud?

• Who is responsible for the data?

• Where are services being hosted?

• Where and how are they being backed up?Clayton, N. (2011, February 15). Get Off Of My Cloud. The Wall Street

Journal

http://online.wsj.com

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7 Dangers in the Cloud

• Abuse and nefarious use of cloud services

• Insecure interfaces and APIs

• Malicious insiders

• Shared technology issues

• Data loss or leakage

• Account or service hijacking

• Unknown risk profile

Swidler, A. (2010, December). Campus Technology.

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Memory Scraping Malware Goes After Encrypted Private Information

• “Security researchers at the SANS Institute say pervasive memory scrapping is one of the most dangerous attack methods that hackers will use in the coming year. In such an attack, hackers gain administrative privileges for a file system in order to access personally identifiable information and other sensitive data, even if it is encrypted.”

Messmer, E. (2011, February 22). Memory scraping malware goes after encrypted private information. Network World. http://www.networkworld.com

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Trusted Online Identities Plan Hinges on Collaboration

• The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) aims “to create an identity ecosystem that will increase the availability of flexible, voluntary, and user friendly online identity authentication.”

• “The success of NSTIC is dependent on the collaboration between stakeholders in the public and private sectors . . . “

Jackson, W. (2011, February 16). Trusted online identities plan hinges on collaboration. Government Computer News. http://gcn.com

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NeoLoad Load Tests Software for Web Apps Adds Testing from the Cloud

• NeoLoad can detect problems such as memory leaks, bottle necks, poor network configuration, and software configuration issues before they occur in production and cause slow application performance or service interruptions. It simulates real world conditions that affect application performance. The new version includes on-demand load testing from the cloud and supports the latest web application technologies. NeoLoad enables organizations to test a web application’s entire delivery chain, including firewalls and routers, from different parts of the world.

Meyer, L. (2011, March 3). THE Journal.

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Can ‘encrypted blobs’ Help With Secure Cloud Computing?

• “Can cloud-based computing be made more secure in the future using what crypto geeks call ‘fully homomorphic encryption’ to send data as ‘encrypted blobs’ that can be understood and subject to processing without having to actually de-crypt them first to see the plaintext.”

• “. . . the idea is to create ‘encrypted blobs’ that don’t need to be decrypted and still allow for many practical applications by being combined with and processed by other ‘encrypted blobs.’”

Messmer, E. (2011, February 4). Can encrypted blobs help with secure cloud computing?

Networkworld

http://www.networkworld.com

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“DARPA Seeks Security Expertise from a Nontraditional Source: The Hacker Community” Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

• The Defense Department plans to fund independent security researchers and experimental projects in a bid to invigorate the federal government’s “unsustainable approach to cybersecurity.”

• The program called Cyber Fast Track will reward security research done within “a matter of months and at a small price tag.”

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DARPA CONTINUED

• DARPA research in environments the agency had access to found that defensive applications took up to 10 million lines of code, compared to 125 lines of code found in 9,000 samples of malware.

• Lines of code are an indication of the exploitable surface area of a system and the cost required to maintain and protect it. An IBM metric suggests that for every 1,000 lines of code, 1 to 5 bugs are introduced.

Lim, D. (2011, February 4). Nextgov Technology and the Business of Government

http://www.nextgov.com

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Checklist for Evaluating Cloud-Based Initiatives

• Contracts

• Audit Controls

• Integration Points

• Policies and Procedures

• Follow the Data

Information Management. (2009, July-August).

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Choosing a Provider

• Insist on being allowed a live test of the product

• Know what steps to take to re-create your data at another location

• Find out what happens if your data does not come back

• Know your exit strategy

• Make sure your operating system is supported

THE Journal (2010, September), p. 24

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