Question 1

As an initial migration plan to cloud, Webb’s stores have decided to move their MS SQL Server 2012 R2 database to an IaaS instance in the cloud. Now, a few of the initial key decisions to be taken before strategizing the move is mentioned below for reference:-

• Public vs. Private cloud – Decision as to whether the SQL server needs to be deployed on a private cloud or a public cloud
• Big band deployment vs. data-specific – Decision on whether to move the entire database to cloud, or to move selected content from the SQL database to cloud

Accounting Standards and Theory

Question 1(a)

There are multiple security options which needs to be considered while moving any mission critical database to cloud infrastructure. A few of the best practices which can be considered are mentioned below for reference:-

1. Segregation of data as to which data needs to be moved to cloud, and which to not. Also, given that the data center hosts business critical data, Webb’s stores can plan to move the data infrastructure on private cloud so that the security aspects of things can be taken care of.
2. Accessibility and data management controls – There should be a proper accessibility control mechanism taking care of two key processes:-
   1. Who are the users who should have access to the data center resources?
   2. What level of accesses to be provided to each of the user (read/modify/create/admin etc.)?
3. Latest security patches, plug-ins and latest anti-virus to be installed in the cloud infrastructure so as to make sure that the data is immune to cyber threats and security breaches.
4. A dedicated security management and governance team needs to be set up who would monitor and govern all the security related issues and concerns pertaining to the cloud infrastructure
   

HI5019 STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Question 1(b)

The key benefits of having a safe and secure environment in context to the cloud infrastructure are mentioned below for reference:-

1. Minimal chances of unauthorized intrusion – Data assets would be accessed by users who are authorized to do so, and there would be no unauthorized user able to access the critical resources
2. Protection against virus or worm – Usage of latest antivirus would ensure the data assets are not compromised on security breaches – be it malware attacks or so.

Question 2

While the movement of the existing data and IT infrastructure brings in a lot of advantages and effectiveness, it also calls for certain bottlenecks and risks as well. The various risk factors which need to be considered while migrating these infrastructure to cloud are mentioned below for reference:-

1. Risk of business continuity – During the transition when the data centers would be down or not in function, there are chances when business continuity can be compromised in the process. In order to prevent this, analysts or consultants should plan to have a complete back-up of the existing data center, and all network calls needs to be re-routed to the backed up source. This would ensure that regular business to-do items would not be hampered (majorly applies to database)
2. Security risks in moving to public cloud – Given that the data to be moved is considered critical to business, moving it to a public cloud may open up a lot of security related concerns as well such as external vulnerabilities to data, online hacks and unauthorized intrusion to critical and confidential data systems and so on. (majorly applies to database)
3. Deployment risks to IaaS infrastructure – Now, given that the data centers would be phased out and replicated to cloud, therefore, there would be certain level of risks related to deploying the data to the cloud infrastructure. (majorly related to the IaaS infrastructure as well as the communication interface between the infrastructure as a service cloud and Webb’s existing IT platforms)

Taxation Law

Question 3

Question 3(a)

Taking periodic back-ups and archival of data is one of the integral parts of disaster recovery mechanism. The main objective of this is that during any security incident or disaster, in case the data gets deleted due to any reason, or it gets corrupt then the back-up us pointed or is rolled back to the actual data storage location for the time being, till the issue is resolved.

However, in doing so, there are certain risk factors associated with the back-up and archival process in the cloud environment which can cause issues in operations:-

1. Backing up data to cloud – While backing up data to the cloud, a major risk associated is the periodicity of the same i.e. the backing procedure must be automated in such a way that it is done at regular intervals of time, and all changes done to the current live system should reflect in the back-up as well. In addition to that, the back-up process must be scheduled in such a way that it should not hamper the overall performance of the cloud infrastructure
2. Storage of data in the cloud – Just like all storage medium, here as well, security of the storage dump must be taken into consideration i.e. the back-up must not be accessed or hacked by any unauthorized intruder
3. Retrieval of data from the cloud – There must not be any gap in data or information while it is being retrieved from the backed-up location to the actual cloud infrastructure

Question 3(b)

Cloud back-up are primarily a part of the disaster recovery mechanism wherein due to any particular security incident or any other unplanned outages, the data in the data centers or the cloud infrastructure either gets deleted, or infected or becomes inaccessible.

However, the back-up procedure needs to be scheduled in a way that there is no gaps in the live version and the backed-up version so that it can be easily rolled back to the live environment as and when required.

HI3042 Taxation Law

Question 4

Security measures to protect the following assets:-

1. IaaS infrastructure – The first and primary security measure to the IaaS infrastructure is to assign access rights and controls on who can access the cloud infrastructure, what are the resources that the person can access, and what level of access is granted?
2. MS SQL Server 2012 R2 cloud instance – No users should be added as admin, and ‘windows authentication’ should be avoided
3. Cloud backup and restore infrastructure – Periodic schedule of back-up process, and the backed-up location to be secured.

E-strategic management