The growing popularity of cloud computing and virtualization among organizations have made it possible, the next target of cyberciminals. Cloud computing services, while offering considerable benefits and cost savings, move servers outside the organizations security perimeter, which makes it easier for cybercriminals to attack these systems.

Cloud computing is Internet (cloud")-based development and use of computer technology (computing"). The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used to depict the Internet in computer networks. Cloud computing is a term used for hosted services delivered over the Internet. A cloud service has three distinct characteristics which differentiate it from traditional hosting:

1. It is sold on demand - typically by the minute or the hour;
2. It is elastic in terms of usage - a user can have as much or as little of a service as he/she wants at any given time;
3. The service is fully managed by the provider - a user just needs PC and Internet connection.

Significant innovations into distributed computing and virtualization as well as improved access speed over the Internet have generated a great demand for cloud computing.

The cloud computing has following advantages

1. Applications and data can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Data may not be held on a hard drive on one user's computer.
2. It could bring hardware costs. down. One would need the Internet connection.
3. Organizations do not have to buy a set of software or software licenses for every employee and the organizations could pay a metered fee to a cloud computing company.
4. Organizations do not have to rent a physical space to store servers and databases. Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Cloud computing gives the option of storing data on someone else's hardware, thereby removing the need for physical space on the front end.
5. Organizations would be able to save money on IT support because organizations will have to ensure about the desktop (i.e., a client) and continuous Internet connectivity instead of servers and other hardware.

The cloud computing services can be either private or public. A public cloud services to anyone on the Internet. A private cloud is like a proprietary network or a data center that supplies the hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create a private cloud, the result is called a "virtual private cloud." The goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to the computing resources and IT services.

Cloud Computing Service Providers

Types of Services

1. Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS): It is like Amazon Web Services that provide virtual servers with unique IP addresses and blocks of storage on demand. Customers benefit from an Application Programmable Interface (API) from which they control their servers. As customers can pay for exactly the amount of service they use, like for electricy or water, this service is also called utility computing.

2. Platform-as-a-service (PaaS): It is a set of software and development tools hosted on the provider's's servers. Developers can create applications using the provider's APIs. Google Apps is one of the most famous PaaS providers. Developers should take notice that there are not any interoperability standards; therefore, some providers may not allow you to take your application and put it on another platform.

3. Software-as-a-service (SaaS): It is the broadest market. In this case, the provider allows the customer only to use its applications. The software interacts with the user through a user interface. These applications can be anything from Web-based E-Mail to applications such as Twitter or Last.fm.