EDoS

As it has been discussed in the Cloud Computing Google Group (Cloud Forum), the Cloud Computing paradigm has an ever growing underlying attachment. As I’m sure you can guess, I’m talking about the security threats that have emerged, one of them being the Economic Denial of Sustainability (EDoS). The EDoS attack has as its main goal to make no longer viable the business model of Cloud providers. The majority of Cloud Computing business models have as its basis the notion of elasticity and the pay as use. In this business model, clients pay as use, or as its clients use (for those who are selling services based on Cloud providers). This flexibility and elasticity is one of the greatest innovations that have sprung from Cloud Computing but it could also be a danger for the users of this model. Without the proper control technologies Cloud Computing clients could easily be exposed to fake usage, and because they are paying as the platform is used, they cloud be suffering the EDoS and their business cloud be seriously affected.

One of the control technologies that will definitely reduce the dangers of the EDoS is the new Auto Scaling from Amazon. With this technology Amazon clients will be able to define boundaries that would limit the elasticity of its platforms. With these boundaries they will always control how their platforms will grow and therefore they will no longer be exposed to the EDoS. This new feature of the AWS platform should be used with the also new Amazon CloudWatch which adds to the Amazon platform the ability to be full motorized by their costumers.