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Cloud Security
Dr. Nitish Kumar Ojha
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 Multi-Tenancy Issue Name of Institution

• What is Multi-Tenant Architecture?

• Multi-tenant architecture is the use of a single logical software

application or service to serve multiple customers. In this model,
each customer is referred to as a tenant.

• You can provide a tenant with the ability to customize certain parts
of the application, like business rules, users, displays, and database
schemas. However, a tenant typically cannot customize the
application code.
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• With multi-tenant architecture, several application instances operate in a shared

environment. Each instance can serve one or more tenants.

• This works by running tenants on the same physical infrastructure, while

keeping them logically isolated.

• All tenants share some aspects of the application—such as the business logic
and central configuration—while having their own separate data,
customizations, and user management, isolated from all other tenants.
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Why is Multi-Tenant Architecture Important?

• Multi-tenant architecture is a foundational technology behind cloud
computing.

• Cloud providers use multi-tenancy to manage multiple customers on the same

infrastructure, and this is the basis for the economic benefits and elasticity of
the public cloud.

• Private clouds can also make use of multi-tenancy, to share the same
resources between multiple users, projects, or organizational units.
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• The cost effectiveness made possible by multi-tenancy is possibly the biggest

driver encouraging enterprises to adopt multi-tenant architectures.

• Another important driver is scalability. A single platform that serves multiple

public cloud customers or multiple units within an organization makes it
possible to operate at a very large scale.

• This means that cloud users have access to virtually unlimited resources at
the click of a button. If multi-tenancy was inefficient or cumbersome, cloud
computing would not be possible.
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How Is a Multi-Tenant Architecture Different from a Single-Tenant

Architecture?
• When designing a SaaS application, providers must choose their tenancy
model: single or multi-tenant.
• The tenancy model has major implications for, including the resources needed
to serve the application, scalability, and operational complexity.

• A single-tenant architecture provides a single instance of the software or

infrastructure to one customer. This instance includes all customer data and is
physically isolated from other customers. Customer data and operations are
never shared with other application instances.
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• In this model, providers save costs, and users receive important

benefits such as scalability, automated setup and ease of use.

• At the same time, multi-tenancy naturally creates greater security

risks, as well as other concerns such as performance and reliability.

• The client cannot always predict in advance how their tenant will
perform and whether they will be impacted by resource constraints
of the provider or the activities of other tenants.
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How Does Multi-Tenancy Work? 3 Types of Multi-tenant Architecture

• Single Application, Single Database

• In this configuration, all tenants share a single application instance along with
a single database. Each tenant’s data is differentiated and isolated within the
same database using schemas or tenant-specific identifiers.

• This model simplifies the maintenance and deployment of the application as

there is only one database to manage. However, it may lead to challenges in
scaling and data security since all data coexists in the same physical database,
increasing the risk of data breaches or leakage of data between tenants.
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• Single Application, Multiple Database

• The single application, multiple database model involves one application

instance connected to multiple databases. Each tenant has its own database,
ensuring data isolation at the storage level.

• This model enhances data security and reduces the risk of “noisy neighbor”
issues, as each tenant’s data operations are confined to their own database.
However, managing multiple databases can increase the complexity of the
infrastructure and may require more resources for maintenance and
management.
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• Multiple Application, Multiple Database

• In the multiple application, multiple database model, each tenant has their own dedicated
application instance as well as a separate database.

• This setup provides the highest level of isolation and security among the multi-tenant
architectures. It allows for extensive customization and optimization of the application per
tenant, but at the cost of higher resource consumption and operational complexity.

• This model is typically used in scenarios where tenants require high levels of control over
their environment.
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Multi-Tenant Architecture Examples: 3 Options for Multi-

Tenant SaaS Deployment
• A common use case for multi-tenancy is to deploy applications on shared
infrastructure and deliver them to multiple tenants as a SaaS application.

• Each organization or user accesses the application over the internet, and pays
a monthly subscription fee.

• Here are three options for delivering a multi-tenant SaaS application to its
users.
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• URL-Based SaaS

• URL-based SaaS models utilize distinct URLs to direct users to tenant-

specific instances of an application. This approach allows for straightforward
tenant identification and simplifies routing logic.

• It’s particularly effective in enhancing user experience by providing each

tenant a unique application URL, which can be branded or customized as
needed. URL-based SaaS models are common in environments where
branding and direct access are important for the tenant experience.
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• Multi-Tenant SaaS

• Multi-tenant SaaS is characterized by a single application instance serving multiple tenants,

where tenants share the application and infrastructure resources.

• In this model, tenants are logically isolated but physically integrated within the same
application environment. This setup is cost-effective and simplifies updates and maintenance
as changes need to be made only once to affect all tenants.

• It is suitable for applications where extensive customization is not required and where
operational efficiency is prioritized.
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• Virtualization-Based SaaS

• Virtualization-based SaaS uses virtualization technology to separate tenants

onto different virtual machines or containers within the same physical server.

• This approach allows each tenant to operate as if they have their own dedicated
server, providing a high degree of isolation and security. It also enables better
resource utilization and flexibility in resource allocation.

• Virtualization-based SaaS is ideal for providers needing to balance isolation

with cost-efficiency, especially in resource-intensive applications.
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• Clouds Are Not All Created Equally

• There are different types of cloud environments, so let’s have a quick cloud infrastructure
refresher. The most common cloud environments are as follows –

• A private cloud is a cloud environment owned by the corporation that uses it and is only
accessible by cloud users from that business.

• A public cloud is an environment managed by one service provider, where many unrelated
users create individual accounts. Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and IBM Cloud are all
examples of public cloud environments.
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• Hybrid clouds combine several cloud environments, each with a different structure. From
a user’s perspective this cloud environment looks and performs like a single application,
but the system uses Local Area Networks (LAN) and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to
connect the different clouds.

• Multi-clouds are made of two or more different clouds. Sometimes this cloud solution is
chosen to improve access control and optimization.
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What is Isolation in Cloud Computing, and Why Is It

Important?
• In the summer of 2021, Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced an outage that hurt
sites such as Hulu, HBO, and Shopify. AWS is a cloud computing platform that uses a mix
of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS cloud offerings to serve its clients. Along with Microsoft Azure
and Google Cloud Platform, AWS is one of the world’s three biggest cloud platform
providers.

• One outage, such as the one that struck AWS in 2021, can have a massive impact across
many platforms because all cloud environments share resources across their data centers.

• The question then arises: What can you do to protect your stored and sensitive data?
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How Does Data Isolation in Cloud Computing Work?

• Businesses can implement data isolation to varied degrees. These range from
physically and digitally unplugging systems to having transitory network
connections paired with tiered access controls.

• The challenge is to strike a balance between isolation and business continuity

requirements.

• Each isolation technique must contribute to the organization’s Recovery Time

Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) — two vital
performance metrics for business continuity.
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• For example, you could use a public cloud provider to preserve

duplicated data that can only be accessed by a secure connection
brought up and down in the same instance.

• In the event of ransomware or a crisis, the off-site data (or air-

gapped data copy) would be available in close to real-time in a
cloud air gap.
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• Isolation in Cloud Computing Platforms

• In a multi-tenant cloud or a public cloud, you must be sure that the cloud service provider
handles its provisioning and virtualization so that there is plenty of CPU power when you
need it.

• The IaaS solution (the turnkey cloud hosting model) often offers the best cloud computing
isolation, including “container services,” which substantially reduce the risk of side-channel
attacks should a hacker enter the cloud.

• As you develop a cloud computing strategy, make sure you update your security policies
and data security requirements to match this new work environment.
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• What Are the Advantages of Cloud Isolation?

• A solid cloud computing isolation strategy returns some control over

your sensitive data to you.

• If the cloud data center suffers a major breach, but you’ve already
implemented a strong isolation strategy, you have better control of
the data you have stored in the cloud environment.
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• Data Isolation Techniques and Best Practices -

• So how can you protect your sensitive data in the cloud? Consider these practices.
• Select the best cloud hosting service for your needs.
• Isolate applications on your on-campus network from the cloud.
• Use virtualization and virtual machines to isolate and run individual processes and
algorithms.
• Keep an eye on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). An API is a facilitator through
which two applications can communicate. APIs come with load balancers, which adjust
how data is shared by Virtual Machines (VM). This type of allocation is crucial to assure
the high performance of your cloud computing system.
• Use encryption and sophisticated access management technology.
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• What is Isolation in Cloud Computing or Cloud Air Gap?

• Cloud computing is becoming a popular method for enterprises to

ensure data isolation.

• By trusting a public cloud provider to protect replicated data that

can only be accessed by a secure connection brought up and down
in the same instance, enterprises gain confidence. Should
ransomware or disaster strike, their off-site data (or air gapped data
copy) would be available in near real time in an cloud air gap.
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• Virtualization has some clear security advantages when compared to traditional server
infrastructure. These advantages include the improved availability that comes with virtual
machines (VMs), the isolation of these VMs from the operating systems and physical
hardware they run on, and the enhanced security tools that come with most virtualization
solutions.

• However, this improved security posture doesn’t mean that virtualization has no security
risks. The fact that many businesses employ this technology makes it a valid target for
hackers and other malicious actors.

• It’s safe to say that virtualization is no more (or less) of a security risk than other parts of
your information technology infrastructure, and with increased adoption comes the need
for awareness of the potential issues that IT administrators may face.
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• 1. VM Sprawl

• Virtual machine sprawl is the uncontrolled spread of VMs created

for specific workloads and then abandoned after serving their
purpose.

• This unchecked proliferation can lead to VMs with sensitive

information being compromised because they are not being actively
managed and updated.
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• 2. Malware & Ransomware Attacks

• Virtual machines are also susceptible to viruses, malware, and ransomware

attacks.

• These attacks can come from infected VM images or from users without
proper security training.

• Once a VM is infected, it can spread malware across the entire virtual

infrastructure without adequate isolation and security controls.
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• 3. Network Configuration

• There is a lot of work involved in managing multiple virtual machines, even

with a VM management solution like VMware vSphere. Making poor
configuration choices, like allowing file sharing between VMs, or leaving
unused firewall ports open could be all that’s needed for a hacker to gain access
to your virtual infrastructure.

• This misconfiguration can also include the physical servers, which can become
a security risk without the latest security patches and firmware.
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• 4. Access Controls
• An attacker gaining access to your virtual infrastructure, whether via
physically accessing host servers or via a compromised user account on your
management platform, can cause a lot of damage to your systems.

• 5. Security of Offline Virtual Machines

• Offline or offsite backups are an essential part of disaster recovery planning.
However, any VMs you back up offline are stuck with their security updates
and configurations from when they were last online. This lack of updates will
make such a VM a security risk to the rest of your virtual environment when it
is time to come back online.
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• 6. Workloads with Different Trust Levels

• Without proper security controls, it’s easy to create a test server that should be
in a low trust zone, on the same physical hardware as a live production server
with sensitive information that requires a high trust zone.

• 7. Hypervisor Security Controls

• The hypervisor is the platform that makes it possible to run virtual machines.
Therefore, it can become a single point of failure for your entire virtual
infrastructure without proper security measures to mitigate the risk of attacks.
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• 8. Cloud Service Provider APIs

• For organizations that run a hybrid implementation involving public

and private cloud infrastructure, intrusion attempts via APIs from
your cloud service providers are a potential risk.

• These APIs are meant for effective communication between your

virtual environment and the cloud-hosted one, and if they are not
adequately secured, a data breach may occur.
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• Virtualization Security Issues and Risks –

• VM Sprawl
• The uncontrolled proliferation of virtual machines can lead to compromised VMs with sensitive information. Implementing policies for
periodic review and decommissioning of unused VMs is crucial.

• Malware & Ransomware Attacks

• Virtual machines are susceptible to malware and ransomware, requiring robust security controls, regular updates, and user training to
prevent infections.

• Network Configuration
• Poor configuration choices, such as open firewall ports, can provide entry points for hackers. Properly managing multiple VMs is
essential to avoid misconfigurations.

• Access Controls
• Unauthorized access to virtual infrastructure poses a significant threat. Strong access controls, including secure passwords, multi-factor
authentication, and role-based access, are vital.
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• Security of Offline Virtual Machines

• Offline backups are essential for disaster recovery, but outdated security configurations of
offline VMs pose risks when brought back online.

• Workloads with Different Trust Levels

• Lack of security controls can result in test servers with low trust levels sharing physical
hardware with high-trust production servers, posing security risks.

• Hypervisor Security Controls

• As the platform enabling VMs, the hypervisor can become a single point of failure without
adequate security measures, potentially compromising the entire virtual infrastructure.
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Virtualization Security Best Practices

• Regular Updates and Patching
• Keeping the hypervisor up-to-date with the latest security patches is crucial to address
vulnerabilities and protect against exploits.

• Hypervisor Hardening
• Implementing security configurations to minimize the attack surface of the hypervisor,
including disabling unnecessary services and applying access controls.

• Access Controls and Authentication

• Implementing strong access controls, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access to
limit unauthorized access and modifications to the hypervisor.
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• Monitoring and Auditing

• Implementing robust monitoring and auditing mechanisms to detect unauthorized activities
and suspicious behavior within the hypervisor environment.

• Hypervisor-Specific Security Solutions

• Deploying specialized security solutions for hypervisor security, such as intrusion detection
systems, virtual firewall appliances, and integrity monitoring tools.

• Segmentation and Isolation

• Implementing proper segmentation and isolation of virtual machines to prevent lateral
movement and contain the impact of compromised VMs or hypervisors.
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• Policies and Procedures

• Creating policies and procedures governing the management of virtual machines throughout
their lifecycle, adapted to the organization’s unique needs.

• Encryption of Offline VM Images

• Enforcing encryption for offline VM images and backups to protect confidentiality and
[Link] organizations using external cloud service providers, ensuring encrypted
connections and a private channel separate from regular Internet traffic is crucial.

• VM Management Solutions
• Using VM management solutions like VMware vSphere for effective maintenance, resource
allocation, and automated security updates in the virtual infrastructure.
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• When designing a virtual infrastructure environment, one of the most

important things to consider and plan for is the storage back end.

• There are several options available: local storage, Fibre Channel and iSCSI.
The first thing to think about is where you store and run your virtual
machines.

• VMware's VMFS file system is specially designed for the purpose of storing
and running virtual machines.
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• Virtual Machine File System –

• VMware developed its own high performance cluster file system called
VMware Virtual Machine File System or VMFS. VMFS provides a file
system which has been optimized for storage virtualization for virtual
machines through the use of distributed locking.

• A virtual machine stored on a VMFS partition always appears to the virtual

machine as a mounted SCSI disk. The virtual disk or *.vmdk file hides the
physical storage layer from the virtual machine's operating system.
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• Now that we know about VMFS, let's take a look at the different storage
options that are made available.

• Direct-attached storage
• Direct-attached storage (DAS) is storage that is, as the name implies, directly
attached to a computer or server. DAS is usually the first step taken when
working with storage.

• A good example would be a company with two VMware ESX Servers directly
attached to a disk array. This configuration is a good starting point, but it
typically doesn't scale very well.
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• Network-attached storage

• Network-attached storage (NAS) is a type of storage that is shared

over the network at a file system level. This option is considered an
entry-level or low-cost option with a moderate performance rating.

• VMware ESX will connect over the network to a specialized

storage device. This device can be in the form of an appliance or a
computer that uses Network File System (NFS).
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Understanding the VMFS File System in VMware
• The VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) is a high-performance
file system developed by VMware, Inc. for storing virtual machine disk
images, including snapshots.

• VMFS is a cluster file system that allows multiple ESXi hosts to concurrently
read and write to the same storage resources, enabling features like VMware
vSphere High Availability (HA) and VMware vSphere Distributed Resource
Scheduler (DRS).

• Understanding VMFS is crucial for managing VMware environments

efficiently and ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
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Security Vulnerability in Guest VM

• [Link]
vulnerabilities-in-vmware-products-could-allow-for-
remote-code-execution_2024-073
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• A lot of organizations in this day and age are opting for cloud-based workspaces. It offers
them the flexibility and financial advantage they would not have received otherwise.

• Moreover, employees, too, prefer this arrangement as well. It allows them to work without
worrying about system issues and software unavailability. Moreover, they can work from
any place with an internet connection.

• This has resulted in the rise in the use of virtual machines (VMs) and hence in-turn
hypervisors.

• Hypervisors are the software applications that help allocate resources such as computing
power, RAM, storage, etc. for virtual machines.
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List of Hypervisor Vulnerabilities

• Denial of Service
• Code Execution
• Running Unnecessary Services
• Memory Corruption
• Non-updated Hypervisor
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• Denial of Service

• When the server or a network receives a request to create or use a virtual

machine, someone approves these requests.

• Now, consider if someone spams the system with innumerable requests.

• In the process of denying all these requests, a legit user might lose out on the
permission, and s/he will not be able to access the system.

• Many attackers exploit this to jam up the hypervisors and cause issues and
delays. This is the Denial of service attack which hypervisors are vulnerable
to.
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• Code Execution

• When someone is using VMs, they upload certain files that need to be stored on the server.

• Attackers can sometimes upload a file with a certain malign extension, which can go
unnoticed from the system admin.

• When these file extensions reach the server, they automatically begin executing. Attackers
gain access to the system with this.

• The hypervisors cannot monitor all this, and hence it is vulnerable to such attacks.
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• Running Unnecessary Services

• Many times when a new OS is installed, a lot of unnecessary services are running in the
background.

• The system admin must dive deep into the settings and ensure only the important ones are
running.

• Not only do these services eat up the computing space, but they also leave the hypervisors
vulnerable to attacks.

• Attackers use these routes to gain access to the system and conduct attacks on the server.
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• Memory Corruption

• Small errors in the code can sometimes add to larger woes. If an attacker stumbles across
errors, they can run attacks to corrupt the memory.

• These can include heap corruption, buffer overflow, etc.

• When the memory corruption attack takes place, it results in the program crashing.

• This can cause either small or long term effects for the company, especially if it is a vital
business program.
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• Non-updated Hypervisor

• A hypervisor is developed, keeping in line the latest security risks.

• Developers keep a watch on the new ways attackers find to launch attacks.

• Once the vulnerability is detected, developers release a patch to seal the method and make
the hypervisor safe again.

• But, if the hypervisor is not updated on time, it leaves the hypervisor vulnerable to attacks.
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• Conclusion
• Hypervisors are indeed really safe, but the aforementioned vulnerabilities make them a bit
risky and prone to attack.

• Though developers are always on the move in terms of patching any risk diagnosed,
attackers are also looking for more things to exploit.

• Overall, it is better to keep abreast of the hypervisors’ vulnerabilities so that diagnosis

becomes easier in case of an issue.

• Moreover, proper precautions can be taken to ensure such an event does not occur ever or
can be mitigated during the onset.
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• You can’t protect what you can’t see.

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Module – 2
Ends here.

Thanks