A Survey on Cloud Accountability

Recent advances in cloud computing technology now allow users to access data wherever they are. However, with these advances come some costs: cloud data is often stored and manipulated by remote machines that users have no access to. Moreover, cloud service providers often claim that their data is safe and secure, but users rarely have ways to make sure. Based on recent academic and industrial research, this paper surveys various approaches cloud service companies can make to ensure proper accountability. The paper focuses on issues such as cloud accountability framework, data confidentiality, and user privacy. More importantly, we also put forth some efficiency advice.