On cloud security attacks: A taxonomy and intrusion detection and prevention as a service

Major provisioning of cloud computing is mainly delivered via Software as a Service, Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service. However, these service delivery models are vulnerable to a range of security attacks, exploiting both cloud specific and existing web service vulnerabilities. Taxonomies are a useful tool for system designers as they provide a systematic way of understanding, identifying and addressing security risks. In this research work, Cloud based attacks and vulnerabilities are collected and classify with respect to their cloud models. We also present taxonomy of cloud security attacks and potential mitigation strategies with the aim of providing an in-depth understanding of security requirements in the cloud environment. We also highlight the importance of intrusion detection and prevention as a service. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.