Navigating Ethical, Social, Sustainability, and Regulatory

Challenges in Cloud Computing and Security: A Professional and

Practical Approach
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations.........................................................................................................3

Abstract............................................................................................................................ 4

Contextual Background....................................................................................................4

Critical Analysis of Issues................................................................................................ 5

Creative Problem-Solving Solutions.................................................................................8

Rationale for the Proposed Solutions...........................................................................8

Professional and Ethical Frameworks..............................................................................9

Highlighting Unsuitable Paradigms.............................................................................10

Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 11

Declaration..................................................................................................................... 12

References.....................................................................................................................12
List of Abbreviations
AI
Artificial intelligence, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15
AWS
Amazon Web Services, 5, 6, 7
BCRs
Binding Corporate Rules, 8, 14
CCPA
California Consumer Privacy Act, 4, 8
EU
European Union, 8, 11, 14, 15
E-waste
Electronic waste, 7, 8
GAI
Generative artificial intelligence, 13
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation, 4, 6, 8, 14
IEC
International Electrotechnical Commission, 4, 10, 15
IoT
Internet of Things, 5, 13, 15
ISO
International Organization for Standardization, 4
International Organization for Standardization, 10
International Organization for Standardization, 10
International Organization for Standardization, 15
IT
Information technology, 5, 9, 15
US
United States of America, 8, 11, 14, 15

Abstract
This present work seeks to analyse critical professional as well as ethical issues
pertaining to Cloud Computing & Security with a focus on new forms of emerging
technology. This makes an ethical, social, sustainability and regulatory analysis of the
issues under the broad theme of cloud computing such as account privacy violations,
data misuse, unequal provision of secure cloud services, large scale data centre energy
consumption and different jurisdictions like GDPR and CCPA. Examples from the actual
usage of technology include the scandal with Cambridge Analytica and the Schrems II
case in practice. In order to treat these problems, some recommendations of the
expert’s report based on the requirements of the professional standards, ethical
standards, quality standards and aims at the development of Quality Assurance and
Accreditation. This focus is to embrace standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, use of
renewable energy forms for data centres, and proper distribution of secure cloud
services. The recommendations are critically analysed in terms of their realist and
sustainability in practice domain. Thus, being based on both primary and secondary
research, the report highlights the need for the professional and ethical approaches
toward the challenges related to Cloud Security along with providing the practical
recommendations on how to improve the compliance and sustainability, as well as an
equitable access to services in this emerging field.

Contextual Background
Cloud & Security has transformed data management, governance, and protection and is
now a business enabler. Cloud computing allows organisations to purchase computer
parts in a flexible and scalable way via the internet, reducing the requirement for
physical infrastructure and increasing productivity (Spanaki et al., 2018). Security tools
have evolved to mitigate the vulnerabilities that the cloud poses to data and system
security, while cloud has revolutionised flexibility and affordability. Modern features like
multi-cloud, serverless, and edge have enhanced service efficiency. Multi-cloud allows
organisations to disperse workloads across various providers, reducing vendor lock-in.
Multi-clouds allow organisations to disperse workloads across various providers,
reducing vendor lock-in. Serverless computing frees developers from IT infrastructure
management (Sehgal et al., 2019). Due to its proximity to data, edge computing speeds
up data processing, particularly in low-latency systems like IoT and self-driving
automobiles. AI threat detection, zero trust security, and encryption have changed how
organisations secure their systems from sophisticated cyber attacks. AI systems can
mine massive amounts of data to find and prevent data breaches, while the zero-trust
approach maintains the concept of least privilege by issuing rights only when required
and at the right level. Articles and research demonstrate how such innovations affect
the globe (Butt et al., 2020). Bigquery is a Google Cloud-based corporate data analytics
tool for finance and health. AWS improved dependable HA application disaster recovery
solutions. Microsoft Azure offers integrated cybersecurity solutions and uses artificial
intelligence to increase platform security. New workplace trends include quantum
computing, cloud-native apps, sustainability, and others. Quantum computing promises
contemporary processing but compromises encryption security (Tabrizchi & Rafsanjani,
2020). Cloud native patterns improve performance and innovation via microservice and
containerisation. Sustainability has been a priority, with AWS committing to net-zero
emissions by 2040. Cloud computing and security is a young and dynamic area that
demands its specialists to act ethically, sustainably, and in line with many rules to
handle difficulties and seize new possibilities.

Critical Analysis of Issues

Ethical Issues: Recent technological advances, particularly cloud computing, have
raised ethical concerns in privacy and data storage and transfer. Data being collected
and stored by organisations is personal and commercial, and they are much more likely
to be leaked to the public domain or misused. In particular, Facebook provided millions
of users’ information to Cambridge Analytica without people’s permission. In this case,
bad data management and disclosure have some ethical implications (Dhirani, et al.,
2023). This brings,with it an element of insecurity and puts into focus the importance of
effective personal data protection measures that is ethical. This is-how AI-driven threat
detection technologies make these ethical challenges worse. Companies understand
that these systems can construct threat exposures and also estimate cyber threats to
enhance security, although they need to pull vast amounts of data in order to do so.
This relationship may also cause a violation of user privacy because users cannot
select what data is collected or how it is used. These systems' algorithms may
reproduce and amplify data bias, resulting in unfair results (Dhirani et al., 2023). For
instance, access control may unjustly treat some groups as possible dangers,
preventing fair and accountable measures. Lack of human supervision in AI work
exacerbates several ethical difficulties. When decision-making systems make
prejudiced or erroneous decisions, the impacted parties have few options (Sharma et
al., 2018). Thus, AI model interpretation and ethical concepts should be clear so
everyone may grasp them. To solve these ethical issues about AI and Big data, strong
data security, bias-free AI systems, and GDPR compliance are needed. Optimising
cloud computing and AI security ethics may help restore public confidence and be fair
and responsible in the digital age.

Social Issues: Cloud computing has transformed how individuals and businesses
operate for cost, efficiency, flexibility, dependability, and scalability, but it has major
societal implications. It has created new jobs like cloud architects and security
professionals but also eliminated data centre managers. Commuters have brought
physical processes to the cloud, outsourcing on-premise frameworks and systems
maintenance and displacing people (Abdulsalam & Hedabou, 2021). This change
demonstrates the difficulty with technology in employment: it creates new occupations
but eliminates others. Cloud computing allows structural flexibility and global teamwork,
so workers may access material from anywhere. Cloud solutions enable organisations
continue working during the COVID-19 epidemic, making it more important. However, it
deepens technological gaps, particularly in underdeveloped countries with few safe and
affordable cloud services (Nalajala et al., 2020). Small businesses and people in these
locations struggle to use cloud technologies due to high installation costs, poor Internet
access, and technical know-how. For instance, many rural firms in poor countries
struggle to adopt cloud technologies, perpetuating socioeconomic gaps. These
enterprises cannot afford cloud computing resources and possibilities or compare
themselves to rivals in affluent countries, deepening the economic disparity (Abssi et al.,
2020). Affordable Cloud services, infrastructure, and awareness are crucial to
addressing these issues. Cloud computing networks will improve Internet social fairness
and global creativity.
Sustainability Issues: The environmental impact of huge data centres' high power and
garbage use has been a frequent critique of cloud computing. Cloud infrastructures
need a lot of power to operate servers and maintain physical conditions. Cooling
systems enhance energy use to prevent overheating (Singh et al., 2019). AWS has
power-efficient methods, but a corporation utilising its cloud hosting infrastructure has
vast data centres that use a lot of electricity and emit carbon. Cloud-scale computing
affects infrastructure lifetime as well as energy usage. Because technology changes,
servers and other equipment must be upgraded, resulting in their disposal (Ari et al.,
2019). E-waste, if improperly disposed of, releases harmful compounds into the
environment. Poor disposal causes soil and water contamination, worsening ecological
degradation, especially on unsuitable dump sites. Microsoft and Google are making
commendable efforts to reduce the environmental impact of cloud computing by
investing in renewable energy and being environmentally conscious, but these steps are
not yet optimised enough to eliminate the overall negative environmental impact.
Microsoft has pledged to be carbon-negative by 2030 and Google to operate carbon-
free (Habib et al., 2022). To achieve sustained eco-efficiency in cloud computing,
industry-wide replication is needed. Hardware sharing, global hardware management,
and data centre energy efficiency are crucial. E-waste legislation and renewable energy
adoption are additional issues governments and business must address. By tackling all
these issues at once, the industry may decrease environmental damage and meet
global sustainability goals.

Regulatory Issues: A highly internationalised cloud computing company model must

comply with many regulations, posing legal risks. Data must be handled properly to
comply with GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA (Georgiou & Lambrinoudakis, 2020). These
frameworks protect user privacy and assess data management. However, the variance
in these regulations among countries makes compliance challenging and causes
operational and legal issues. Schrems II, which invalidated the Privacy Shield for EU-
US data transfers, is a prime example (Murphy, 2021). The ECJ noted that US
surveillance rules do not adequately safeguard EU residents' personal data, putting
cross-border data transfer organisations at danger. This judgement changed
organisations' data transfer views, raising compliance costs and operational effort
(Hildén, 2021). Jurisdictional difficulties exacerbate these challenges. Localisation
requirements, which determine where data is held, sometimes conflict with cross-border
data transmission restrictions. When data is stored in separate places, cloud providers
must balance these positions. These complications increase expenditures and legal
requirements that small organisations may struggle to satisfy. Cloud providers and
organisations must have a robust compliance approach that follows cloud resident
nation legislation for data encryption and localisation to minimise the following concerns.
Government collaboration on international data protection and standardisation and
promotion of frameworks like BCRs may also reduce regulatory risks (Compagnucci et
al., 2024). Law compliance and ongoing international data circulation are possible if the
cloud sector resolves these concerns in advance.

Creative Problem-Solving Solutions

Rationale for the Proposed Solutions

To place a strategy to address the challenge in cloud and security systems, solution that
correct is creative and aligned to the tenets of ethics is crucial. The growing usage of IT
solutions, implementation of cloud technology, and constant development require a
more active approach to addressing risks and challenges that forensic practitioners
experience in the field of privacy, sustainability, and regulation (Ali et al., 2020). Legal
considerations like privacy and rehearsing rationality and user’s sovereignty are core to
these solutioning. The suggested recommendations seek to make it possible for the
cloud systems to implement professional standardizational benchmarks as well as best
practices as mentioned by Raja 2024. For example, when applying the privacy by
design approach to cloud services it is possible to integrate best security measures
already in the design of the service. Likewise, the use of thermal energy management
for cooling as well as the use of renewable energy sources to power the data centres
accomplishes sustainability issues. These measures are not only ethical but also most
effective from the commercial point of view, as they help service providers to gained
reputation and users – to develop trust. One of the features of the proposed solutions is
using AI and ML to improve cybersecurity (Alam, 2022). All these technologies actually
have the ability to detect threats and protect data at any given time to avoid
compromise. But, their use must meet some standards of ethics to expunge biases from
decision-making procedures. This equilibrative perspective draws attention to why
innovative technologies and ethical systems should enhance each other. Secondly,
queries related to regulatory compliance are another important concern when cloud
service providers cater to organizations in different countries (Faizi et al., 2021). The
proposed solutions state that the goals regarding procedures and processes for
compliance should be met by establishing single international standards to avoid
confusion. Regarding the cloud models, such solutions are designed to increase an
engagement of stakeholders and openness and accountability of cloud computing
system.

Professional and Ethical Frameworks

Professional and ethical frameworks offer the first category in comprehending and
managing solutions in cloud and security systems. Staying true to these frameworks
assures that developed solutions correspond to the relevant industry norms and societal
expectations allowing to build trust and credibility. Perhaps one of the most accepted
regulators of comprehensive cloud safety is the ISO/IEC 27001 which offers the criteria
for ISMS setup, implementation and maintenance (Davis, 2017). This framework offers
a precise methodology for the protection of sensitive data, protection of its
confidentiality, integrity, as well as availability. ISO/IEC 27001 through which
organizations prove their compliance use it to show their dedication in the security of
their organizations and risks that is important in the gaining of stake holder confidence
(Kitsios et al., 2023). The other popular standard is the NIST framework that helps
organizations tackle cybersecurity risks within organizations. It emphasizes five core
functions: detect, identify, protect, response and recover. These functions bring the-
rounded strategy in dealing with the threat and vulnerability of organizations to cyber
threats. With the application of the offers presented by NIST, cloud service providers
can improve security and guarantee conformity to rules (Dutta & Zielińska, 2021).
Hypothesis: Ethical approach of cloud computing like utilitarianism and deontological
ethics influence cloud security system. It is for the greatest good of the greatest amount
of people, a principle that has great relevance in deciding who gets a certain resource
and who gets a certain piece of technology. For example, creating cloud services
solutions which are going to be effective for a limited number of people will meet the
utilitarian idea of the betterment of society. While deontological ethics, center of
attention is on rules and obligations of ethical behavior (Mobarak et al., 2024).
Consequently, this framework has its application in issues concerning data privacy and
consents. For example, the cloud service providers recognize that the user data must
be gathered and processed freely, and with permission from the owner. This principle
also includes information and property rights and thus should not incorporate proprietary
technologies. As such, the proposed solutions combine professional standards and
ethical principles that relevant to cloud and security systems to meet the far-arranged
objectives of addressing complex issues. These frameworks offer a guideline that
organization may adopt in order to address intricate matters that are associated with
ethical responsibility and professionism.

Highlighting Unsuitable Paradigms

However, it is equally important to ask questions when using certain paradigms in
cloud-and security systems which are conventional but ineffective or obsolete. Many of
these paradigms focus solely on profit at the moment at the cost of its sustainability and
Jar Corporate Social Responsi- bility; the latter exhibits adverse effects on organisations
and society (Angel et al., 2021). Such a paradigm includes the over reliance of
organizations or companies on traditional data centers that rely on use of non-
renewable sources of energy. It revealed that these data center significantly influence
carbon emission that increases the levels of environmental degradations. Though there
are modern sources of energy, most organizations still rely on conventional sources
because of costs. This is un-biodiverse in the long run and defies the fight against
global warming. The use of renewable energy such as solar or wind power as a
substitute to fossil power can be considered as an effective long-term strategy, besides
the fact that it embraces the sustainability goals as an organization’s long-term strategy
(Katal et al., 2022). The next paradigm that is not suitable is a commercial one, where
the main goal is to earn money and the conscience of data protection and the privacy of
users is not rewarded. In this model´s case, the organizations might avoid spending on
the right security measures as a way of cutting costs thus exposing their systems to
hacking and other related deeds. The])/ Cambridge Analytica scandal is a clear
illustration of how profit-driven decisions can lead to enormous brand losses and legal
consequences (Turi, 2020). To this end, many organizations must employ a user-
centered approach that has privacy and security interests within their primary
objectives. Also, the seemingly endless disagreement between governments, especially
about what was proper regulatory to implement across the borders, plays a role in
cross-border data management. At present, regulatory environment is highly disjointed
and organized, which results in confusion and excessive risk mitigation measures.
Additionally, in the Brexit case, analysis of the Schrems II decision made companies
more uncertain on the data transfer mechanisms between the EU and the US (Øverdal,
2022). Current fragmentation arises from the fact that the various damit activities
comprise a wide range of industries; however, the evolution of international standards
can simplify procedures and encourage cooperation. Lastly, using emergency-type
measures rather than preventive measures is dispensed, whereas today’s threats
require a fundamentally different approach. Employees are usually motivated to invest
in security measures after a breach has occurred, and this is always wasteful and
dangerous. An example of being proactive is using the risk prevention policies like
artificial intelligence equipment for detecting threats before they turn into severe ones
(Rehan, 2024). This new approach demands a cultural revolution across organizations
that call for constant monitoring and working improvement. This is because, the
proposed solutions, arising from the criticism of such unsuitable paradigms, is that the
crucial changes required for cloud as well as security systems, can only occur through a
revolutionary and not evolutionary process. It enables organisations to be sustainable
through enforcing good ethical practices and advanced proactive strategies that will
help them meet the challenges of the digital age.

Conclusion
These ethical, social, sustainability, and regulatory solutions for cloud computing and
security address genuine issues including data protection, environmental concerns, and
international standards, proving their viability and efficacy. This article claims that
utilising greater data encryption, sustainable energy sources for data centres, and
following rules may reduce risk and increase confidence. Organisations must use AI-
based compliance systems, renewable infrastructure, and cross-country affiliation to
standardise compliance frameworks. Better figures and possibilities for their use in
areas should be an emphasis, as should digital literacy and cloud solutions. The topic
needs further study, and students and academics should find sustainable hardware and
novel data security approaches. The report summarises all changes and emphasises
the importance of ethical and professional cloud computing to transform innovative
growth in harmony with society, environment, and legal demands for a healthy
environment and digital equality.

Declaration
I hereby declare that in the creation and completion of this assessment I have not
utilized any software tools or Generative AI (GAI) applications. All materials included in
this report have been developed by me during a course of my personal research study,
critical thinking and analysis grounded on the foundation of the researches made by
reputable authors. Whenever, outside research has been conducted, the information
have been duly cited and sourced in accordance with the protocols for ethical writing. I
declare as follows this submission conforms to the requirements and specifications
.outlined in the assessment brief in particular honesty and ethical standards

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