Cloud computing is gaining its popularity in an accelerated mode and many businesses and government entities are adopting cloud computing for supporting their business needs. NIST has recently released a a special publication on .Guidelines on Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing..

The SP 800-144 document covers the security requirements to be met by federal agencies opting for cloud computing. The key guidelines are based on the following:

• Carefully plan the security and privacy aspects of cloud computing solutions before engaging them.
• Understand the public cloud computing environment offered by the cloud provider.
• Ensure that  a cloud computing solution satisfies  organizational security and privacy requirements. 
• Ensure that the client-side computing environment meets organizational security and privacy requirements for cloud computing.
• Maintain accountability over the privacy and security of data and applications implemented and deployed in public cloud computing environments.

There are 7 chapters, chapters from 2 to 6 are the key sections. These chapters cover topics such as:

• Basics of cloud computing
• Various models of public cloud computing
• The benefits and drawbacks of public cloud computing from a security and privacy perspective
• Key threats to the security and privacy of information in public cloud computing
• Potential risk mitigation option in the cloud computing
• Outsourcing data to public cloud computing

The publication also provides a detailed list of Federal Information Processing Standards and NIST special publications that provide materials particularly relevant to cloud computing and are recommended to be used in conjunction with SP 800-144.

The document can be downloaded from here (PDF).