Where is your service hosted? (Own data center, public cloud, or on-premise deployment)
Explanation & Context
Explanation of the Question:
This question is asking about the physical or virtual location where your service is running. Essentially, it wants to know whether your service is hosted in your own data center, in a public cloud environment provided by a third-party (like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud), or on-premise within your own facilities. Understanding where your service is hosted is crucial for assessing the security posture, compliance requirements, and potential vulnerabilities associated with that environment.
Why It Matters:
Knowing where your service is hosted helps in evaluating the security measures in place. For instance, hosting in a public cloud means you benefit from the robust security features provided by the cloud provider, but you also need to ensure proper configuration and access controls. If your service is hosted in your own data center, you have full control over the physical and network security but must ensure you have the necessary expertise and resources to maintain it. On-premise deployments require careful consideration of both physical and cyber security measures to protect the service from threats.
Example of Evidence:
To demonstrate where your service is hosted, you might provide documentation such as a hosting agreement with a cloud provider, a diagram of your data center infrastructure, or details of your on-premise setup including security protocols and maintenance schedules. For a public cloud, evidence could include screenshots of your cloud console showing the service deployment, along with any security configurations applied.
Example Responses
Example Response 1
Our service is hosted on Heroku, utilizing their Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering. We rely on Heroku's built-in security features, including automated SSL certificate management, regular security updates, and isolation of applications within their secure infrastructure.
Example Response 2
Our service is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), leveraging a combination of EC2 instances, RDS for databases, and S3 for storage. We have implemented advanced security measures including VPCs, security groups, IAM roles for access control, and continuous monitoring with AWS GuardDuty.
Example Response 3
Our software is deployed on-premise within our own data center. We maintain full control over the physical and network security, employing a multi-layered security approach including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, regular security audits, and a dedicated security team to manage and monitor the environment.
