Accountability for Data Governance in the Cloud

Cloud computing represents a major shift in the way Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is deployed and utilised across industries. Alongside the technological developments, organisations need to adapt to emerging operational needs associated with data governance, policy and responsibility, as well as compliance with regulatory regimes that may be multi-jurisdictional in nature. This paper is concerned with data governance in cloud ecosystems. It characterises the problem of data governance due to emerging challenges (and threats) in the cloud. It advocates an accountability-based approach for data stewardship. It defines accountability and introduces a model consisting of attributes, practices and mechanisms. The accountability model underpins an accountability framework supporting data governance. This paper also discusses emerging relationships between accountability, risk and trust. The overall objective of the proposed accountability-based approach to data governance is to support a transparent and trustworthy cloud.