Episode 68: Cloud Architecture and Responsibilities (Domain 3)

Cloud computing changes the game for infrastructure design and security responsibility, requiring organizations to understand not just how services work—but who is accountable for securing them. In this episode, we examine the shared responsibility model, where cloud providers manage the security of the cloud (hardware, physical hosts, hypervisors), and customers are responsible for securing their own data, access controls, and application configurations within it. We break down how responsibility shifts across different cloud service models—Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS)—and explore how misunderstanding these boundaries leads to misconfigurations and data exposure. We also address hybrid cloud considerations and third-party risks, including vendor lock-in, cross-platform identity management, and data governance. Understanding these architectural trade-offs is critical not only for exam success but for building a secure, scalable, and resilient cloud deployment that aligns with your organization’s needs and compliance obligations.