Which model does the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) use as its standard for defining cloud...

The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) uses the NIST cloud computing model as its standard for defining cloud computing. Managing Cloud principles explain that CSA aligns with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) definition because it provides a clear, vendor-neutral framework widely accepted across industry and government.

The NIST model defines essential cloud characteristics such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service. It also clearly identifies service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) and deployment models (public, private, hybrid, and community), which are foundational to cloud security governance.

SOX, SOC 3, and SAS 70 are compliance and audit frameworks rather than cloud computing definitions. Therefore, NIST is the correct standard used by CSA.