A Data-Centric Security Analysis Of ICGrid

The Data Grid is becoming a new paradigm for eHealth systems due to its enormous storage potential using decentralized resources managed by different organizations. The storage capabilities in these novel “Health Grids” are quite suitable for the requirements of systems like ICGrid, which captures, stores and manages data and metadata from Intensive Care Units. However, this paradigm depends on a widely distributed storage sites, therefore requiring new security mechanisms, able to avoid potential leaks to cope with modification and destruction of stored data under the presence of external or internal attacks. Particular emphasis must be put on the patient’s personal data, the protection of which is required by legislations in many countries of the European Union and the world in general. Taking into consideration underlying data protection legislations and technological data privacy mechanisms, in this paper we identify the security issues related with ICGrid’s data and metadata after applying an analysis framework extended from our previous research on the Data Grid’s storage services. Then, we present a privacy protocol that demonstrates the use of two basic approaches (encryption and fragmentation) to protect patients’ private data stored using the ICGrid system.