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Agile cryptographic solutions for the cloud

Wirkungsvolle Kryptographie-Lösungen für Cloud Computing

e & i Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik volume 134, pages 364–369 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Cloud computing, with its estimated market size of 150 billion USD annual turnover, is one of the major growth areas in information and communication technologies today. As a paradigm building on outsourcing of storage and processing, cloud computing suffers from intrinsic security and privacy problems. However, cryptographic research has made substantial progress over the last years and today provides a portfolio of mature cryptographic primitives and protocols suitable for addressing several of these problems in an effective and efficient way. Nevertheless, today’s reality shows that there exists a gap between what is possible and what is actually available in the cloud. We will present a detailed analysis of inhibitors and roadblocks standing in the way of an extensive deployment of cryptographic protection to cloud services, and how organizational and procedural measures may support the practical deployment of cryptography. We conclude our article with an overview of novel cryptographic schemes and their potential for protection of end-user data during storage and processing in the cloud, once they will become widely available.

Zusammenfassung

Mit einem Jahresumsatz im Bereich von 150 Milliarden US Dollar ist Cloud Computing heute der am schnellsten wachsende Sektor im Bereich Informationstechnologien. Doch die Grundlage von Cloud Computing, welches auf dem Outsourcing von Daten und Verarbeitungen beruht, bringt naturgemäß Probleme für die Informationssicherheit und Privatsphäre mit sich. Obwohl die kryptografische Forschung in den letzten Jahren signifikante Fortschritte gemacht hat und im Bereich Cloud Computing eine ganze Reihe von innovativen, anwendbaren Verfahren zur Verfügung stellt, werden diese nicht in nennenswertem Umfang praktisch eingesetzt. Wir werden in dem vorliegenden Artikel die größten Hindernisse analysieren, die einer weiten Verbreitung von kryptografischen Verfahren in Cloud Services im Wege stehen, und aufzeigen, wie dem mittels organisationeller und prozeduraler Methoden entgegengewirkt werden kann. Zum Abschluss möchten wir einige dieser neuartigen Verfahren vorstellen und aufzeigen, was deren Einsatz zu einem wirkungsvollen Schutz von End-User-Daten beitragen kann.

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Notes

  1. https://prismacloud.eu; https://credential.eu (both accessed 1.8.2017).

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Acknowledgement

This work has been done in projects that have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 644962 (PRISMACLOUD) and No. 653454 (CREDENTIAL).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Center for Digital Safety and Security, Donau-City-Straße 1, 1220, Vienna, Austria

    Thomas Lorünser, Stephan Krenn & Christoph Striecks

  2. University of Lausanne, Department of Information Systems, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Thomas Länger

Authors
  1. Thomas Lorünser
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  2. Stephan Krenn
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  3. Christoph Striecks
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  4. Thomas Länger
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Correspondence to Thomas Lorünser.

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Lorünser, T., Krenn, S., Striecks, C. et al. Agile cryptographic solutions for the cloud. Elektrotech. Inftech. 134, 364–369 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-017-0519-x

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