UCloud: a user‐centric key management scheme for cloud data protection. Issue 2 (1st June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kao, Yung‐Wei; Huang, Kuan‐Ying; Gu, Hui‐Zhen; Yuan, Shyan‐Ming
• Is Part Of: IET information security. Volume 7:Issue 2(2013)
• Page Start: 144
• Page End: 154
• Publication Date: 2013-06-01
• Subjects: business data processing -- home computing -- mobile computing -- private key cryptography -- public key cryptography -- cloud computing -- trusted computing; uCloud -- user‐centric key management scheme -- cloud data protection -- cloud service solicitation -- cloud service security -- sensitive data -- cloud service providers -- encryption mechanisms -- cloud servers -- RSA -- user data encryption -- user public keys -- user private keys -- user mobile devices -- two‐dimensional barcode images -- 2D barcode images -- user sensitive data decryption -- personal storage -- home surveillance -- enterprise storage scenarios -- data sharing; business data processing -- home computing -- mobile computing -- private key cryptography -- public key cryptography -- cloud computing -- trusted computing; uCloud -- user‐centric key management scheme -- cloud data protection -- cloud service solicitation -- cloud service security -- sensitive data -- cloud service providers -- encryption mechanisms -- cloud servers -- RSA -- user data encryption -- user public keys -- user private keys -- user mobile devices -- two‐dimensional barcode images -- 2D barcode images -- user sensitive data decryption -- personal storage -- home surveillance -- enterprise storage scenarios -- data sharing; Computer security -- Periodicals; Cryptography -- Periodicals; Computer networks -- Security measures -- Periodicals; Database security -- Periodicals; 005.8
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-ifs.2012.0198
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-8709

Abstract

Abstract : One of the most challenging problems of cloud service solicitation is to persuade users to trust the security of cloud service and upload their sensitive data. Although cloud service providers can claim that their services are well‐protected by elaborate encryption mechanisms, traditional cloud systems still cannot persuade the users that even if the cloud servers are compromised, the data are still securely protected. This study proposes uCloud, a user‐centric key management scheme for cloud data protection, to solve this problem. uCloud utilises RSA and indirectly encrypts users' data by users' public keys, but stores the users' private keys on neither servers nor users' PCs; instead, the private keys are stored on users' mobile devices and presented via two‐dimensional (2D) barcode images when they are utilised to decrypt users' sensitive data. In this manner, users' data are safely protected even if the cloud servers are compromised. Also, uCloud provides users with the experience of managing visible private keys by storing the keys into mobile phones and displaying them via 2D barcodes. Moreover, three scenarios: personal storage, home surveillance and enterprise storage scenarios are proposed to present the practicability of uCloud. In addition, a hierarchical structure is designed for basic key backup and data sharing in the proposed scheme.