Cloud Computing: A Question of Trust Maintaining Control and Compliance with Data-centric Information Security

Cloud Computing: A Question of Trust Maintaining Control and Compliance with Data-centric Information Security White Paper

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Cloud Computing: A Question of TrustMaintaining Control and Compliance with Data-centric Information SecurityWHITE PAPER

Executive Summary

Offering an outsourced, elastic, pay-as-you-go computing infrastructure, cloud computing services can deliver clear-cut benefits to a host of companies. Just as the benefits are obvious, so too are the security concerns. When outsourcing their infrastructures to cloud service providers, how do organizations ensure that sensitive data remains secured? How do they remain in control of their information assets and compliant with all mandates and policies? This white paper outlines the path enterprises can take to start building trust into cloud deployments, and it details the approaches and capabilities organizations need to make this transition a reality.

IntroductionThe move to cloud computing is underway for some very good reasons—cost savings through outsourcing of infrastructure and administration, business agility through the faster deployment of new services, scalability to quickly add computing power and storage capacity to meet seasonal or peak demands, and the list goes on.

Cloud computing can raise some pretty vexing questions when it comes to security, though. How do organizations maintain control and ownership of sensitive information when moving from their own datacenters to a world in which everything is geographically dispersed, virtualized and remote? How can businesses move into the cloud while safeguarding the trust of their customers, business partners, and employees?

Today, issues of risk, data privacy, and compliance are the chief inhibitors to most organizations’ adoption of cloud services. In fact, a Gartner report cited data location risk, data loss risk, and data security (privacy) risk as three of the top five barriers to cloud-computing adoption. While security can be seen as an obstacle to the broad adoption of cloud computing, it can, in fact, be an enabler. By finding a way to effectively safeguard data in the cloud, enterprises can begin to fully maximize the business potential of cloud offerings.

To get there, both enterprises and cloud providers will be going through a transition, one that can be viewed in terms of trust. As enterprises kick off their initial deployments, they’ll do so with a minimum of trust. Over time, that trust will be cemented by solutions and processes that lead to limited and ultimately compliant trust, making cloud security a true win/win for enterprises and providers alike.

Russ Dietz

Vice President & Chief Technology Officer

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In the following pages, we’ll walk through this transition in more detail, and then show what it means for enterprises in the months and years ahead. Then, the document will outline some of the specific areas enterprises can target in their efforts to optimize the security and utility of their cloud initiatives. Finally, we’ll outline some of the most important capabilities organizations will need to support these efforts. (Note: In the following pages, unless otherwise specified, when discussing the cloud, we will be referring to the public and hybrid clouds. While private clouds present their own specific security challenges, given their internal deployments, the nature of security will more closely resemble those of current data center deployments. It is the public and hybrid clouds, and the changing nature of the client and cloud service provider relationship, that are the focus of this document.)

Step 1: Minimal TrustFor most enterprises today, security in the cloud is viewed in a pretty straightforward way: Don’t assume there is any. Organizations that have gone forward with cloud deployments have thus taken full ownership and responsibility for security. This can play out in several ways: sensitive data can be transferred into the cloud as is; for example, for disaster recovery or archival purposes. Sensitive data, on the other hand, will either be kept out of the cloud entirely or it will be protected, generally through encryption, before it is exposed to the cloud. Further, that information will stay secured through those mechanisms the entire time it resides in the cloud.

An organization may opt to use SaaS offerings, but only for applications that do not involve personally identifiable information (PII), or other types of data subject to regulation or privacy laws.

A business can migrate the processing of non-sensitive applications to the cloud. For example, this can take the form of “cloud bursting,” an approach in which an organization will migrate an application to the cloud when the processing capacity of its corporate cloud or data center is exceeded. This can be a cost-effective way for organizations to handle seasonal or peak demands for processing. For example, a media company can adopt this approach for video streaming when its internal infrastructure hits capacity.

Each of these scenarios can present organizations with near-term benefits—they enable an organization to quickly leverage many of the benefits and strengths of cloud computing, without compromising security or compliance. These scenarios represent the bulk of cloud deployments done to date.

Step 2: Limited TrustAs organizations become more fully invested in cloud offerings, and seek to take greater advantage of the cloud’s benefits, they’ll increasingly embark upon initiatives to migrate their own security mechanisms to the cloud. This next step in the transition to a trusted cloud will inherently require more of an upfront investment than prior cloud approaches, and also requires a deeper, more collaborative relationship with the cloud provider.

At a high level, these deployments will be structured similarly to traditional hosting provider models. Specific deployment approaches can include the following:

Deploying physical security systems in a virtual private cloud•

Running a virtual service within a hybrid, multi-tenant cloud environment•

Federating cloud user directories with internally managed identity and access management •systems

Here, data protection can be conducted in the cloud, yet still within the enterprise’s control. •As a result, the types of business services that can be migrated to cloud platforms expand substantially.

Today, issues of risk, data privacy, and compliance are the chief

inhibitors to most organizations’ adoption of cloud services.

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Step 3: Compliant TrustIn this ultimate phase of the cloud’s evolution, cloud providers gain the controls they need to deliver trust as a service, so enterprises can specify security policies and have confidence in the cloud provider’s infrastructure and capabilities for executing these policies. Here, the enterprise, as the information owner, still holds control over security, but more in a virtual, rather than operational, way.

In this scenario, the enterprise sets security policies, and owns the core key materials, credentials, identities, and other elements that are used by the cloud providers to protect information, which gives them the final say over how security is handled. The cloud provider will have the sophisticated security infrastructure in place to meet clients’ security objectives, including robust encryption, secure key management, granular access controls, and more.

Enterprises can leverage the cloud and get the level of security needed to stay compliant with all pertinent regulatory mandates and security policies. As a result, almost any business service or application can subsequently be a potential candidate for migration to cloud services.

Four Key Areas for Implementing Enterprise Cloud SecurityWithout the right security in place, the move to cloud computing can be a disastrous one for an enterprise. Whether it results in a devastating, costly breach, a failed audit, or a host of other scenarios, the costs of a poorly secured cloud implementation can cost a company dearly in terms of out-of-pocket expenses, lost productivity, and brand erosion.

With the right capabilities, however, enterprises can ensure high levels of security in cloud deployments. What capabilities will be required in cloud environments, and how do they differ from traditional approaches? The sections below outline some specific areas for applying security measures to cloud environments and the capabilities required to undertake these measures. With these initiatives, organizations can begin to gain the control, visibility, and efficiency they need to both ensure security and leverage the business benefits of cloud services.

Secure Cloud StorageDriven by a need to use the cloud’s elastic storage, without exposing data to the cloud’s vulnerabilities, enterprises can perform secure storage in the cloud, effectively using the cloud for the backup, disaster recovery, and archival of data.

To achieve effective secure cloud storage, organizations need the following capabilities:

Granular encryption. While an organization could simply encrypt all data as it is passed to •the cloud, this could introduce a lot of unnecessary processing overhead, and add significant delays in data restoration. Consequently, organizations benefit by having granular encryption capabilities, ideally at the file level, so organizations can more selectively encrypt only the information that is sensitive.

Robust access controls. In tandem with granular encryption, organizations need strong •access control, including at the user level, to authorize which files or folders can be accessed, when, and by whom.

Group-based policies. To streamline implementation, security teams need to be able •to enforce policies at the group level, so categories of users can be assured of getting appropriate access to sensitive data.

Central management of remote systems. To make this approach practical, systems, including •centralized key and policy management.

Armed with these capabilities, enterprises can efficiently leverage many of the benefits of cloud services, while retaining effective security controls.

Non-sensitive data can be transferred into the cloud as is;

for example, for disaster recovery or archival purposes. Sensitive

data, on the other hand, will either be kept out of the cloud entirely or it will be protected, generally through encryption,

before it is exposed to the cloud.

In the compliant trust phase of the cloud’s evolution, cloud

providers gain the controls they need to deliver trust as

a service, so enterprises can specify security policies and have confidence in the cloud provider’s

infrastructure and capabilities for executing these policies.

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With this approach, sensitive data is encrypted the entire time it is housed in the cloud. While securing sensitive data in this way will address many fundamental security objectives, it won’t address all. For example, this approach would not address many of the compliance mandates that require the use of tamper-proof, FIPS-certified hardware security modules (HSMs) for the storage of keys.

Figure 1 Secure cloud storage represents an opportunity for organizations to leverage the cloud’s elastic, cost-effective storage capacity, while maintaining security. This approach requires a combination of granular encryption mechanisms and centralized access.

Cloud Security for EndpointsWith this approach, enterprises can protect data at the end user level, including at the mobile device and laptop or desktop level. This enables seamless interaction between users and information in cloud storage. In this scenario, sensitive information remains encrypted in the cloud at all times.

In addition, a virtualized instance of this appliance would be deployed in the cloud to replicate policies and security enforcement on the data. Security administrators need the ability to dictate policy based on business content, documents, and folders in order to ensure that only authorized users and groups have access to sensitive data.

When this approach is employed, cryptographic keys never leave the enterprise, and, in fact, never leave the secured, hardened HSM-based appliance. For optimal security, tokens can be employed at the user level, helping to add an additional layer of security to user access. Consequently, enterprises can leverage an elastic, cloud-based storage pool, while optimizing security, ensuring that sensitive data is only visible to authorized users at authorized endpoints.

Driven by a need to use the cloud’s elastic storage, without

exposing data to the cloud’s vulnerabilities, enterprises can

perform secure storage in the cloud, effectively using the cloud for the backup, disaster recovery,

and archival of data.

Workstations

Enterprise

Archive

Mobile Workforce

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

Cloud Providers

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Figure 2 By employing centralized key management and tokens at the end user level, enterprises can harness cloud services, while ensuring sensitive data is only visible to authorized users.

Federated Access ControlToday, even without cloud deployments in the mix, most enterprises have to manage multiple user identities across various platforms and services, which can pose a significant administrative burden, inefficiency for end users, and security threats. By employing federated access control, enterprises can accomplish the following objectives:

Deliver single sign-on access for users to all enterprise applications and platforms—•including internal email and ERP systems and external SaaS applications;

Streamline administration through central management of policies, identities, and tokens;•

Adhere to a host of compliance mandates and stringent security policies;•

Leverage open standards and a broad range of authentication solutions; and•

Boost security through stringent, cohesive policy enforcement, separation of duties, and •granular access controls.

By offering a means to streamline end user access and access control administration, federated access initiatives can help optimize security while reducing corporate security costs.

To deliver on this objective, identity management needs to be done through a simple, Web-based gateway that offers all the administrative access controls required. Tokens need to be leveraged to ensure proper authentication. In addition, this deployment approach can leverage Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), an XML-based standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data, for managing the exchange of information between the enterprise and external service providers.

Figure 3 By federating access control mechanisms, organizations can simultaneously streamline security administration and improve adherence with security policies.

An efficient cloud security deployment scenario requires a

centralized, hardened security appliance, which is used to

manage cryptographic keys, access control, and other

security policies.

Enterprise

Common Data Protection Policy

Workstations

ProtectFileProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

ProtectFile

Certificate-Based (PKI)

Certificate-Based (PKI)

Mobile Workforceand Partners

Cloud Providers

Enterprise

Common Identity Interconnect

Identity Server

SaaS Provider

End-Users

SAML SAML

Infrastructure Cloud Provider

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Virtual Encryption as a ServiceTo fully leverage the cloud opportunity, enterprises and cloud providers alike need a way to take the unparalleled security offered by sophisticated, hardware-based encryption solutions and virtualize those offerings. This enables the delivery of symmetric encryption, file encryption, secure key management, and a host of other capabilities and services within cloud environments.

Because the platform is virtualized, it can be integrated cost-effectively and seamlessly within the cloud provider’s infrastructure. Further, by combining the security benefits of these technologies with the cloud delivery model, security implementations can be far less expensive than traditional in-house deployments, putting state-of-the-art security capabilities within reach of even small and medium businesses for the first time.

Virtual encryption-as-a-service deployments will largely be implemented by the cloud provider, who will leverage robust security mechanisms, such as centralized key management, granular encryption, and access control, within their infrastructures. To support virtual encryption as a service, many cloud customers will deploy multi-factor authentication tokens and token management systems in their environments, which can ensure the appropriate access controls are applied to security services and protected data.

Figure 4 By providing virtual encryption as a service, smaller organizations can gain access to robust security mechanisms that may have been cost prohibitive in the past.

SafeNet: Delivering the Trusted Cloud Platform

Introduction—Overview of SafeNet Cloud SolutionsWith SafeNet’s security offerings, organizations can fully leverage the business benefits of cloud environments while ensuring trust, compliance, and privacy.

Cryptography as a ServiceSafeNet offers the broad set of solutions that enable both enterprises and cloud providers to leverage cryptography as a service. SafeNet solutions offer the unparalleled combination of features—including central key and policy management, robust encryption support, flexible integration, and more—that make cryptography as a service practical, efficient, and secure.

SafeNet offers these security solutions:

Token management systems and multi-factor tokens that ensure stringent, granular end •user access controls

Hardware security modules, including the Luna SA product line, that enable centralized, •FIPS- and Common Criteria-certified storage of cryptographic keys

DataSecure, which offers file, application, and database encryption—all managed through •a hardened appliance that centralizes encryption processing, keys, logging, auditing, and policy administration

Together, these solutions deliver the critical capabilities required for a robust, cost-effective, and secure cryptography-as-a-service implementation.

By offering a means to streamline end user access and

access control administration, federated access initiatives can

help optimize security while reducing corporate security

costs.

Cloud Provider

Certificate-Based (PKI)

Certificate-Based (PKI)

SMB

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Figure 5 SafeNet’s HSMs and DataSecure offerings offer FIPS- and Common Criteria-certified, hardware-based protection of cryptographic keys and controls that help ensure regulatory compliance in cloud deployments.

Trusted Cloud ComputingThe dynamic nature of cloud computing can pose significant risks. Today, someone can take an application, for instance running for one organization, then move it to another location, and run it for another organization—and that application could enable unauthorized users and processes to access sensitive data.

With SafeNet, you can control applications and services within the cloud environment, and ensure applications only run on intended platforms for intended customers. SafeNet enables organizations to control the instances of the high-value virtual machines, ensuring they are only invoked in the right circumstances. SafeNet delivers the solutions that enable organizations to do rights management for virtual machines:

Software rights management solutions and tokens for authenticating virtual machines•

ProtectFile file encryption solution, which enables pre-boot authentication of virtual •machines

DataSecure, which delivers central policy management of all file, application, and database •encryption processing

Figure 6 SafeNet offers the products and capabilities enterprises need to control instances of virtual machines running in the cloud, including where they are located and when they can be invoked, so they can safeguard trust in

their cloud deployments.

ConclusionIn terms of potential, the sky truly is the limit when it comes to the benefits cloud computing can deliver. However, the full magnitude of this opportunity can only be realized when security is efficiently, persistently, and effectively employed to safeguard sensitive data. With its sophisticated, data-centric security solutions, SafeNet enables customers to gain the agility they need to leverage cloud environments most effectively, without making any compromises in security, privacy, or compliance.

IaaS Provider

Enterprise

PaaS Provider

SRMTokens

eTokens

DataSecure

Two-Factor ActivationLicensing

Key-ManagementTwo-Factor Pre-Boot

ProtectFile

SRM

Software

OTP

Certificate-Based (PKI)

APP

APP

Virtual ResourceAdministrators

When cloud providers deliver virtual encryption as a service, they can implement database,

application, and file encryption—all managed through a single,

virtual platform that combines cryptographic key management,

policy management, and encryption processing.

SafeNetHSMs

ProtectFileProtectAppProtectDB

DataSecure

Token MgmtSystem

MFATokens

HSM Client

Root of Trust

Cloud Storage

Cloud Database

Elastic Compute

Federated Key Mgmt& User Directories

Certificate-Based (PKI)

Certificate-Based (PKI)

MFA for End-Users

Enterprise Cloud Provider

DataSecureLuna SA

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Contact Us: For all office locations and contact information, please visit www.safenet-inc.comFollow Us: www.safenet-inc.com/connected

©2010 SafeNet, Inc. All rights reserved. SafeNet and SafeNet logo are registered trademarks of SafeNet. All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners. WP (EN) A4-09.07.10

To Learn More about Cloud Security

To provide business and security leaders with more information on secure cloud computing, SafeNet offers a website featuring a series of white board videos and white papers. These resources outline how cloud security is expected to evolve, and describe what organizations need to do to prepare for and take advantage of these changes. For more information, visit www.safenet-inc.com/cloudsecurity.

About SafeNet Founded in 1983, SafeNet is a global leader in information security. SafeNet protects its customers’ most valuable assets, including identities, transactions, communications, data and software licensing, throughout the data lifecycle. More than 25,000 customers across both commercial enterprises and government agencies and in over 100 countries trust their information security needs to SafeNet.

SafeNet offers intelligent, data-centric solutions that

persistently protect data throughout the information

life cycle and evolve to support changing cloud delivery

models—from today’s SaaS and private clouds to the evolving

demands of hybrid and public clouds.

SafeNet delivers the solutions that enable organizations to do

rights management for virtual machines.