Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Inspiration Cloud Computing Inspired by the cloud computing characteristics like pay per use, rapid elasticity, scalable, on demand self service, secure and economical. The motivation for cloud computing was initially driven by large scale resource intensive government application, that require more computational, network and storage resources then a single computer, cloud provides in a single administrative domain. Cloud computing is a computing paradigm, where a large pool of systems are connected in private or public networks, to provide dynamically scalable infrastructure for application, data and file storage at low cost To develop a secure cloud computing model for government information system various points has to be considered. They include cloud computing deployment model (such as public, private, hybrid), architectural layers of cloud computing (such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)), security services (such as data security, identity security, information security, physical infrastructure security, network security) and authentication. Among them two most challenging factors for government information system, which are considered in this research are cloud computing deployment model and authentication. 1.2 Cloud Based Government Information System Cloud computing system has various advantages over traditional client server architecture of the government information system. Governments around the world have started using cloud computing models instead of traditional client server architecture due to advantages of cloud computing. In many cases government is the leader in deployment of cloud computing model across the wide economy [1]. The government contains general data and information for citizens but it also contains critical data which needs high security.
Chapter 1 Introduction 2 Security of critical government data is big concern when shifting government data and information on the cloud, so governments are hesitating to adopt cloud computing models and shift their data on them, another reason is the cloud computing is a new concept of the computing and still to get popularity among the governments, but its advantages attracts the governments. As per Lockheed Martin cyber security alliance survey: The cloud s non popularity, trust and security concerns have restricted the adoption of cloud computing by the governments which appear to be more perceptual than prohibitive [2]. But now cloud computing is gaining popularity among the people and governments through out the world, so governments are using cloud computing models to provide services to the citizens. Some of the cloud providers have started providing cloud computing solutions to the government customers and address their specific requirements which includes security, cost saving, reliability etc. Terremark Worldwide provides cloud services to U.S. government; it offers high security to the sensitive data of the government [3]. Cloud computing provides infrastructure, platform and software as a service as per requirement of the client, through internet. Advantages of cloud computing solution attract both the private sector and government sector. The main advantage of cloud computing is, it reduces the infrastructure cost by virtualizing the infrastructure like servers, storage devices etc [4]. Cloud Computing offers scalable services as per requirement of the client. These services include infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS), based on off-premises, pay per use, operational model. The companies can get benefit from cloud computing in many ways, by adopting cloud computing model companies can build cloud ready data centers, companies can use resource as a service model and pay for the services they have used [5]. By using resource as services, governments can concentrate on their core services for public without worrying about the maintenance and upgradation of the infrastructure. Governments can reduce the expenses, increase productivity of their current information technology services by using cloud
Chapter 1 Introduction 3 computing model. Government can also provide more efficient services to their citizens by using cloud computing [6]. Cloud computing service provider offers four basic deployment models, the client can choose any of these models as per their requirement. The four models include: (1) Private cloud: - for high security, in clients control and single company, (2) Community cloud: - used by multiple similar companies, (3) Public cloud: - control remains with the provider, any one can use it, for multiple companies (4) Hybrid Cloud: - combination of tow or more of above discussed models, sharing of data and utility [7]. Hybrid cloud combines both public and private cloud models. Agencies are adopting hybrid cloud computing model, where they can use benefits of public cloud and security of private cloud. With hybrid cloud, customers can avail services of 3 rd party cloud provider which increases computing flexibility. Hybrid cloud environment can provide as per need and scalable services to the client agencies. In hybrid cloud model, if necessary the resources of private cloud can be increased from the public cloud, so the resources can be easily managed as per the increase or decrease in workload [8].The main advantage of using private cloud as a part of the hybrid cloud is security. Private cloud is more secure as compared to the public cloud. The advantage of using public cloud as a part of hybrid cloud is its public nature and many other advantages like pay per use and low cost etc. Community cloud can also be used in the hybrid cloud model. Some agencies are concentrating on government efforts in adoption of cloud computing and providing service where other government agencies can obtain these services. The General Services Agency (GSA) is one of the agencies which provide such services. In the beginning GSA is planning to create and provide public cloud resources to the public cloud providers. In the next step private and hybrid cloud resources are proposed to be created to provide necessary services to the various government agencies [9].
Chapter 1 Introduction 4 Some of the governments are using their own private cloud model to provide centralized infrastructure for hosting government application and to provide high security to government data. The Japanese central government has announced kasumigaseki private cloud. All the local governments in Japan have their own IT infrastructure and staff [10]. Cloud Computing is in a growing state where there are various challenges with the opportunities. These challenges include security and privacy of the critical data of the agencies because in case of public cloud model control remains with the cloud provider not with the client agency. Security concerns include protection of personal data, location of data at rest, the degree to which cloud vendors are able to certify their data centers are secure, and compliance with various federal and state regulations. Privacy concerns include the protection of personal data like social security number and health information [11]. Many organizations standardized and unified their IT services, where they merged their technical infrastructure in to a single department and moved all IT staff under a single information officer. After some time of data centralization these organizations realized that cloud computing is the best solution for them. State of Utah is example of such organizations. In 2009 state of Utah decided to use hybrid cloud model for their needs [12]. Hybrid cloud combines public and private cloud. Public cloud replaces the state infrastructure, and a private cloud provides specialized access and high security. Assessing Wants and Needs: In government cloud, cloud service provider needs to provide mechanisms and tools that allow government to express their requirement and facilitate the realization of their goals. The government s cloud computing system needs: a cloud computing deployment model, a cloud computing service model, services characteristic, network infrastructure readiness, government readiness and security.
Chapter 1 Introduction 5 A cloud computing deployment model: Cloud computing offers four deployment models: Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Hybrid Cloud and Community cloud. Government administrators needs to find out their requirements, on the basis of government s requirements the cloud provider decides which cloud computing model is best for the government. A Cloud Computing Service Model: Cloud computing offers three service models: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). On the basis of government s requirement, the cloud provider decides which service model is best suited for a specific government requirement. Services Characteristic: The basic cloud computing characteristics are: Service interoperability, availability, performance, reliability, scalability, elasticity and portability. Government can take advantages of these characteristics by availing the cloud services. Elasticity is very useful characteristics, in which generally the size of the resources used by the government very time to time, some times government need more resources and some times resources are free and not required. By using elasticity of the cloud computing, government can save money by increasing or decreasing the amount of the resource. Network Infrastructure Readiness: - Network infrastructure can support the demand of higher bandwidth required for government s web portals when various citizens access government web sites simultaneously. Network and infrastructure readiness assessment involves the review and audit of all network infrastructure areas that is affected by the deployment of government web sites on the cloud. Government Readiness: - Agency should consider whether or not the government is ready to move their services to the cloud. Government needs to decide which services can be moved to cloud. Government and cloud provider needs to sign Service Level Agreement (SLA), which includes all terms and conditions of the service and security.
Chapter 1 Introduction 6 Security Security is the most important part to consider when government plans to move their data on the cloud. Government needs to think, can cloud service provider offer same or better level of security that a government organization currently has? Following security points should be taken care of when moving government data to cloud computing. Statutory Compliance Follow the law, regulation, and agency requirements. Data characteristics Assessment of the fundamental protection that is required by the application data set. Privacy and confidentiality Protection of data and information from accidental or intentional unauthorized access. Integrity - Ensuring that data is authorized, complete, and accurate. Data control and access policies Determining physical location of the data and permission to access this data. Governance Ensuring the cloud vendor s transparency, security and management controls. Also ensuring that cloud vendor provides necessary information to the client. Cloud provider needs tools and mechanism that support price specification and generation scheme to increase system utilization, and protocol that support service publication trading and accounting. Information System and Security: Information System: The system which processes the data to produce some result in human understandable form is called the information system. Information system connects the computer and user by producing information in some meaningful form. Information system processes data as per the requirement of user and produces required result in the form of information. Information systems are used to capture, create, store, process or distribute classified information with the help of information and communication technology (ICT).
Chapter 1 Introduction 7 The modern information system uses computers system and ICT to produce the required information and it calls electronic data processing system. The old and legacy information system includes people, data, software and computer to collect and produce information [13] [14]. Jessup et al describes that computer based information system is combination of computer hardware and software that user use together, filter, process, create and distribute the data to produce some meaningful result [15]. Computer Information Systems (CIS) is often a path within the computer science which is used to learn computer and software processes, including their basic concepts, their software and hardware designe, their uses, and their effect on the society [16],[17] & [18]. Information Security: The main aim of information security is to protect computer hardware, software and data from intentional or accidental misuse while permitting the software, hardware and data to remain available and useful to its autharized users. Archibald states that Information security is the protection of information and information system from unauthorized users. The unauthorized user should not be able to access, use modify, corrupt or record the information [19]. The data and information should be protected from unauthorized access whether they are in storage, processing or transaction. Internet is a big advantage for ICT, but internet security is the big challenge in front of the government and businesses using it. The data travelling on internet can be easily accessed by the intruders and can be misused. The data and information travels through internet need new security measures and policies to reduce the threat of unauthorized access. The software and network devices used in internet also need scurity from unauthorized access [20]. Due to the advantages and need of internet, businesses and governments are forced to use internet. The weak information security system may cause the big losses to the agencies such as financial loss, reputation loss, and loss of customer confidence [21]. The information security measures are generally taken and policies are made to guard the information security objectives and information assets. Information security objectives
Chapter 1 Introduction 8 includes confidentiality, integrity, and availability, are the main concern in categorizing information security level [22],[23]. The information assets include the data, hardware and software asstes of the agencies. Security Goals: Data and information of a private or government organization are its valuable resources that should be kept safe and under high security from the intruders and unauthorized users. The goal of an information system security is to protect an organization s data, information, software and hardware from unauthorized access and minimize the risk of loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability of that information to the authorized user at an accepted level. Confidentiality - Confidentiality confirms that only authorized users have access to data and information of an organization. The access can be intentional by the hacker, intruders or malicious employee of the same organization to steal the data or information for their own benefit. It can be unintentional due to carelessness or incompetence of the employee handling the data and information of the organization. Confidentiality also refers to the mechanism that prevents data and information from unauthorized access [24]. The goal of confidentiality is to use some strong user identification and authentication method like user identification and passwords, two factors or multifactor authentication method to identify an authorized user, and support control methods that limit each identified user's access to the data system's resources. Authentication is the main requirement of information security system. Proper strong authentication system can allow legitimate persons in, and keep intruders or unauthorized person out. Any security system must have a system of controls that limit access to the organization's resources as per the policies of the organization. In computer based information system it is obvious to focus on drawbacks within the information system of an organization to protect the data from unauthorized access.
Chapter 1 Introduction 9 Integrity- Integrity ensures protection against modification of data and information by intruders or unauthorized user, or unintentional modification of data or information by authorized user, and prevention of internal or external consistency [25]. Integrity of the valuable data and information of an organization is very important; data should not be changed without need by accident or intentionally by unauthorized user. It also includes source integrity that means that data has come from the right person not from the fake person, intruder or fake agency. Integrity can even include validity and reliability of the data, which means the received data, contains the right information and generates the identical data. Availability- Availability means authorized user of information systems have uninterrupted access to the data and information. Availability ensures that system s authorized users have timely, reliable and uninterrupted access to the data, information and network resources of the system. Availability also refers to the availability of information resources to the authorized user of a system. Information system resources should be available when an authorized person needs to access them. The resource availability of the system depends on the computer and network infrastructure of the organization. The availability may be affected by malfunctioning of the hardware, natural phenomena, or human cause. Security Levels: Security levels can be categorized into three categories LOW, MODERATE and HIGH. LOW Level security: Loss of confidentiality and loss of integrity does not have more negative impact on the operations, assets, and employees of an organization. Availability of data and information of a company also does not have more negative impact on the operation and asset of the organization.
Chapter 1 Introduction 10 MODERATE Level security: Loss of confidentiality and loss of integrity have serious negative impact on the operations, assets, and employees of an organization. Availability of data and information of a company also have serious negative impact on the operation and asset of the organization. HIGH Level Security Loss of confidentiality and loss of integrity have severe negative impact on the operations, assets, and employees of an organization. Availability of data and information of a company also have severe negative impact on the operation and asset of the organization The information security level is low when an organization implements up to 49% measure and countermeasures to protect its security objectives. The security level is moderate when an organization implements between 50% and up to 79% of the measures and counter measures to protect its security objectives. The security level is high when an organization implements between 80% and up to 100% of the measures and counter measures to protect its security objectives [20]. Security Goal LOW MODERATE HIGH Confidentiality 0-49 50 79 80-100 Integrity 0-49 50 79 80-100 Availability 0-49 50 79 80-100 Table 1.1 Levels of Security Goals [20] Hardware Based Security: Hardware based security system uses a hardware device like tokens, smart card, USB device etc to protect the data and information from the unauthorized user. Electronic devices are used to prove person s authenticity electronically. They are used in addition to or in place of a password to prove that the customer is who they claim to be. Electronic
Chapter 1 Introduction 11 devices works like an electronic key to authenticating a user to access the information system, these electronic devices are very small in the size and can be easily carried in the pocket or purse. Hardware based security system can be used to protect data in storage or data in transit from unauthorized users. It is important to prevent the confidential information of the organization or government from the unauthorized users or intruders even the device is stolen or lost. Encryption can be an effective way to protect the privacy of data or information of the organization. Hardware based encryption is transparent to the user, with no performance overhead, and it s harder to break. With Seagate Secure Technology at the core of the drive, data is encrypted autometically and then saved in to the hard disk [26]. According to Intel, Securing organizations network from the attacks has become very important because networking supports both wired and wireless access. Therefore a device based authentication system can be used to authenticate a user and device both before they connect to the network [27]. Device based authentication system makes authentication stronger then the password based authentication method. A hardware device called smart card is normally used for authentication purpose. Smart cards are commonly used for secure Web access, VPN access, Windows log in, and digital signing. A smart card contains a CPU and some nonvolatile memory which can store some secrets on it such as public key certificates and related keys [28]. One more common device for hardware authentication is called USB token. Sally Hudson Charles J. Kolodgy says USB authentication tokens are small, key-size devices that connect to any standards-based USB port and can have smart card chips and embedded software used to perform user authentication and cryptographic functions, such as digital signing [29]. Various companies have developed hardware based security solutions to protect data and information from unauthorized users. The hardware based security devices are also called hardware security modules. Hardware security modules generates security key which are
Chapter 1 Introduction 12 used to encrypt the data, these modules also stores and protects cryptographic key [30]. Some of the hardware solution providers have developed hardware based security solutions which gives a strong base for security. These solutions address the increasing security challenges for hardware and software by using antivirus software. Intel is one of the hardware base security providers that have developed an architecture called Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT). Intel TXT supports government and industry norms, regulations and data protection standards. Intel TXT provides hardware based method of verification useful in compliance efforts [31]. The trusted computing group has developed a hardware based security system named Trusted Platform Module (TPM).The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is a secure cryptographic integrated circuit (IC), TPM gives a hardware based solution to manage user authentication, network access, data protection and takes security to higher level then software based security. The TPM can be joined with various hardware devices like netwok devices, forewall, switches, routers and other 802.1x compitable devices [32]. Harware based security systems are more secured and reliable as compared to the software based security systems. The performance of hardware based security systems is also high as cpmpared to the software based security systems. Various security providers have developed security solutions based on hardware devices. VIA technologies had developed a hardware based security suit for their clients which are called VIA Padlock Hardware Security Suit. VIA has integrated advanced security features in their security suit such as dual random number generator and an AES encryption engine into the hardware of its growing range of VIA Eden, VIA C3, and VIA Antaur processors [33]. VIA has used a special technique to provide high level of security and privacy to the computing system. Figure 1.1 shows the basic functionality of the hardware based authentication system. This figure shows the functionality of smart card and USB device authentication system. To read a smart card a smart card reader is required, that reads the information stored in the smart card which is used for authentication purpose. Smart care reader is attached to
Chapter 1 Introduction 13 the user s computer which is used for login purpose. USB port of a computer is used to read and write USB device. Figure 1.1 Hardware Based Authentication System Authenticator is the authentication system which is generally resides in the data server containing user data or it can be a separate server which can be used only for authentication purpose. User s machine is connected to the authentication/ data server through internet or local network. When user wants to access the data server, first he/she need to login successfully by providing user credentials and authenticating that he/she is the authenticated user. Authenticator system verify users login, password and information saved on the smart card, if the information saved in the server matches with the information provided by the user at the time of registration, then user is considered as an authenticated user and get permission to access the data server otherwise he/she will not get the access. Hardware based vs Software based security: Hardware based security system is more secure as compared with software based security system. When hardware based cryptography is applied properly, it gives better security
Chapter 1 Introduction 14 then software based cryptography. It is said that hardware based cryptographic products can also very in the level of protection they provide against brute force rewind attacks, offline parallel attacks, or other cryptanalysis attacks [34]. Hardware Based Security Software Based Security Security High: - Hardware can t be changed by malicious software. Low: - Software can be changed by other software Performance in High Low demanding security application Efficiency with e- High Low commerce applications System Overheads Low High Authentication Strong: - by automatically Not Strong generating strong password. Integrity High: - Digital signature Low and random numbers are used which is difficult to forge Confidentiality High: - Random number Low generators are used to produce cryptographic key. Data Security High: - Better protection of sensitive data and encryption key Low: - Encryption key could be easily compromised Table 1.2 Hardware and Software Based Security Comparison.
Chapter 1 Introduction 15 1.3 Statement of the Problem Presently governments around the world are using traditional (legacy) computing systems to store the data and information which is not only costly but also insecure as well. A new computing paradigm i.e. cloud computing system is gaining popularity due to their various advantages including cost saving, elasticity, pay as you use, scalability and most importantly the high end security. A critical analysis of several researches indicates that governments are planning to adopt the cloud computing model for e-governance so as to ensure the security of sensitive data and scalability of systems with respect to the changes of demand and cost effectiveness. The focus of this research to critically observe, analyze, investigate the security challenges and finally develop a most feasible and secured cloud computing authentication system so that security of government information in public and private domains can be effectively ensured. 1.4 Objectives General objective: Identification and development of a real time authentication mechanism for government information system over hybrid cloud. Specific Objectives: 1. Identification of security challenges in cloud computing adoption in government sector 2. Comparative analysis of existing security systems in legacy systems and cloud based systems. 3. Devising a feasible solution for effective security mechanism in govt. sector for adoption of cloud computing. 4. Development of a real time authentication mechanism for government information system over hybrid cloud. 1.5 Contributions To support the thesis Critical Technology Paradigm: Government Information System and Security Using Cloud Computing Technology, we suggests a simple and strong
Chapter 1 Introduction 16 authentication method and a cloud computing model for government information system and security. We suggest a hybrid cloud computing model to store government application and data, and a computer hardware device based authentication method to provide high security to government data and information system. This authentication method and cloud model is cost saving and easy to deploy in government information system. We have made several novel research contributions. They are as follows. Hybrid Cloud Computing Model: This research has proposed a 5 layered hybrid cloud computing model for government information system and security. Our Hybrid cloud model is combination of two cloud computing models: public cloud and private cloud. Hybrid cloud computing model can be accessed through the web browser using internet. By using hybrid cloud computing model government can take advantages of both public and private clouds. Government data are stored on both the public and private cloud as per the security requirements. Data which is not very sensitive and useful for general public is stored on the public cloud part of the model. Data like military data, financial data, court data, police data and other critical data which is highly sensitive and need high security is stored on the private cloud. The control of private cloud remains with the government and the control of public cloud remains with the cloud provider. The layers of our model are: Access Layer, Access Control Layer, User Diversion Layer, Security Layer and Cloud Computing Layer. Hardware Device Based Authentication Method: In addition to hybrid cloud computing adoption; this research proposes a new mechanism of hardware based authentication system for the government information system. Data stored in the government servers is valuable asset of the government and country, which needs to be protected from unauthorized access. The important method of protecting data from unauthorized user is strong authentication system. Generally a password protection method is used for authentication purpose but that is not sufficient. To strengthen the authentication process, a device authentication mechanism is used with user name and password. In general practices a separate device like smart card or USB tokens is used for device authentication.
Chapter 1 Introduction 17 In government departments generally computers are fixed so the standard computer devices like hard disk, CPU etc can be used for device authentication to make authentication process more secure. This research has focus on using hard disk serial number for device authentication purpose. A key has been generated by using hard disk serial number and total disk space, and this key is encrypted using an encryption key and algorithm, which produces an authentication key. The authentication key is stored in authentication server at the time of user registration. Later when user tries to access the government server the authentication key is used to authenticating the user. 1.6 Organization of thesis The rest of this thesis is organized as follows- Chapter 2 Presents review of literature which includes cloud computing, various models of cloud computing, advantages of cloud computing, Cloud Computing in E-governance (Government information system), E-Governance Challenges and Cloud Benefits, security in Government Cloud Information System, Cloud Security Advantages and Challenges. Chapter 3 Presents Materials and methods: Chapter 4 Presents Observations, Result & Discussion, which includes Authentication and Authorization in Government Information System, E-Authentication, Proposed Hybrid Cloud Computing Architecture for Government information System, Hardware Based Authentication Model for Government information System and Security. Device authentication, Proposed Device Authentication System. Chapter 5 Presents Conclusions and Important Findings Chapter 6 Presents Recommendations
Chapter 1 Introduction 18 Chapter 7 Presents Bibliography which includes details of references used for this research. Chapter 8 Presents Publications which includes research papers published in various journals related to this research and paper presented in various national and international conferences.