SecureCloud: Secure Big Data Processing in Untrusted Clouds
This addresses data security and privacy concerns for organizations using cloud-based big data applications, particularly in domains like smart grids, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing SGX technology.
The SecureCloud project tackled the problem of processing sensitive big data in untrusted cloud environments by designing a layered architecture using Intel SGX for security, enabling secure micro-services and applications in smart grids with initial results demonstrating feasibility.
We present the SecureCloud EU Horizon 2020 project, whose goal is to enable new big data applications that use sensitive data in the cloud without compromising data security and privacy. For this, SecureCloud designs and develops a layered architecture that allows for (i) the secure creation and deployment of secure micro-services; (ii) the secure integration of individual micro-services to full-fledged big data applications; and (iii) the secure execution of these applications within untrusted cloud environments. To provide security guarantees, SecureCloud leverages novel security mechanisms present in recent commodity CPUs, in particular, Intel's Software Guard Extensions (SGX). SecureCloud applies this architecture to big data applications in the context of smart grids. We describe the SecureCloud approach, initial results, and considered use cases.