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.

1. Cloud Computing:
A Question of Trust
Maintaining Control and Compliance with
Data-centric Information Security
WHITE 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.
Introduction
The 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
Russ Dietz 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
Vice President & Chief
of their customers, business partners, and employees?
Technology Officer
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.
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2. 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 Trust
For 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
Today, issues of risk, data privacy,
data can be transferred into the cloud as is; for example, for disaster recovery or archival
and compliance are the chief purposes. Sensitive data, on the other hand, will either be kept out of the cloud entirely or it
inhibitors to most organizations’ will be protected, generally through encryption, before it is exposed to the cloud. Further, that
adoption of cloud services. 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 Trust
As 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.
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3. Step 3: Compliant Trust
In this ultimate phase of the cloud’s evolution, cloud providers gain the controls they need to
Non-sensitive data can be 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,
transferred into the cloud as is;
as the information owner, still holds control over security, but more in a virtual, rather than
for example, for disaster recovery
operational, way.
or archival purposes. Sensitive
data, on the other hand, will 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
either be kept out of the cloud
information, which gives them the final say over how security is handled. The cloud provider
entirely or it will be protected,
will have the sophisticated security infrastructure in place to meet clients’ security objectives,
generally through encryption, including robust encryption, secure key management, granular access controls, and more.
before it is exposed to the cloud.
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 Security
Without 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 Storage
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
In the compliant trust phase for the backup, disaster recovery, and archival of data.
of the cloud’s evolution, cloud
To achieve effective secure cloud storage, organizations need the following capabilities:
providers gain the controls
they need to deliver trust as • Granular encryption. While an organization could simply encrypt all data as it is passed to
a service, so enterprises can 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
specify security policies and have
capabilities, ideally at the file level, so organizations can more selectively encrypt only the
confidence in the cloud provider’s
information that is sensitive.
infrastructure and capabilities
for executing these policies. • 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.
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4. 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.
Driven by a need to use the ProtectFile
Workstations
cloud’s elastic storage, without
exposing data to the cloud’s
vulnerabilities, enterprises can
Enterprise
ProtectFile
perform secure storage in the
cloud, effectively using the cloud
Ar
for the backup, disaster recovery,
ch
ive
and archival of data.
Cloud Providers
ProtectFile
Mobile Workforce
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 Endpoints
With 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.
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5. Workstations
ProtectFile
Certificate-Based (PKI)
Common Data Protection Policy
ProtectFile
ProtectFile
ProtectFile
Enterprise Cloud Providers
ProtectFile
ProtectFile
An efficient cloud security ProtectFile
ProtectFile
deployment scenario requires a Certificate-Based (PKI)
centralized, hardened security Mobile Workforce
and Partners
appliance, which is used to
manage cryptographic keys, 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.
access control, and other
security policies. Federated Access Control
Today, 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.
Common Identity Interconnect
Identity Server
SAML SAML
SaaS Provider
Infrastructure
Enterprise Cloud Provider
End-Users
Figure 3 By federating access control mechanisms, organizations can simultaneously streamline security
administration and improve adherence with security policies.
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Maintaining Control and Compliance with Data-centric Information Security White Paper

6. Virtual Encryption as a Service
To 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.
By offering a means to Because the platform is virtualized, it can be integrated cost-effectively and seamlessly
streamline end user access and 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
access control administration,
than traditional in-house deployments, putting state-of-the-art security capabilities within
federated access initiatives can
reach of even small and medium businesses for the first time.
help optimize security while
reducing corporate security 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
costs.
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.
Certificate-Based (PKI)
SMB Cloud Provider
Certificate-Based (PKI)
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 Solutions
With SafeNet’s security offerings, organizations can fully leverage the business benefits of cloud
environments while ensuring trust, compliance, and privacy.
Cryptography as a Service
SafeNet 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.
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Maintaining Control and Compliance with Data-centric Information Security White Paper

7. Cloud Database
MFA SafeNet
Tokens HSMs Cloud Storage
Token Mgmt Elastic Compute
System
Certificate-Based (PKI)
HSM Client
ProtectFile
ProtectApp
ProtectDB
Enterprise Cloud Provider
Certificate-Based (PKI) MFA for End-Users
When cloud providers deliver
virtual encryption as a service, DataSecure
they can implement database, Luna SA
Root of Trust Federated Key Mgmt DataSecure
application, and file encryption— & User Directories
all managed through a single, 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.
virtual platform that combines
cryptographic key management, Trusted Cloud Computing
policy management, and The 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
encryption processing.
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
SRM
APP
SRM
Tokens Two-Factor Activation
Licensing
PaaS Provider
APP
Virtual Resource Enterprise
Administrators
OTP IaaS Provider
DataSecure
Software
eTokens Key-Management
Two-Factor Pre-Boot
Certificate-Based (PKI) ProtectFile
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.
Conclusion
In 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.
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8. 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
SafeNet offers intelligent,
need to do to prepare for and take advantage of these changes. For more information, visit www.
data-centric solutions that safenet-inc.com/cloudsecurity.
persistently protect data
throughout the information About SafeNet
life cycle and evolve to support Founded in 1983, SafeNet is a global leader in information security. SafeNet protects its
changing cloud delivery customers’ most valuable assets, including identities, transactions, communications, data
models—from today’s SaaS and 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
private clouds to the evolving
information security needs to SafeNet.
demands of hybrid and public
clouds.
SafeNet delivers the solutions
that enable organizations to do
rights management for virtual
machines.
Contact Us: For all office locations and contact information, please visit www.safenet-inc.com
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©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
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