Introduction and data protection
We live in an insecure world, especially when we consider the vast amounts of data we all create, store and transmit. The cloud has of course transformed how we approach the storage of information, but could this reliance on centralised cloud services put our data and personal security at risk?
The massive development of cloud-based storage services offers low cost and convenience to users and service providers alike. They support the social changes that have taken place where data needs to be accessed on the move from a wide range of devices.
The problem, as Professor Jon Crowcroft, a researcher at Cambridge University, points out in a recent article for the Royal Society is the centralised nature of data storage.
He observed: "Centralised systems give a specific point to attack for those who may want to access them illegally. Even if data is copied many times, if all the copies have the same flaw, they are all vulnerable. Just as a small gene pool places a population at risk from a change in the environment, such as a disease, the lack of variety in centralised storage systems places information at greater risk of theft."
The risk that your data could be open to when using the plethora of cloud-based services that have appeared is the issue that must be tackled. The level of access people are happy to give to their data is a question we have only just begun to respond to. How much privacy can we have and still gain the benefits that cloud storage, mobile communications and of course social media has given us all?
Safe as houses
Protecting access to locally stored data is clearly a first step to take. Here the use of encryption can be a robust way to protect your data. You can see the VP of Product Management at Ipswitch, Aaron Kelly's seven criteria for data encryption here, and how Mac owners can encrypt a partition on their hard drives.
The use of more advanced security that doesn't rely on passwords, which most people still don't use properly, is moving increasingly towards biometrics. Already you can buy notebook PCs with built-in fingerprint scanners. Lacie and IronKey will both sell you external portable storage devices that use your finger as a password.
Of course Apple has placed fingerprints front and centre, as its preferred security platform with Touch ID, but is this system as secure as it appears to be? Two years ago the hacker known as Starbug claimed to have bypassed Apple's sensor and gained access to an iPhone. Since then Apple has improved Touch ID, but as Marc Rogers, chief security researcher at Lookout Mobile Security told CNET: "I don't think people need to worry just yet, but there are distinct flaws that could lead to problems down the line."
With Apple Pay rolling out across the globe a level of caution should be exercised when relying on just touch as the only security when payments are being made. The chances of someone guessing your four-digit passcode are 1 in 10,000, which does dramatically fall if the person knows you. And the chances of someone having fingerprints close enough to yours to fool Touch ID is 1 in 50,000, so that's five times less likely than guessing a passcode. Unless you are very close friends with every retailer you frequent, using just your fingerprint as an authentication method should be secure enough.
The use of biometrics such as fingerprints looks set to become even more of a standard security method as we move into the future. The FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance has launched a new standard, which it hopes will see the end of lengthy passwords to access secure services, and as a log on system for devices.
US-based Synaptics has unveiled one of the first solutions based on the standard called SecurePad, a 4mm by 10mm fingerprint scanner that can be embedded into laptop touchpads. And the Alliance has also just released details of its support for BLE (Low Energy Bluetooth) and NFC (Near Field Communication) offering more flexibility.
P2P and going off grid
Scattering the clouds
Ensuring your data is safe and secure can mean simply protecting it with a level of security you are comfortable with. This will mean deciding how many hoops you want to jump through each time you need access to that information. Simply swiping your finger across the reader on a hard drive, or notebook PC is fast and simple, and devices like the iPhone can similarly be accessed in seconds.
What if you wanted to break your connection with the cloud-based storage you have been using, and develop an independent system? This is possible thanks to peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. Here you don't store your data on a server in the cloud, but make a direct connection between two devices when you want to gain access to the information.
P2P of course became notorious thanks to BitTorrent, but today in an age where data security is paramount, P2P is being seriously touted as a way to gain more security over the data you are storing. P2P has also been used for years with projects like SETI, Rossetta@Home and Einstein@Home using decentralised computers to perform complex calculations. The same principle can be applied to secure data management.
And data storage is being democratised with services such as Symform that describes itself as 'crowdsourced backup'. Symform members contribute a percentage of their spare local storage space and bandwidth in exchange for free storage across the network.
The security of this system comes from its use of 256-bit encryption when the data is transmitted, and RAID 96 that divides the data between 96 different devices. The cloud and the data centres that support them use RAID 5 or 6. Whether this type of data storage technique becomes popular remains to be seen.
If you want to avoid the cloud then P2P is clearly an option to explore in detail. Systems like BitTorrent Sync have evolved to be slick and easy to use. If you work in teams that are geographically dispersed and data security is important, systems like this could be the answer. Private individuals who want to securely share data within their family for instance are also great candidates.
Going off grid
Completely severing the ties you have with cloud storage is also now possible. As a reaction to concerns about handing over what can sometimes be sensitive information to a faceless data centre, a number of new options have become available. There are now several alternatives to cloud storage that embrace the ideas behind P2P and moves this into a consumer product that offers plug-and-play functionality.
Neobase is the first private network device. As a successful Kickstarter campaign, the device connects to your network at home. The Neobase in effect creates your own social network between anyone that you want to share information with. The difference is that you are in control of whom you share your data with. No third-party cloud service is involved.
The developers of Neobase explain: "The Neobase is an encrypted device that lets you create a private social network that only you control. Sharing with friends and family is easy, and you decide exactly what you share and whom you share it with. The unique cloudless design of your Neobase and network means that all of the posts, comments, web links, photos and files you share are stored on your Neobase, and never pass through any website, service or cloud."
Transporter is a similar idea to Neobase in that it offers a private device to store data on that you invite people to join. There is a domestic and small business version of this device that can create a completely private network to connect anyone to.
In the past it has been possible to create your own network at home and even use a PC to create a server that anyone can connect to. These devices make setting up a private and closed network for friends, family or business use a fast and efficient process.
As Professor Jon Crowcroft concluded: "The more diversity we use in a peer-to-peer system, the closer we get to an ideal in terms of resilience and privacy."
There can be little doubt that our privacy has been eroded as digital technologies have infiltrated every facet of our lives. The levels of privacy you may want and those you can achieve are two very different things if you want to use social media and save, store and exchange information. However, systems like Neobase do enable us to reclaim a level of privacy we once enjoyed.
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