Enhanced Cloud Security using Cryptography and Steganography Techniques

Assignment Task

Abstract

Cloud Computing means performing data related operations over the network of servers joined together to form an ecosystem. It is undoubtedly the most rapidly growing solution for all the storage, data computation, data management, scalability etc. related problems.

It provides broadly three kinds of services including Software as a Service(SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS) & Platform as a Service(PaaS).

The basic & the most critical problem with applications or data being floated over the internet is its security. Through this paper, I propose a solution to enhance the security of Software as a Service(SaaS) application by integrating cryptography & steganography concepts together to reduce the existing security vulnerabilities like stealing of data, loosing the data & manipulation of data.

The solution proposed to address the research problem is to create a data security model comprising four different stages that would employ advanced cryptographic and steganographic algorithms, including AES and RSA, as well as identity-based algorithms. The model would use the LSB technique to embed the data in the cover image.

Using this model, I intend to achieve more flexibility, efficiency & application security by integrating the encryption & steganographic algorithms, in order to protect the application data & integrity from intruders.

Introduction

Cloud Computing comprises of two words, Cloud which can be described as a group of servers, performing different operations over a network and Computing which can be described as various functions that are being conducted using the servers.

Cloud is not a single entity, instead, it is a group of multiple servers located across the globe & connected to operate as a single ecosystem.

It is not a hidden fact that Cloud computing has been growing rapidly and it has become the most widely used solution for all the mass data storage, data computation & data management. The data is now readily available anywhere, anytime at a single click of button.

Cloud Computing has revolutionized the digital business across the globe by providing extremely cost-effective, scalable & flexible on-demand services & resources.

The cloud computing platform provides a range of services that can be broadly classified into three categories: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Platform as a Service (PaaS).

However, despite its many benefits, cloud computing is susceptible to significant security risks and vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities could potentially compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data, making it essential to implement robust security measures to protect the cloud environment, since all the data is floating around over the network.

The various attack prevalent in the Cloud computing environment include Denial of Service(DoS) attacks, Phishing attacks, Man-in-the-middle attacks etc.

To protect the environment from various security vulnerabilities, many solutions have been given that were based on various cryptographic & steganography principles.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) cryptography techniques with Least Significant Bit (LSB) steganography approach to enhance cloud security in SaaS model.

The Need for Cloud Security:

As cloud computing has become increasingly popular, security has become a major concern. Cloud-based services require users to store and access their data over the internet, making it vulnerable to various types of attacks such as data theft, data loss, and cybercrime. The adoption of effective security measures is essential to ensure the protection of data in the cloud.

Software as a Service Model(SaaS):

Any application or software service which is delivered over internet is called as Software as a Service.

It is the most used cloud-based service because instead of installing or maintaining a software, we can access it directly via internet without having to be worried about the software & hardware management for the same.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) model is designed to operate on a multi-tenant architecture, where multiple customers can use the same instance of the SaaS application on the host servers. This approach allows cloud service providers to maintain the SaaS application, providing updates, and fixing any issues more efficiently. By making changes to a single instance, the necessary updates can be made for all customers, rather than having to implement changes in multiple instances. This shared instance helps the provider to manage the application and reduce maintenance efforts for their customers.

It would be apt to quote an example of Netflix under this category as it provides on-demand videos using the software.

It is clear from the attached figure that the same application is being hosted at multiple cloud tenants.

Cryptography 

Cryptography is made up of two words, crypt which means hidden & graphy which means writing, so cryptography means an act of writing the data in such a way that it’s hidden and can be understood by only the person for whom it is intended for.

It helps in protecting the information using various encryption techniques so that the unauthorized person can’t access the protected data. It follows basic principles of CIA, which means Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authentication.

Cryptography plays an essential role in protecting the data privacy, communication of data over internet & data storage.

Multiple encryption and decryption algorithms have been developed to bolster data protection in cloud-based environments. These algorithms include Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA), DES, AES, and IBE. These algorithms use different techniques to encrypt and decrypt data, such as symmetric and asymmetric encryption, to ensure that data transmitted over the cloud is kept confidential and secure.

There are mainly two types of Encryption techniques-

Symmetric Encryption Method - In this method, a single key is being used for encryption & decryption and it is shared between the two parties who intend to access the message. It is faster but less secure since sharing the key among the parties must be done securely & that can sometimes be a challenge. Algorithms that are based on this method are Data Encryption Standard(DES) and Advanced Encryption Standard(AES).

Asymmetric Encryption Method- In this method, a pair of mathematically related keys is used for encrypting and decrypting of the message. There are two keys used for the same, first being the public key and the other being the private key. The public key is used for encrypting and can be freely distributed, while the private key is kept secret and is used for decryption. This makes it more secure than symmetric key encryption as the private key is not shared, and therefore, even if the encrypted message is intercepted, it cannot be decrypted without the private key

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman(RSA) algorithm is based on this encryption technique. This results in enhanced security but it’s a little slower than Symmetric encryption method.

Steganography

The word Steganography has a very simple meaning that can be easily derived from the two words that it’s made up of, steganos which means secret or covered and graph means writing. So, Steganography is defined as an art of covering a secret message within an ordinary message.

For example: A secret message can be hidden inside an image.

The main idea behind this technique is to ensure that the message that is to be communicated is well hidden from the unintended users.

It is considered to be highly effective method of securing the data in cloud.

Least Significant Bit(LSB) is one of the algorithms that is based on the concepts of Steganography.

Figure: Block Diagram of Steganography

Algorithms to be used -

Advanced Encryption Standard(AES) 

AES is an example of symmetric form of encryption method. It follows the principle of block cipher. The key can be of size 128/192/256 bits & each key encrypts a block size of 128 bits each.

In laymen terms, it can be understood as that it takes 128 bits as input and generates an encrypted message of 128 bits as output.

This algorithm is based on the principle of substitution-permutation. It involves replacement of input with output(substitution) & shuffling(permutation)of the bits.

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman(RSA):

RSA is an example of asymmetric form of encryption method. The whole foundation of this algorithm is based on the fact that factorizing a large integer is difficult. Since, two keys exist in asymmetric cryptography, a public key & a private key. The proposed method employs a similar principle, where a public key is generated by computing the product of two large prime numbers, while the corresponding private key is also derived from the same prime numbers. This approach ensures that the private key can only be obtained by someone who has access to the same two prime numbers used to generate the public key. By utilizing this method, the security of the encryption algorithm is strengthened and the probability of unauthorized access to the data is reduced.

Since, it is mathematically bit time taking to factorize the product, this provides enhanced security. The strength of security is directly proportional to the size of the key. Larger the key size, more complex & time consuming it will be to factorize it & hence, the security also will increase exponentially.

Least Significant Bit(LSB):

LSB is a steganography-based technique in which data is embedded in an image file. In this technique, the least significant bit of the byte is reinstated with a M bit. This approach works well for image steganography. For covering the data within an image or on top of an image, LSB algorithm is used.

The larger the resolution & quality of the image, the easier it is to hide the information in it.

Integration of Cryptography and Steganography :

The integration of cryptography and steganography techniques provides an additional layer of security to cloud-based data. By combining these techniques, data can be encrypted and hidden in plain sight, making it more difficult for unauthorized users to access and steal data.

In summary, the integration of AES and RSA cryptography techniques with LSB steganography approach offers an innovative and effective approach to enhancing cloud security in the SaaS model. This study will investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach and will contribute to the accumulated knowledge of research on cloud safety.

RELATED LITERATURE

Cloud computing is no longer an alien term & is being vastly adopted by organizations across the globe. Almost every organization today is using cloud in some or the other way. However, as the demand for the cloud is increasing rapidly, the security of the same has become the major concern.

Data loss, data manipulation, stealing of data are some major privacy concerns that are prevalent in cloud computing. Multiple solutions have been suggested by the cloud service providers to avoid security breaches, but all of them have not been able to solve the security issues & thus proved to be insufficient.

Intent of Literature Review

The objective of this review is to offer a detailed understanding of the present research on the integration of cryptography and steganography techniques in the Software as a Service (SaaS) model to improve cloud security. The review aims to evaluate the current knowledge, detect any research gaps, and establish the groundwork for the proposed study.

Current Research on Cryptography Techniques:

Research on cryptography techniques has focused on various encryption methods such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA). Studies have shown that AES is a widely used symmetric key algorithm that provides strong encryption of data. The use of RSA, an asymmetric key algorithm, is also a popular method of encryption, which uses two keys, a public key, and a private key, to secure data. Several studies have reported that RSA is effective in securing cloud-based data and can be used in conjunction with AES to provide additional security.

Current Research on Steganography Techniques

Research on steganography techniques has focused on several approaches, including Least Significant Bit (LSB) technique, which is widely used to hide data in plain sight. The LSB technique has been shown to be effective in concealing data within image and audio files. However, there is a need for research on the use of LSB technique in cloud-based data security.

Integration of Cryptography and Steganography

Research on the integration of cryptography and steganography techniques has been limited, but promising. A few studies have explored the use of these techniques in enhancing cloud security in the SaaS model. Research has shown that the integration of AES and RSA cryptography techniques with LSB steganography approach provides an additional layer of security to cloud-based data. This approach can be used to encrypt and hide data, making it difficult for unauthorized users to access and steal data.

Summary of Literature Review

In summary, the literature suggests that the integration of AES and RSA cryptography techniques with LSB steganography approach can enhance cloud security in the SaaS model. The current state of knowledge on this topic is limited, and further research is needed to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach. The proposed study will build on the existing literature by investigating the integration of these techniques to enhance cloud security in the SaaS model.

Various models that incorporate cryptography and steganography techniques are available for data security. However, some of these models lack a data backup feature, which is essential for ensuring data security. This study proposes a quadruple-stage security framework for protection that addresses the limitations of the existing models to ensure maximum protection of data in cloud computing environments.

In the initial phase, the data is safeguarded by leveraging encryption algorithms, while the subsequent phase involves the use of steganography. The third step of the process pertains to safeguarding and restoring data through backup measures, and the final stage focuses on data collaboration.

Investingative Question

Through this proposal, I intend to find the answer to the following question-

What is the effectiveness of integrating cryptography (AES and RSA) and steganography (LSB) security approaches in augmenting cloud security in the SaaS model?

This IT Computer Science has been solved by our PhD Experts at My Uni Paper.