Cloud Security

Secure Cloud Authentication with Private – Public Keys

Shantha Kumari

You cannot ignore the various cloud based services that most of the enterprises use on a daily basis. Some of these services use password authentication but many of them use public and private keys for authentication.

The use of public / private keys have increased, and is now being used by a number of protocols and applications. The primary reason for this is improving security, since the keys provide a much better security than a password that was chosen by a user. In order to provide cloud services, we have to ensure we’re properly protecting our public/private keys.

Sample encryption & decryption process

Some Business areas where public/private keys are used:

The most common use of the public/private key pairs are by the applications hosted on cloud based dedicated servers. You simply rent a dedicated server from cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Service. All it requires is a bank account and a few simple mouse clicks to get a dedicated server up and running in matter of minutes.

The administrators use SSH daemon for interacting with them. The Secure Shell or SSH, is an cryptographic (encrypted) network protocol to allow remote login and other network services to operate securely over an unsecured network. You will use the public-private keys to secure your application while password authentication is disabled.

Often used in the banks and other kinds of financial institutions; the website application issues a new key for every user who are given access to this service.

Developers use the public-private keys to authenticate, via the private key to push or pull the source code in the cloud environment. The cloud tools simplify the installation and maintenance of the source code repositories.

Understanding Key Security

Asymmetric encryption uses the public and private keys, to authenticate the system or encrypt/decrypt the data, while in transit. The public key can always be shared with the public as it is used for data encryption while the private key can only decrypt data. Using specific commands the keys can be generated which can accept various arguments to fine-tune the key generation process.

Ways to improve security of public and private keys:

  1. Use password-protected keys:

It is important to select a strong password when generating the private key, to protect it from an unlawful use. An attacker who has gained access to the machine that stores the private keys will eventually be able to access the private keys which in the unencrypted form can provide an attacker access to the cloud-based system.

The attacker can gain access to the machine through various techniques like uploading the shell through a web-based vulnerability in the web application. He will be able to gain partial access to the underlying file system or the access/directory where administrators often place the private keys for authenticating the other cloud-based systems.

This emphasizes the importance of encrypting the private keys with an additional strong password that  prevents the attacker from gaining access to other systems.

  1. Use a strong key.

When creating the private key, it is possible to instruct the ssh-keygen command, to create keys of the following size: 1024, 2048, 4096 and so on. The private keys are usually constructed from the product of two randomly generated prime number. The strength of the public/private key encryption lies in the fact that it’s very easy to calculate the product of two randomly chosen prime numbers, but it is difficult to determine which of the two prime numbers were used by knowing their product.

It is advisable to choose the 4096- bit key that is currently considered secure as it contains enough possibilities to prevent the attacker from using brute-force to gain the passwords in real time.

  1. Reduce the login time.

Using the public and private keys, involves providing password for the private keys all the time. The ssh-agent which stores the decrypted private key in the cache for the duration of the session, can reduce the time it takes to authenticate the system.
The decrypted key can then be used to authenticate the cloud-service without providing the private key password. The decrypted version of the key is only available in the cache and only to the ssh-agent process, while the actual file in the file system remains encrypted. An attacker with access to the file system, will only be able to steal the encrypted version of the private key.

  1. Back up your keys.

Creating backup is a good idea when you rely on a number of public/private key-pairs to authenticate the cloud-based services. Otherwise, if the keys are lost through hard drive failure or accidental file removal operation, the user would no longer be able to authenticate the cloud-based service.

Failing to back up the keys properly can result in getting locked of the cloud service. Contacting the cloud service provider can restore access to the system, but the process is long and cumbersome. In the worst-case scenario, access to the system is lost completely. This can happen if everything is encrypted in the cloud and the cloud-service provider doesn’t have any access to the system or files.

Usage of the public and private keys have increased and is now used by a number of cloud-based services instead of the passwords to authenticate the system, as it provides much better security. Therefore, properly securing the public and private keys are necessary to prevent the attackers from gaining access to the cloud service.

There are ways to protect the public and private keys on the client. So even if an attacker is able to compromise the client, he won’t be able to use the keys. Keep in mind that an attacker who has gained the private keys can authenticate the cloud service and perform a lot of malicious actions like stealing user data, decrypt sensitive information and disrupt the service, among others.

For more details or information, connect with us at info@sysfore.com or call us at +91-80-4110-5555. Website: www.sysfore.com

Sysfore Technologies partners with Infinity

Shantha Kumari

The Sysfore Technologies has added another name to its growing list of Partner network. The Infinity, a Stamford Technology Company, is the global provider of Life Science Enterprise Level IT services for biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies of all size.

Having operations in the United States, Canada and India, the Infinity has invested heavily in developing intellectual property for drug safety, enterprise quality management, regulatory, compliance and lean value chain optimization for the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device companies of various size.

Infinity company logo

The Sysfore Technologies is both Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and AWS Cloud Consulting Partner India. It is the leading system integrator (SI), specializing in building systems for enterprise clients using cloud, mobile and responsive web technologies. We serve a global client base, offering Consulting, Technology and Managed Services.

As a Gold Certified Partner, Sysfore has demonstrated expertise in Microsoft technologies and a proven ability to meet customers’ needs and make a smooth transition to the Azure Platform.

As the AWS Cloud Consulting Partner India, Sysfore can help you design, architect, build, migrate and manage your web and mobile applications on the AWS platform. It provides a secure, flexible and resilient cloud environment for your responsive web development and ERP implementations.

Infinity can gain from Sysfore’s experience and cloud expertise to provide vast industry specific solutions, deep technology expertise and a diverse portfolio of services, to help the customers optimize their business processes, maximize usage of the latest technologies, and drive innovation across their organization.

Growing Cloud Partnership

The Infinity can leverage Sysfore’s Cloud Solution for Microsoft Azure or AWS, that help enterprises smartly connect intelligent capabilities needed to become the digital business. It can gain from the agility and economics of cloud computing with the reliability and security of an on-premise IT environment.

The Sysfore’s cloud offering include cloud consulting, application, mobile and web development, cloud managed services, cloud migration and deployment services.

It creates custom application solutions which enable organizations to achieve the competitive advantage within the continuously changing technology world. It has proven experience in various technologies like .NET, Java, PHP and other open source platform, to design, deploy and run applications across on-site, mobile, web and cloud based platform for multiple industries.

Sysfore Cloud Advantage

Whether it is creating a new solution, application or updating an existing one; Sysfore has an excellent development and support team to give you the best execution of application development services.

This cloud partnership allows both of them to help accelerate their client’s growth.
We offer a complete range of value added service in the application development and customization field:

• Optimize performance, costs and business continuity.
• Create a new class of applications that leverage the hybrid cloud platform.
• Provide a clear cloud road map which assesses, creates, deploys and migrates applications or infrastructures to the cloud.
• Seamlessly manage integration and automation of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS workloads, between Microsoft private and public clouds, or between cloud and on-premises.
• Auto-scale, burst and dynamically provision for capable applications across Microsoft cloud.
Here Is wishing both the Sysfore Technologies and the Infinity a long and successful partnership based on true collaboration, trust and mutual benefits.

You can contact us at  info@sysfore.com or call us at +91-80-4110-5555, +91 9845189275 or +91 9845698669 to know more about this growing partnership.

5 Big Cloud Security Features for Enterprise Use

Shantha Kumari

The cloud computing is still an emerging technology with people discovering its true potential. One important feature which draws attention is Cloud Security.

Cloud computing can help businesses cut costs in any number of ways, but the information that cloud systems handle is varied, confidential with high security measures in place.

Talk to Sysfore’s Cloud Specialists and we’ll ensure your Cloud Security is top grade. Book an appointment now.

Here are some of the biggest actual security features that cloud providers use to protect client data, and make systems effectively secure against hacking and unauthorized access.

Cloud security

Multi-Factor Authentication

It’s a major source of user security for cloud systems, which often get deployed across many different business locations and individual access points. Essentially, multi-factor authentication just means authenticating users in a combination of ways. Using multiple authentication strategies or factors creates better security for digital systems.

In general, multi-factor authentication involves combining different categories of security inputs. One category is the password, which is an intangible concept that someone creates and uses for access. Another category is a physical possession, such as a traditional key, a key card or even someone’s mobile device.

A third category of security is called biometrics. This focuses on things that are inherent to an individual body. Unlike the above two categories, biometrics security components cannot be lost or misplaced. Biometrics uses things like fingerprint scanning, voice recognition and facial imaging.

Multi-factor authentication requires two or more of these different security components to work together, which makes systems much more secure.

Identity and Access Management

This category of security is closely related to authentication, but it works a bit differently. Here businesses have a way to assign access and privileges to individual identities that will be authenticated within the system. If multi-factor authentication is the method of access, then identity and access management is the assignment of clearances or the “permission vehicle” for letting people into the system.

Cloud services should incorporate this design, so that managers can think carefully about what information people need access to, and assign access based on those considerations. It’s important that people who are doing the work can get into the system to do their jobs, but the system must also keep a lid on sensitive data and ensure that it’s distributed to as few people as possible.

Encryption Standards and Key Handling Tools

Encryption is a core component of cloud security. In various ways, cloud providers encrypt data so that it can’t be stolen or leaked as it makes its way to and around the cloud. Each cloud company will have its own security encryption standard, where better encryption generally means better security.

Encryption standard along with key handling should be the focus of the enterprises. Encryption systems typically use sets of encryption keys that allow for authorized use of the data. Businesses can now opt for Amazon Web Services or Azure which offers a set of key management tools. Some cloud providers also offer key management services of their own that not only encrypt data, but also preserve the right kinds of access.

Cloud Encryption Gateways

It’s also important to figure out how and when data is encrypted and when it is decrypted, because again, without decryption, valuable data can become useless to those who need to handle it.

A cloud encryption gateway is very much like a virtual private network or VPN system. It provides a secure tunnel for data from one specific point to another. In VPN systems, data is often encrypted as it leaves a private network and makes its way through the public Internet. It’s decrypted on the other side, which is why people refer to it as a “security tunnel” for data.

A cloud encryption gateway acts the same way. It provides a consistent means and method of encrypting data as it leaves the private network and enters the cloud. It’s going to serve as both an effective means of security, and maintaining compliance if regulators start looking into how a company handles its data.

Mobile Platform Security

Cloud security also needs to address the rapidly growing area of IT that so many of us are now using to do all kinds of computing and perform all kinds of transactions: mobile. The mobile arena is becoming more and more a part of our lives, and cloud services need to anticipate the challenges of keeping data safe while it’s going to and from mobile endpoints.

Cloud mobile strategy needs to look at effective encryption, any vulnerabilities inherent in mobile operating systems or commonly used mobile applications. They should be able to explain to clients in a way that doesn’t make their heads spin.

You can contact us at  info@sysfore.com or call us at +91-80-4110-5555 to better understand the requirements of the Cloud Security for your Enterprise use.