A Business Model for Cloud Computing Based on a Separate Encryption and Decryption Service

Abstract

Enterprises usually store data in internal storage and install firewalls to protect against intruders to access the data. They also standardize data access procedures to prevent insiders to disclose the information without permission. In cloud computing, the data will be stored in storage provided by service providers. Service providers must have a viable way to protect their clients' data, especially to prevent the data from disclosure by unauthorized insiders. Storing the data in encrypted form is a common method of information privacy protection. If a cloud system is responsible for both tasks on storage and encryption/decryption of data, the system administrators may simultaneously obtain encrypted data and decryption keys. This allows them to access information without authorization and thus poses a risk to information privacy. This study proposes a business model for cloud computing based on the concept of separating the encryption and decryption service from the storage service. Furthermore, the party responsible for the data storage system must not store data in plaintext, and the party responsible for data encryption and decryption must delete all data upon the computation on encryption or decryption is complete. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) service is described in this paper as an example to illustrate the proposed business model. The exemplary service utilizes three cloud systems, including an encryption and decryption system, a storage system, and a CRM application system. One service provider operates the encryption and decryption system while other providers operate the storage and application systems, according to the core concept of the proposed business model. This paper further includes suggestions for a multi-party Service- Level Agreement (SLA) suitable for use in the proposed business model.