From cloud computing security towards homomorphic encryption: A comprehensive review

Abstract

“Cloud computing” is a new technology that revolutionized the world of communications and information technologies. It collects a large number of possibilities, facilities, and developments, and uses the combining of various earlier inventions into something new and compelling. Despite all features of cloud computing, it faces big challenges in preserving data confidentiality and privacy. It has been subjected to numerous attacks and security breaches that have prompted people to hesitate to adopt it. This article provided comprehensive literature on the cloud computing concepts with a primary focus on the cloud computing security field, its top threats, and the protection against each one of them. Data security/privacy in the cloud environment is also discussed and homomorphic encryption (HE) was highlighted as a popular technique used to preserve the privacy of sensitive data in many applications of cloud computing. The article aimed to provide an adequate overview of both researchers and practitioners already working in the field of cloud computing security, and for those new in the field who are not yet fully equipped to understand the detailed and complex technical aspects of cloud computing.