Cloud Eraser Agent for Secure VM Termination
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing, when virtual machines are terminated, information remains on physical storage devices, potentially accessible by other virtual machines, leading to security and data protection issues.
Innovation Solution
A cloud management system employs an eraser agent to securely erase information from physical storage devices by utilizing secure algorithms and power management to initiate the eraser agent on computing systems, ensuring complete data removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If virtual machines are terminated by stopping processes, then the termination process is simple and fast, but information remains on physical storage devices and can be accessed by other virtual machines
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of computing resources supporting the process before termination. This allows the system to prepare and execute secure erasure operations on specific storage locations associated with the process, ensuring data security is maintained while enabling rapid termination of the virtual machine.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes information from specific locations on physical storage devices associated with the terminated process. By targeting and erasing only the relevant data portions rather than entire storage devices, the system achieves both fast termination and secure data removal, resolving the contradiction between speed and security.
2Reliability
If information is securely erased from physical storage devices, then data security is improved, but the termination process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the physical storage devices into specific locations associated with each process. By identifying and erasing only the relevant segments rather than entire storage devices, the invention reduces the complexity and time of the termination process while maintaining secure data removal. This selective approach resolves the contradiction between security and process simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud management system acts as an intermediary that coordinates between the process termination and the secure erasure operations. It identifies computing resources, retrieves eraser agents, and manages the erasure process, thereby automating the complex steps and reducing manual intervention requirements while ensuring data security.
3Reliability
If the entire physical storage device is erased, then complete data security is achieved, but other virtual machines using the same storage device lose access to their data
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different erasure treatments to different locations on the physical storage device based on their association with specific processes. Only the locations tied to the terminated process are erased, while other locations remain intact and accessible to other virtual machines. This localized approach resolves the contradiction between achieving data security and maintaining storage resource utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
When terminating a process instantiated in a cloud, a cloud management system can provide and interact with an eraser agent on the computing systems supporting the process. The process can be any type of process that can exits in the cloud such a virtual machine, software appliance, or software instance. The eraser agent can execute on the computing systems to erase information stored on physical storage devices of the computing systems and associated with the process. In particular, the eraser agent can utilize secure algorithms to alter and obscure the information stored on the physical storage devices of the computing systems and associated with the process.