Key Manager Segmentation for Virtualized Platform Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtualized data centers, existing security measures for off-platform data storage are inadequate as they fail to provide robust encryption and key management, making data vulnerable to unauthorized access and leakage, especially in environments where multiple virtual machines share resources and rely on untrusted operating systems.
Innovation Solution
A virtualized computing platform with a key manager that securely stores and manages cryptographic keys, releasing them only upon verification of integrity metrics and compliance with specified policies, ensuring secure services like encrypted storage can be provided to application virtual machines through trusted-device functionality and secure service drivers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If encryption is implemented in virtualized environments with shared resources, then data security is improved, but key management complexity increases due to multiple virtual machines sharing infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments key management by creating separate key stores and key management instances for each virtual machine domain. The key manager is divided into multiple instances, each responsible for managing cryptographic keys for a specific domain, preventing key confusion and unauthorized access between virtual machines while maintaining centralized control through the virtual machine monitor.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine monitor acts as an intermediary between virtual machines and the key manager. It receives key generation requests from domain software, forwards them to appropriate key manager instances, and distributes generated keys to the correct domains. This intermediary layer simplifies key management by abstracting the complexity from individual virtual machines while ensuring secure key distribution.
2Reliability
If cryptographic keys are stored securely in isolated key stores, then security against unauthorized access is improved, but key retrieval and distribution time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary key generation and storage in secure key stores before cryptographic operations are needed. Keys are generated in advance by the key manager and stored in protected key stores associated with each virtual machine domain, so they are readily available when needed without requiring time-consuming retrieval from external secure storage systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual machine monitor serves as an efficient intermediary that maintains cached references to keys in secure storage and can rapidly retrieve and distribute keys to authorized domains without requiring direct access to the secure key stores each time. This intermediary caching mechanism reduces retrieval time while maintaining security through controlled access protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a secure service to an application virtual machine running in a first domain of a virtualized computing platform, a second domain is arranged to run a corresponding service driver exclusively for the application virtual machine. As part of the secure service, the service driver effects a key-based cryptographic operation; to do so, the service driver has to obtain the appropriate key from a key manager. The key manager is arranged to store the key and to release it to the service driver only upon receiving evidence of its identity and being satisfied of compliance with release policies associated with the key. These policies include receipt of valid integrity metrics, signed by trusted-device functionality of the virtualized computing platform, for the service driver and the code on which it depends.