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Security

SME provides a SaaS and hybrid on-premise Cloud solution which provides unique Cloud federation, governance and management features. This section of the Wiki outlines the security that is inherent within the SME hosted and on-premise appliance.

1 Data Center

For the hosted SaaS service SME uses multiple data centres in USA and Europe. All data centres are Tier IV facilities and are:

USA: SSAE16 SOC1/2 compliant, have 24×7 armed security, facility surveillance, biometric + keycard access to the data floor, keycode access to the cage, plus our own surveillance on top of the facility surveillance.

Europe:   The Data Centers have ISO27001:2005, ISO9001:2008 certification, plus 24×7 security, facility surveillance, biometric + keycard + mantrap access to the data floor, locking cabinets with physical key access

UK:   This is a new facility, currently undergoing the iso 27001/9001 process and also has 24×7 security,   facility surveillance, biometric + keycard + mantrap access to the data floor, locking cabinets with keycode access

All data centres have 24/7 physical security, facility surveillance, biometric ,   keycard entry authentication and   mantrap access to the data floorm uninterruptible power and backup systems

2 On the wire security

HTTPS can be configured for all users of the Cloud File Server Saas users and Appliance. HTTPS is an acronym for hypertext transfer protocol secure. HTTPS is similar to the normal hypertext transfer protocol, except tt is different because the “S” at the end identifies it as having a secure HTTP connection.  

A HTTPS connection is used often in businesses where sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, are being passed along at point of purchase sites or other commerce sites The https protocol gives assurance that potential hackers are not able to intercept the message containing sensitive data as it is sent to its destination.

A commercial server that uses HTTPS must have a public key certificate issued that verifies the entity. The end-user can verify the entity by clicking on the HTTPS icon from the browser.

3 Data Security

Storage Made Easy can be used to encrypt data transmitted to any cloud that is mapped to a user personal, Cloud File Server, or Appliance account. SME uses AES-256 encryption using the Rijndael cipher, with Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) where the block size is 16 bytes. The cipher Rijndael consists of:

  • an initial Round Key addition
  • Nr-1Rounds
  • a final round.

The chaining variable goes into the input€ and the message block goes into the “Cipher Key. The likelihood of recovering a file that has been encrypted using our encryption is fairly remote. The most efficient key-recovery attack for Rijndael is exhaustive key search. The expected effort of exhaustive key search depends on the length of the Cipher Key and for a 16-byte key, 2127 applications of Rijndael;

Any AES-256 decryption tool that supports the Rijndael cipher with 16 byte blocksizes can be used to un-encrypt files. We also provide free desktop decryption tools for Mac, Windows and Linux that enable the decryption of a file if you download it directly from a mapped cloud ie. without any access to the SME service.

The Wiki entry on encryption has further details.

4 Authentication Security

Storage Made Easy username and passwords   are stored in an encrypted fashion. User login is required in order to obtain a token for a session, which allows a user to access a specific Storage Made Easy resource without using a username and password each time. Once the token has been obtained, the user uses the token, that offers access to a Storage Made Easy resource, for up to 1 hour (it times out if there are no user interactions or is removed if the user logs out). This mechanism of authentication be complimented or replaced with other authentication systems, such as Active Directory which is available by default for Cloud File Server business users, when using our service. Please <ask> for our Security integration whitepaper for further information on this.

Our staff have no way to access a password as it is stored encrypted. There is a means to access meta-data in the logs and DataBase related to an account if a user requests help with a problem, and this is only ever used if a user requests us to look at a problem or issue with an account. Even so this still requires an Administrator to authorise access, and it still does not grant any access to any encrypted passwords.  

If a Cloud Provider supports OAuth, which is a mechanism to connect to a Cloud Provider without revealing password details, then SME uses this delegation mechanism to access the resource. For Cloud Providers that don't use OAuth,authentication details are stored encrypted. The key to un-encrypt is stored on a key server and we do this when we need to on a per session basis.

5 Document Security

Documents can be securely shared using the SME platform in a number of ways:

  • Documents can be encrypted on upload using 256 bit AES security. The private key is not stored on the platform and only known by the user.
  • Private links can be created for documents and these can be combined with passwords to secure the document.
  • Links can be set to be time expired and/or combined with private links and password for further additional document security.

6 Access Control Security

SME supports Access Control Permissions at a Role, User, or folder level for shared folders. The Permissions can be taken from Active Directory if single sign-on is being used.

7 Audit Security

SME Cloud File Server SaaS or Appliance users have access to reporting abilities that can comprehensively audit all events that occur within the Cloud File Server recording the user, event , date/time, and IP Address. Reports can be accessed online, archived, and also exported as .cvs or excel files.

8 Governance Options

Cloud File Server Saas and Appliance users can set governance options for all users and control almost all levels of security for users.

9 Bring your own Device security

The Cloud File Server   (CFS) Admin controls which devices and access clients that each user of the Cloud File Server can connect from. By default all devices and access clients are enabled.  

The Admin can entirely disable a user or just choose to disable access from any of the devices/access clients from the users settings instantly disabling user access.