OmniShare: Encrypted Cloud Storage for the Multi-Device Era

• Published in: IEEE internet computing Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 27 - 36
• Main Authors: Paverd, Andrew, Tamrakar, Sandeep, Nguyen, Hoang Long, Pendyala, Praveen, Nguyen, Thien Duc, Stobert, Elizabeth, Grondahl, Tommi, Asokan, N., Sadeghi, Ahmad-Reza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-07-2018
• Subjects: access controls; Cloud computing; data sharing; Data storage systems; Encryption; Password; Synchronization
• ISSN: 1089-7801; 1941-0131
• DOI: 10.1109/MIC.2018.043051462

Two attractive features of cloud storage services are (1) the automatic synchronization of files between multiple devices and (2) the possibility of sharing files with other users. However, many users are concerned about the security and privacy of data stored in the cloud. Client-side encryption is an effective safeguard, but it requires all client devices to have the decryption key. Current solutions derive these keys from user-chosen passwords, which are easily guessed. We present OmniShare, the first scheme to combine strong client-side encryption with intuitive key distribution mechanisms to enable access from multiple client devices and sharing between users. OmniShare uses a novel combination of out-of-band channels (including QR codes and ultrasonic communication), as well as the cloud storage service itself, to authenticate new devices. We describe the design and implementation of OmniShare and explain how we evaluated its security (using formal methods), its performance (benchmarks), and its usability (cognitive walkthrough).