DropStore: A Secure Backup System Using Multi-Cloud and Fog Computing

Abstract

Data backup is essential for disaster recovery. Current cloud-based solutions offer a secure infrastructure. However, there is no guarantee of data privacy while hosting the data on a single cloud. Another solution is using Multi-Cloud technologies. Although using multiple clouds to save smaller pieces of the data can enhance data privacy, it comes at the cost of the need for the edge device to manage different accounts and manage the communication with different clouds. These drawbacks made this technology rare to use technology. In this paper, we propose DropStore to provide an easy-to-use, highly secure, and reliable backup system using state-of-the-art Multi-Cloud and encryption techniques. DropStore adds an abstraction layer for the end-user to hide all system complexities using a locally hosted device, "the Droplet", that is fully managed by the user. Hence, the user does not rely on any untrusted third party. This was achieved using Fog Computing technology. The uniqueness of DropStore comes from the convergence of Multi-Cloud and Fog Computing principles. The system implementation is open-source and available online. Performance results show that the proposed system improves data protection in terms of reliability, security, and privacy preservation while maintaining a simple and easy interface with edge devices.