Fog Computing Expo: Security Considerations and Implementation for Fog Platforms
Don Banks
Distinguished Engineer, CTG Architecture
Fog Platforms provide a scalable set of networking, storage, and compute resources that require a secure infrastructure in order to support a multi-tenant environment that supports hosting applications from multiple sources and advanced features such as NfV and chained services. As such, they need to be designed to provide Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, along with the appropriate Access Control policy implementation (AAA). Such systems are often described as Trustworthy. This begins with the establishment of a Hardware Root of Trust (ROT) at power on, and which can be extended upwards - a Chain of Trust, through hardware, firmware, and the software that defines the platform (untrusted chains also need to be supported, but need to be sandboxed by trusted services). Data on storage media, such as disk, (data at rest), should be encrypted at the file level and all access should be controlled. All data coming in from the network and all data leaving the platform (data in motion) via the network should be encrypted and access controlled as well. The ability to encrypt and decrypt at wire speeds is critical. The execution environment must provide as small of an isolated TCB as possible and ensure that it guarantees Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. Technologies such as hardware-based processor, i/o, and device virtualization for isolation, as well as solutions for secure key generation, validation and storage (e.g., Intel’s and AMD’s VTx, VTd and ARM’s virtualization, AMD’s Platform Security Processor, ARM’s TrustZone, and Intel’s TXT and SGX, and a TPM with TRNG) are key to providing a secure system for Fog implementations. This talk will address these issues and others, both solved and unsolved, around designing a secure Fog Platform.