The project advanced the state of the art in various aspects. In order to explain the expected results and the potential impact generated, we are grouping the results into four layers, i.e. Primitives, Tools, Services and Applications.
On the Primitives layer PRISMACLOUD advanced the state-of-the-art in various cryptographic fields. Cryptographic methods were improved and adapted to fit the requirements that have been derived from the use cases developed within the project. Advancement of cryptographic methods and protocols towards more flexibility, functionality, efficiency and stronger provable security guarantees was a basic prerequisite for generating impact.
The Tools layer encapsulates the so called PRISMACLOUD toolkit which comprises five novel technologies developed within the project and make the research output more tangible. Tools describe how cryptography can be combined to provide useful functionality and are accompanied with software implementations which help to build real world applications in a convenient and efficient way. We developed tools for secure object storage, flexible authentication with selective disclosure, verifiable data processing, infrastructure certification and data privacy. All tools provide new security and/or privacy properties not available today in the cloud market.
In the service layer we developed eight new services based on the specific tools developed. The services expose the functionality of the PRISMACLOUD tools in a way that they can easily be accessed via the Web. The services were designed in a domain independent manner and with broad application fields in mind, therefore, they can be commercialized right after the project by partners in different form and providers like Interoute can directly extend their offerings. Furthermore, some of the services do not even require a full access to the data center they run in, i.e. they can be directly deployed on public cloud services. Finally, the potential impact on the service layer is expected to be substantial, because the services give application developers an easy way to access the cryptographic tools developed and integrate them in their applications.
To outreach to end users and demonstrate the higher level of security of PRISMACLOUD services we were piloting the use cases in three domains. The use cases were the first to support the new features of the secure services in the project and demonstrated the benefit for end users.
