Information Flow Security Models for Cloud Computing

Cloud computing provides services to users through Internet.This open mode not only facilitates the access by users,but also brings potential security risks.In cloud computing,the risk of data leakage exists between users and virtual machines.Whether direct or indirect data leakage,it can be regarded as illegal information flow.Methods,such as access control models can control the information flow,but not the covert information flow.Therefore,it needs to use the noninterference models to detect the existence of illegal information flow in cloud computing architecture.Typical noninterference models are not suitable to certificate information flow in cloud computing architecture.In this paper,we propose several information flow models for cloud architecture.One model is for transitive cloud computing architecture.The others are for intransitive cloud computing architecture.When concurrent access actions execute in the cloud architecture,we want that security domain and security domain do not affect each other,that there is no information flow between security domains.But in fact,there will be more or less indirect information flow between security domains.Our models are concerned with how much information is allowed to flow.For example,in the CIP model,the other domain can learn the sequence of actions.But in the CTA model,the other domain can’t learn the information.Which security model will be used in an architecture depends on the security requirements for that architecture.