cloud

Secrecy.me, Cloudflare, Google Drive, Google Cloud, Onedrive, iCloud… : what is the cloud ?

The "cloud" refers to "cloud computing", an Anglo-Saxon term that designates a model of computer organization that allows access to digital resources whose storage is outsourced on several servers and which are generally accessible from anywhere in the world via the Internet. The use of the "cloud" allows to have access to calculation, storage and security capacities much more important than with a simple desktop computer (servers located in secure datacenters, equipped with calculation capacities, RAM, and very important hard disk capacities).

For businesses, using a cloud reduces the need to invest in expensive structures for maintaining and securing hard drives and servers.

To create a cloud, a physical machine will be used to create virtual machines (principle of "virtualization") which will function in appearance as independent machines, but which will in fact be hosted on the same physical machine. The virtual machines are isolated from each other, and the content of one is not accessible by the other.

The cloud allows adaptability (adequacy of the mobilization of hardware and software resources to the real needs of users), sharing and pooling of data, and accessibility from anywhere in the world through the Internet.

Several models of cloud computing exist classically:

IaaS : Infrastructure as a Service. It is the rental of the necessary hardware to create a cloud. It's a bit like renting an empty house. You have to furnish it and then make purchases to fill the fridge and live in it. Renting IaaS therefore requires skills to administer machines, virtualize, and create applications. Examples of IaaS include: Microsoft Azure, Amazon web services (AWS) instances, Google compute engine, Numergy, Openstack...
PaaS : Plateform as a Service. This is the rental of the hardware and middleware necessary to create a cloud. It's a bit like renting a furnished house, you just have to fill the fridge to live in it. Renting PaaS requires the ability to virtualize servers and create applications. As an example of PaaS, we can cite: SAP cloud, Héroku, Docker, AWS elastic beanstalk, ibm cloud foundry, OVH, Gandi, Red Hat Open Shift, Orange business services...
SaaS : Software as a Service. SaaS applications are hosted on cloud servers and accessible via the Internet. Users can use the service without having to own the servers or install software on their device. It's a bit like renting a house that is already furnished and equipped with all the comforts and consumables ready to be used. You come in empty-handed and you can use it. This is a form of renting cloud space that includes infrastructure, middleware, and services. Examples of SaaS are: Dropbox, Google G suite, Microsoft office 365, salesforce, slack, zendesk, hubpot...
FaaS : Function-as-a-Service. This new model has emerged recently. FaaS, also known as serverless computing, breaks down cloud applications into smaller pieces that are only used when needed. Imagine renting out parts of a house on an as-needed basis: the tenant only pays for the bathroom when he goes to the bathroom, the pool when he goes swimming, the kitchen when he cooks, and when he's not in those rooms, he doesn't have to pay rent for it. Example of FaaS: Secrecy.tech

Locked

Secrecy, Mega.nz, Cryptomator, boxcryptor, pdrive, doctolib, proton cloud : what is an encrypted cloud ?

An encrypted cloud is a storage space (which can otherwise be hosted by any provider) in which files are deposited encrypted with end-to-end encryption technology.

End-to-end data encryption and encrypted storage keeps data secure by ensuring that only the owner of the key can decrypt it.

So what's important is who has the key.

Some cloud providers keep the key for their customers. This means they can access the data, even if it is encrypted. Other providers use a trusted third party to whom the key is entrusted. In this case, the risks are limited to cases where the trusted third party would access the data (in case of buyout of the trusted third party by the hosting provider or by the service provider for example). Finally, in the case of Secrecy.me for example, there is no trusted third party. It is the user who keeps his key. There is therefore no risk that a third party who does not have the key can access the data. Similarly, the key can be entrusted to a trusted third party of the user's choice, but the user is free to choose who will be worthy of this trust (a close friend, a notary, an employee, a family member, a specialized company...).

In cryptography, encryption (sometimes mistakenly called ciphering) is an operation that consists in transforming a message to be transmitted, called the "plaintext message", into another message, unintelligible to a third party, called the "encrypted message", in order to ensure the secrecy of its transmission to a recipient who would possess the (de)encryption key.

The main purpose of encryption is therefore to guarantee the confidentiality of digital data stored on computer systems or transmitted via the Internet or other networks. This information can include anything from payment data to personal information to health data.

The principles of encryption are based on the notion of encryption algorithms and "keys". The security of an encryption system is based on the secrecy of the encryption key, not the algorithm. Indeed, the Kerckhoffs principle assumes that the person who wants to decrypt the coded message knows the algorithm used.

Encryption is a primary technique used for data security, and it is the simplest and most important way to ensure that information in a computer system cannot be stolen and read by someone who would like to use it for malicious purposes.

Beyond the obvious need to protect private information from theft or threat, encryption also provides security for the following :

Authentication : can be used to prove that the information is authentic and comes from the source from which it claims to come.
Integrity : It can be used to prove that the content of a message has not been modified since it was sent.
Non-repudiation : allows to verify the origin of a message and to prevent the sender of a message to deny having sent this message.

The term "encryption" would be an Anglicism, taken from the English word encryption, itself coming from the Greek kryptô (hidden). In French, the word chiffrement should be used. The French Academy has specified that the word "cryptage" is to be banned and that it does not appear in its dictionary even if it is commonly used.

Advantages

Secrecy Cloud : quels avantages ?

Secrecy.me is an easy-to-use encryption service for everyone, allowing the storage, exchange and sharing of encrypted files. With Secrecy.me, the user encrypts their files on their device before sending them over the network, protecting their data with the most advanced encryption technologies. Storage is free up to 15 GB. The servers used by Secrecy.me are in France and meet the most robust European security standards. The service is interoperable and works from anywhere. Developers around the world can use the Secrecy.tech API to create privacy-respecting online services from the same Secrecy.me account, thereby protecting their users' data.

Where are Secrecy's servers ?

Our servers are with hosting providers in France, in particular Scaleway and OVH. These French servers respect the highest levels of security standards.

Crypted

What is symmetric or asymmetric cryptography ?

An encryption system is called symmetric when it uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt data.

Asymmetric encryption uses a public key / private key pair, which allows data to be encrypted (with the public key) and decrypted (with the private key). The public key cannot be used to decrypt the data, and the private key cannot be deduced from the public key.

During an exchange between two people, the receiver can provide his public key to the sender to allow him to encrypt the data before sending it to him, and then the receiver can decrypt the data using his private key, that only he has.

Whether one or the other of these types of encryption is used depends on the end use. For example, symmetric encryption is commonly used to encrypt files. However, the longer the encryption key, the more the encryption / decryption steps will be greedy in terms of calculation on large files. Asymmetric encryption eliminates the problem of secure transmission of the key, and allows electronic signature. It does not replace symmetric systems, however, because its computation times are significantly longer and asymmetric cryptography is more vulnerable to attacks by nature.

That's why, at Secrecy.me, we use symmetric cryptography to encrypt your data, and asymmetric cryptography to allow you to send the key to the recipient of your choice, without the need for a trusted third party. We also offer you the best compromise between security and computing time.

Keyboard

What is the difference between Secrecy and other online crypto services ?

In most of the other existing services, the private key which makes it possible to decrypt the data is entrusted to a “trusted third party” (generally a company), the choice of which is generally fixed at the outset by the platform which offers the service. There is thus a theoretical risk in the event of collusion between the host of the encrypted files and the trusted third party who would provide the key to decrypt them.

With Secrecy.me, the user keeps their private key on their computer, tablet, or phone, and there is no longer any need for this enforced trusted third party. The user can nevertheless also entrust his key, or part of it, to a trusted third party (natural person such as a notary, a relative, or a legal person such as a company or an association) of his choice. This can be done in paper or electronic form, at the user's choice.

Door

Why is it important to know who has the key ?

Decryption of a file or message requires that the key to decrypt it is accessible. Usually, a user identifies himself in an application and gives the encryption key to the service provider or to a trusted third party. In the first case, the service provider has access to the data in the clear. In the second case, there is a theoretical risk of access to the data in the event of collusion of the trusted third party with the file host (if one buys the other for example), or in the event of hacking of both.

In cases where it is the user who keeps the key, these risks no longer exist. This is the basic operating principle of Secrecy.me: everything is encrypted before sending, so that on the network, your data is protected. And on your Secrecy account, all the data