Combining Usability and Privacy Protection in Free-Access Public Cloud Storage Servers: Review of the Main Threats and Challenges

TL;DR

This paper reviews the main threats and challenges in combining usability and privacy protection in free public cloud storage, emphasizing the need for security measures to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and proper backup.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of the current threats, challenges, and existing functionalities in public cloud storage services related to privacy and usability.

Findings

Identifies key threats to data privacy in public cloud storage.

Highlights challenges in ensuring data integrity and confidentiality.

Reviews existing security functionalities in popular cloud services.

Abstract

The 21st century belongs to the world of computing, specially as a result of the so-called cloud computing. This technology enables ubiquitous information management and thus people can access all their data from any place and at any time. In this landscape, the emergence of cloud storage has had an important role in the last five years. Nowadays, several free-access public cloud storage services make it possible for users to have a free backup of their assets and to manage and share them, representing a low-cost opportunity for Small and Medium Companies (SME). However, the adoption of cloud storage involves data outsourcing, so a user does not have the guarantee about the way her data will be processed and protected. Therefore, it seems necessary to endow public cloud storage with a set of means to protect users' confidentiality and privacy, to assess data integrity and to guarantee a proper backup of information assets. Along this paper we discuss the main challenges to achieve such a goal, underlining the set of functionalities already implemented in the most popular public cloud storage services.