Integrity Coded Databases (ICDB) - An Evaluation of Efficiency, Performance, and Practicality

Recently, cloud database storage has become an inexpensive and convenient option to store information; however, this relatively new area of service can be vulnerable to security breaches. Storing data in a foreign location requires the owner to relinquish control of their information. This opens the possibility for internal, malicious attacks that can involve the manipulation, omission, or addition of data. Our research tests a potential solution for retaining data as it was intended to be stored (known as integrity) in these cloud-stored databases: by converting the original databases to Integrity-Coded Databases (ICDB). ICDBs utilize Integrity Codes: cryptographic codes created for the data by a private key that only the data owner has access to. When the database is queried, an integrity code is returned along with the queried information. The owner is able to verify that the information is correct, complete, and fresh. Consequently, ICDBs also incur performance and memory penalties. In our research, we explore, test, and benchmark ICDBs to determine the costs and benefits of maintaining an ICDB versus a standard database.