The Modular Approach to Cloud Security (MACS) project is charged to address the grand challenges in building secure cloud services. MACS is funded by a 5 year, $10 million Frontier grant from the National Science Foundation’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program.

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The goal of the Modular Approach to Cloud Security project is to develop techniques and tools for building information systems with meaningful multi-layered security guarantees. Arguably, reasoning about all the security aspects of systems “in one blow” is not feasible. The approach we take is thus modular: We aim at systems that are built from smaller and separable functional components, where the security of each component is asserted individually, and where security of the system as a whole can be derived from the security of its components. Because this composition can be performed in multiple ways, we also aim to inform and empower users so they can personalize the security guarantees offered by the cloud to suit their objectives.

The team — made up of researchers from Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Connecticut and Northeastern University — comprises experts in all aspects of information security and cryptography.  The research is highly collaborative and pools together key areas of expertise in order to provide overall security guarantees. A key component of the project is the Massachusetts Open Cloud, which provides the research team with a testbed for deploying and testing the developed mechanisms in a production cloud.

Visit the MACS Project Description for more details.

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