Secure Vault: A privacy preserving reliable architecture for Secure Social Networking

Abstract

Social Networking Sites(SNS) are becoming the preferred medium for internet users to stay connected. Unfortunately, there are numerous threats to the privacy and security of users' personal data shared on these sites. Some third party privacy and security enhancing applications and solutions are available, but they only give a piece meal solution. The need of the hour is to design and develop a Secure Social Networking Site (SSNS) which addresses users concerns right from design stage. This paper proposes a novel architecture for a Secure Social Networking Site called "Secure Vault". Secure Vault addresses the privacy and security issues of a user by interleaving the concepts of data dislocation, fake information and encryption. In a unique solution to restrict unauthorized viewing by visitors we propose presenting to the unauthorized visitors "fake" information, rather than blocking out the visitor, an approach currently adopted by the existing SNSs. The architecture shields users' private data by using encryption and enhances reliability of storage of critical and sensitive data by dislocating it to user specified servers.