Microsoft wants to keep the cloud secure with its Haven technology

Microsoft Research is building on its “Drawbridge” operating system technology to try to give users more confidence in the safety of the cloud. Company officials detailed that new technology, known as “Haven,” in the “Shielding Applications from an Untrusted Cloud with Haven” research paper, shared during the 11th USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation.

Microsoft researchers have figured out a new way to keep data and applications secure in the cloud, by cordoning them off in memory from the underlying infrastructure. The approach, which Microsoft calls Haven, could help enterprises feel more comfortable using the cloud for mission-essential data and applications, said the researchers, who are presenting the approach at the USENIX Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation in Broomfield, Colorado, this week. Microsoft researchers Andrew Baumann, Marcus Peinado and Galen Hunt authored a paper about Haven, which USENIX named the best of the conference.