Methods and devices for securing keys for a nonsecured, distributed environment with applications to virtualization and cloud-computing security and management

Abstract

The present invention discloses methods and devices for securing keys for a non-secure computing-environment. Methods include the steps of: providing a security-key framework which is adapted, upon receiving an encryption request for protecting a secret item, for repetitively encrypting the secret item with each of a set of N location-specific secure-keys, wherein each location-specific secure-key corresponds to a respective encryption location, to create an encrypted item; wherein the locations are regions of memory located in computing resources operationally connected to the computing-environment; and concealing through encryption at least one location-specific secure-key such that the concealing is configured: to prevent at least one location-specific secure-key from ever being known in an unconcealed form on any computing resource in any computing-environment during the encrypting; and to allow mathematical operations, performed as part of the encrypting and concealing, to be performed while at least one location-specific secure-key is in its concealed form.