On a real world implementation of advanced authentication mechanism in a Multi-tenant Cloud Service Delivery Platform

This paper presents findings from a significant Business-University collaborative Project to develop a complex Cloud Service Delivery Platform (CSDP). The project is highly complex and multidimensional. The project is concerned with the manipulation and service provision for highly sensitive data via a secure CSDP. The reported findings are primarily concerned with the security aspect of the developed CSDP. The paper presents a relatively novel solution adopted in the project for enhanced security, which was successfully implemented as part of the CSDP. This solution is a hybrid authentication approach based on a Single-Sign-On and Two-Factor Authentication. This hybrid authentication system was implemented using only Open Source Tools. In addition, a conceptual framework of how this solution can be integrated for multi-tenancy settings in provided. The paper also provides the reader with a concise classification of security concerns specific to the project as well as the adopted Security-Aware Design approach and Cloud Adoption Model.