Distributed secure virtual file system using hysteresis signatures

In this paper, we describe a secure distributed file system using hysteresis signatures. Although tremendous amounts of information are stored on file servers, it is impractical to have a professional and reliable person to manage such information, especially for small organizations. Also, setting up RAID or multiple servers for the purpose of fault toler- ance is a difficult and time-consuming task. We introduced a distributed secure file system in a previous work. However, since the proposed file system was problematic from the viewpoint of computer forensics, we propose here a new method using hysteresis signatures. The confidentiality of information of files is maintained since files are encrypted and distributed among the PCs of the users. Operation logs are securely saved on the system, and log is chained one by one. Moreover, the logs are exchanged by several PCs and users in order to make the system safer than the existing one.