Working with image datasets in a secure way
Digital images are some of the most frequently exchanged types of data in the current age. The rapid development of the deep learning technology, its ever-growing need for training data as well as integration of various solutions based on artificial intelligence into different fields of industry and consumer devices renders traditional file exchange methods like e-mail or FTP obsolete. Moreover, it also sets many new challenges and standards for cloud-based services that focus on image annotation or datasets exchange & management. One of the main challenges such services face is to ensure the highest level of data security possible in the cloud environment.
Despite the growing popularity of cloud-based services, a lot of users are still reluctant to upload their image datasets into the cloud, fearing that someone might get unauthorised access to the server and that their data or research material might end up in the wrong hands. If we take under consideration the value such data might present, this kind of concerns are understandable — therefore, it is crucial to choose a service that prioritizes data security and employs only proven security measures and solutions.
In this short article we will try take a closer look at the security of Zillin — check what it has to offer and learn about its newly implemented safety feature of end-to-end encryption.
Safe space for your data
From the very beginning, Zillin has been developed with the clear goal of stability and data safety in mind. Having gained a vast experience from working with industrial users as well as providing them with complex support, we are aware of the fact that a high level of data security must be one of the key features of Zillin.
That is why we have made sure to choose a stable and proven cloud computing platform that can be safely accessed from anywhere in the world. Moreover, every Zillin user, regardless of the account type, is covered by all necessary security controls such as login authentication procedures, transmission encryption and firewall barriers.
Additionally, Professional and Enterprise plan users, who often need to work on data covered by NDA agreements and require a higher degree of access control or data security, are able to employ advanced security features like role-based control and true end-to-end encryption (Enterprise plan only), both providing additional layers of safety.
How does Zillin end-to-end encryption actually work?
When creating a new workspace, you have an option to enable workspace encryption. Selecting it will cause the creation of an encryption key. This key will be created in your browser and it will never be transferred to the cloud. Every time you enter this encrypted workspace, you will be asked for the key. Again, this key will only stay in your browser’s memory and it will be used to decrypt image data coming from the server.
The idea is quite simple — Zillin uses an extremely strong symmetric AES-256 algorithm for encrypting your image data BEFORE it is sent to the cloud. In other words, when using end-to-end encryption the image data you want to upload to Zillin will never leave your device unencrypted. Encrypted data, on the other hand, will be stored on the server as just lines of meaningless code that will be undecipherable to anybody without the encryption key that you create and it is only up to you who you will share it with.
We encrypt all image data, but not meta-data like project names, project configurations, e-mail addresses of team members and annotations. These cannot be encrypted because these are processed on the server side (while images are processed only on the browser side). However, if you consider this kind of information to be sensitive, you can use artificial project codes and synthetic e-mail aliases (e.g. 8932@zillin.io).
Can someone else see my data?
As a workspace owner you decide who gets access to your data and you control the permission allocation with predefined Zillin user roles. Our employees do not have access to your datasets and projects unless you explicitly add them to your workspaces.
As far as your encrypted workspaces are concerned, if you want to grant your team members access to them, you need to save the encryption key and share it using any secure channel of your choice.
For more information regarding Zillin security, end-to-end encryption and other relevant topics on data safety please visit our website and check Zillin FAQ. If you have any further questions regarding these or other topics please do not hesitate to contact us directly at hello@zillin.io.
