Eclipse Particle Cloud Security (PCS) protects stored data by distributing it across multiple independent storage providers. Each provider holds only fragments of the protected representation, and no single provider can recover the customer’s plaintext from what it stores alone. PCS reduces reliance on a single provider, where one operator, one jurisdiction, or a security incident at one site could otherwise put customer data at risk. The design combines secret-sharing principles, one-time pad–style protection using high-entropy random noise, and RAID‑3-style redundancy for recovery when a stream or provider fails. PCS aims to meet these goals with deliberately simple, stream-oriented mechanisms and a minimal layout of three storage providers.
Eclipse PCS provides reusable open source components for protecting data across multiple independent storage providers—particle-stream distribution, parity recovery, and cross-provider integrity checks—plus Go-based reference code, APIs, and documentation for integrators. Reference work may continue with storage ecosystems such as rclone and versitygw where useful for validation.
The project’s primary implementation language is Go, but the community may add implementations in other programming languages where that improves adoption. Likewise, reference projects—for example a mobile client that uses PCS through the published APIs—may be contributed to illustrate end-to-end integration.
PCS also offers an optional Stealth module for secure transfer to the cloud, based on combinatorial explosion—in contrast to the stateless core storage design, this path introduces state.
In summary, the Eclipse Particle Cloud Security (PCS) project provides vendor-neutral, open source technology for multi-provider storage protection, improving data sovereignty by ensuring no single provider can recover customer plaintext from its store alone, while supporting recovery and embedding in existing storage software and services.
Eclipse Particle Cloud Security (PCS) is a focused technology building block rather than a complete end-user platform. Its purpose is to provide reusable mechanisms for multi-provider storage protection that other systems can integrate.
Eclipse is a suitable home for PCS because the project is intended to evolve as vendor-neutral infrastructure with open governance, public technical review, and low barriers for adoption by open source and industrial software. PCS is deliberately narrow in scope and designed as a reusable component rather than as part of a single proprietary product line.
PCS is also motivated by digital sovereignty for individuals, organizations, and countries. Open development under the Eclipse Foundation helps ensure transparency, portability, and independent scrutiny of the protection mechanisms as they mature from early prototypes toward integrator-ready components.
The first incubation goal is to confirm—with the community—that PCS is a useful embeddable technology and to agree on its primary form (Go library, standalone service, integration modules, or a combination).
Technical work will focus on consolidating the early prototype code into a coherent core, defining stable APIs and metadata, documenting architecture and security assumptions, and improving integration points for storage software (including object-storage interfaces and reference work with ecosystems such as rclone and versitygw).
Structural work will align repository layout and release practices with Eclipse requirements and gather integrator feedback. If the approach proves valuable, later milestones may add reference integrations, stronger interoperability testing, additional language implementations, and optional reference applications (for example a mobile client) as described in Scope.
Near term: Consolidate prototype code into a maintainable core Go module and integration modules; document architecture, security assumptions, and APIs.
Mid term: Release an integrator-oriented version for pilot deployments and partner feedback.
Further: Reference integrations, additional language bindings, and optional reference clients as adoption grows.
Julian Lipinski contributed expertise in legal/GDPR, energy/critical infrastructure, and project management.
Philippe Dahmen contributed domain expertise in sustainability project security.
- Log in to post comments