Information Security in the Cloud: Emerging Trends and Challenges

This article explores the evolution of cloud computing, its advantages over traditional on-premises infrastructure, and its impact on information security. The study presents a comprehensive literature review covering various cloud infrastructure offerings and security models. Additionally, it deeply analyzes real-life case studies illustrating successful cloud migrations and highlights common information security threats in current cloud computing. The article concludes by offering recommendations to businesses to protect themselves from cloud data breaches and providing insights into selecting a suitable cloud services provider from an information security perspective.

Cloud Computing: Purpose and Future

Cloud computing is the new norm within business entities as businesses try to keep up with technological advancements and user needs. The concept is defined as a computing environment allowing for remote outsourcing of storage and computing resources. A hybrid cloud environment is an excellent example of cloud computing. Specifically, the hybrid system provides organizations with increased scalability and control over their data and support for a remote workforce. However, hybrid cloud systems are expensive as organizations operate different infrastructures while introducing complexity to the organization’s activities. Data security is critical among the most vital concerns that have resulted from the use of cloud computing, thus, affecting the rate of user adoption and acceptance. This article, borrowing from the hybrid cloud computing system, recommends combining traditional and modern data security systems. Traditional data security systems have proven effective in their respective roles, with the main challenge arising from their recognition of context and connectivity. Therefore, integrating traditional and modern designs is recommended to enhance effectiveness, context, connectivity, and efficiency.

Large Eddy Simulation of Vertical Structure and Size Density of Deep Layer Clouds

In a convective scheme featuring a discretized cloud size density, the assumed lateral mixing rate is inversely proportional to the exponential coefficient of plume size. This follows a typical assumption of-1, but it has unveiled inherent uncertainties, especially for deep layer clouds. Addressing this knowledge gap, we conducted comprehensive large eddy simulations and comparative analyses focused on terrestrial regions. Our investigation revealed that cloud formation adheres to the tenets of Bernoulli trials, illustrating power-law scaling that remains consistent regardless of the inherent deep layer cloud attributes existing between cloud size and the number of clouds. This scaling paradigm encompasses liquid, ice, and mixed phases in deep layer clouds. The exponent characterizing the interplay between cloud scale and number in the deep layer cloud, specifically for liquid, ice, or mixed-phase clouds, resembles that of shallow convection,but converges closely to zero. This convergence signifies a propensity for diminished cloud numbers and sizes within deep layer clouds. Notably, the infusion of abundant moisture and the release of latent heat by condensation within the lower atmospheric strata make substantial contributions. However, this role in ice phase formation is limited. The emergence of liquid and ice phases in deep layer clouds is facilitated by the latent heat and influenced by the wind shear inherent in the middle levels. These interrelationships hold potential applications in formulating parameterizations and post-processing model outcomes.

The Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics of Cloud Types and Phases in the Arctic Based on CloudSat and CALIPSO Cloud Classification Products

The cloud type product 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR based on CloudSat and CALIPSO from June 2006 to May 2017 is used to examine the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics and interannual variability of eight cloud types(high cloud, altostratus, altocumulus, stratus, stratocumulus, cumulus, nimbostratus, and deep convection) and three phases(ice,mixed, and water) in the Arctic. Possible reasons for the observed interannual variability are also discussed. The main conclusions are as follows:(1) More water clouds occur on the Atlantic side, and more ice clouds occur over continents.(2)The average spatial and seasonal distributions of cloud types show three patterns: high clouds and most cumuliform clouds are concentrated in low-latitude locations and peak in summer;altostratus and nimbostratus are concentrated over and around continents and are less abundant in summer;stratocumulus and stratus are concentrated near the inner Arctic and peak during spring and autumn.(3) Regional averaged interannual frequencies of ice clouds and altostratus clouds significantly decrease, while those of water clouds, altocumulus, and cumulus clouds increase significantly.(4) Significant features of the linear trends of cloud frequencies are mainly located over ocean areas.(5) The monthly water cloud frequency anomalies are positively correlated with air temperature in most of the troposphere, while those for ice clouds are negatively correlated.(6) The decrease in altostratus clouds is associated with the weakening of the Arctic front due to Arctic warming, while increased water vapor transport into the Arctic and higher atmospheric instability lead to more cumulus and altocumulus clouds.

A Model of Cloud-Based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for Small and Medium Enterprise

Cloud Computing is an uprising technology in the rapid growing IT world. The adaptation of cloud computing is increasing in very large scale business organizations to small institutions rapidly due to many advanced features of cloud computing, such as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS service models. So, nowadays, many organizations are trying to implement Cloud Computing based ERP system to enjoy the benefits of cloud computing. To implement any ERP system, an organization usually faces many challenges. As a result, this research has introduced how easily this cloud system can be implemented in an organization. By using this ERP system, an organization can be benefited in many ways;especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can enjoy the highest possible benefits from this system.

Security Implications of Edge Computing in Cloud Networks

Security issues in cloud networks and edge computing have become very common. This research focuses on analyzing such issues and developing the best solutions. A detailed literature review has been conducted in this regard. The findings have shown that many challenges are linked to edge computing, such as privacy concerns, security breaches, high costs, low efficiency, etc. Therefore, there is a need to implement proper security measures to overcome these issues. Using emerging trends, like machine learning, encryption, artificial intelligence, real-time monitoring, etc., can help mitigate security issues. They can also develop a secure and safe future in cloud computing. It was concluded that the security implications of edge computing can easily be covered with the help of new technologies and techniques.

Cloud Datacenter Selection Using Service Broker Policies:A Survey

Amid the landscape of Cloud Computing(CC),the Cloud Datacenter(DC)stands as a conglomerate of physical servers,whose performance can be hindered by bottlenecks within the realm of proliferating CC services.A linchpin in CC’s performance,the Cloud Service Broker(CSB),orchestrates DC selection.Failure to adroitly route user requests with suitable DCs transforms the CSB into a bottleneck,endangering service quality.To tackle this,deploying an efficient CSB policy becomes imperative,optimizing DC selection to meet stringent Qualityof-Service(QoS)demands.Amidst numerous CSB policies,their implementation grapples with challenges like costs and availability.This article undertakes a holistic review of diverse CSB policies,concurrently surveying the predicaments confronted by current policies.The foremost objective is to pinpoint research gaps and remedies to invigorate future policy development.Additionally,it extensively clarifies various DC selection methodologies employed in CC,enriching practitioners and researchers alike.Employing synthetic analysis,the article systematically assesses and compares myriad DC selection techniques.These analytical insights equip decision-makers with a pragmatic framework to discern the apt technique for their needs.In summation,this discourse resoundingly underscores the paramount importance of adept CSB policies in DC selection,highlighting the imperative role of efficient CSB policies in optimizing CC performance.By emphasizing the significance of these policies and their modeling implications,the article contributes to both the general modeling discourse and its practical applications in the CC domain.

Improving Satellite-Retrieved Cloud Base Height with Ground-Based Cloud Radar Measurements

Cloud base height(CBH) is a crucial parameter for cloud radiative effect estimates, climate change simulations, and aviation guidance. However, due to the limited information on cloud vertical structures included in passive satellite radiometer observations, few operational satellite CBH products are currently available. This study presents a new method for retrieving CBH from satellite radiometers. The method first uses the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and ground-based cloud radars to develop a lookup table(LUT) of effective cloud water content(ECWC), representing the vertically varying cloud water content. This LUT allows for the conversion of cloud water path to cloud geometric thickness(CGT), enabling the estimation of CBH as the difference between cloud top height and CGT. Detailed comparative analysis of CBH estimates from the state-of-the-art ECWC LUT are conducted against four ground-based millimeter-wave cloud radar(MMCR) measurements, and results show that the mean bias(correlation coefficient) is0.18±1.79 km(0.73), which is lower(higher) than 0.23±2.11 km(0.67) as derived from the combined measurements of satellite radiometers and satellite radar-lidar(i.e., Cloud Sat and CALIPSO). Furthermore, the percentages of the CBH biases within 250 m increase by 5% to 10%, which varies by location. This indicates that the CBH estimates from our algorithm are more consistent with ground-based MMCR measurements. Therefore, this algorithm shows great potential for further improvement of the CBH retrievals as ground-based MMCR are being increasingly included in global surface meteorological observing networks, and the improved CBH retrievals will contribute to better cloud radiative effect estimates.

Intelligent Solution System for Cloud Security Based on Equity Distribution:Model and Algorithms

In the cloud environment,ensuring a high level of data security is in high demand.Data planning storage optimization is part of the whole security process in the cloud environment.It enables data security by avoiding the risk of data loss and data overlapping.The development of data flow scheduling approaches in the cloud environment taking security parameters into account is insufficient.In our work,we propose a data scheduling model for the cloud environment.Themodel is made up of three parts that together help dispatch user data flow to the appropriate cloudVMs.The first component is the Collector Agent whichmust periodically collect information on the state of the network links.The second one is the monitoring agent which must then analyze,classify,and make a decision on the state of the link and finally transmit this information to the scheduler.The third one is the scheduler who must consider previous information to transfer user data,including fair distribution and reliable paths.It should be noted that each part of the proposedmodel requires the development of its algorithms.In this article,we are interested in the development of data transfer algorithms,including fairness distribution with the consideration of a stable link state.These algorithms are based on the grouping of transmitted files and the iterative method.The proposed algorithms showthe performances to obtain an approximate solution to the studied problem which is an NP-hard(Non-Polynomial solution)problem.The experimental results show that the best algorithm is the half-grouped minimum excluding(HME),with a percentage of 91.3%,an average deviation of 0.042,and an execution time of 0.001 s.

Cloud edge integrated security architecture of new cloud manufacturing system

With the rapid development of cloud manufacturing technology and the new generation of artificial intelligence technology,the new cloud manufacturing system(NCMS)built on the connotation of cloud manufacturing 3.0 presents a new business model of“Internet of everything,intelligent leading,data driving,shared services,cross-border integration,and universal innovation”.The network boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred,NCMS is facing security risks such as equipment unauthorized use,account theft,static and extensive access control policies,unauthorized access,supply chain attacks,sensitive data leaks,and industrial control vulnerability attacks.Traditional security architectures mainly use information security technology,which cannot meet the active security protection requirements of NCMS.In order to solve the above problems,this paper proposes an integrated cloud-edge-terminal security system architecture of NCMS.It adopts the zero trust concept and effectively integrates multiple security capabilities such as network,equipment,cloud computing environment,application,identity,and data.It adopts a new access control mode of“continuous verification+dynamic authorization”,classified access control mechanisms such as attribute-based access control,rolebased access control,policy-based access control,and a new data security protection system based on blockchain,achieving“trustworthy subject identity,controllable access behavior,and effective protection of subject and object resources”.This architecture provides an active security protection method for NCMS in the digital transformation of large enterprises,and can effectively enhance network security protection capabilities and cope with increasingly severe network security situations.

Enhancing Cybersecurity through Cloud Computing Solutions in the United States

This study investigates how cybersecurity can be enhanced through cloud computing solutions in the United States. The motive for this study is due to the rampant loss of data, breaches, and unauthorized access of internet criminals in the United States. The study adopted a survey research design, collecting data from 890 cloud professionals with relevant knowledge of cybersecurity and cloud computing. A machine learning approach was adopted, specifically a random forest classifier, an ensemble, and a decision tree model. Out of the features in the data, ten important features were selected using random forest feature importance, which helps to achieve the objective of the study. The study’s purpose is to enable organizations to develop suitable techniques to prevent cybercrime using random forest predictions as they relate to cloud services in the United States. The effectiveness of the models used is evaluated by utilizing validation matrices that include recall values, accuracy, and precision, in addition to F1 scores and confusion matrices. Based on evaluation scores (accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores) of 81.9%, 82.6%, and 82.1%, the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the random forest model. It showed the importance of machine learning algorithms in preventing cybercrime and boosting security in the cloud environment. It recommends that other machine learning models be adopted to see how to improve cybersecurity through cloud computing.

Analysis of Secured Cloud Data Storage Model for Information

This paper was motivated by the existing problems of Cloud Data storage in Imo State University, Nigeria such as outsourced data causing the loss of data and misuse of customer information by unauthorized users or hackers, thereby making customer/client data visible and unprotected. Also, this led to enormous risk of the clients/customers due to defective equipment, bugs, faulty servers, and specious actions. The aim if this paper therefore is to analyze a secure model using Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) base 64 algorithms for storage of data in cloud securely. The methodology used was Object Orientated Hypermedia Analysis and Design Methodology (OOHADM) was adopted. Python was used to develop the security model;the role-based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to enhance security Algorithm were integrated into the Information System developed with HTML 5, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) version 3 and PHP7. This paper also discussed some of the following concepts;Development of Computing in Cloud, Characteristics of computing, Cloud deployment Model, Cloud Service Models, etc. The results showed that the proposed enhanced security model for information systems of cooperate platform handled multiple authorization and authentication menace, that only one login page will direct all login requests of the different modules to one Single Sign On Server (SSOS). This will in turn redirect users to their requested resources/module when authenticated, leveraging on the Geo-location integration for physical location validation. The emergence of this newly developed system will solve the shortcomings of the existing systems and reduce time and resources incurred while using the existing system.

Quantum-Edge Cloud Computing for IoT: Bridging the Gap between Cloud, Edge, and Quantum Technologies

The rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) has driven the need for advanced computational frameworks capable of handling the complex data processing and security challenges that modern IoT applications demand. However, traditional cloud computing frameworks face significant latency, scalability, and security issues. Quantum-Edge Cloud Computing (QECC) offers an innovative solution by integrating the computational power of quantum computing with the low-latency advantages of edge computing and the scalability of cloud computing resources. This study is grounded in an extensive literature review, performance improvements, and metrics data from Bangladesh, focusing on smart city infrastructure, healthcare monitoring, and the industrial IoT sector. The discussion covers vital elements, including integrating quantum cryptography to enhance data security, the critical role of edge computing in reducing response times, and cloud computing’s ability to support large-scale IoT networks with its extensive resources. Through case studies such as the application of quantum sensors in autonomous vehicles, the practical impact of QECC is demonstrated. Additionally, the paper outlines future research opportunities, including developing quantum-resistant encryption techniques and optimizing quantum algorithms for edge computing. The convergence of these technologies in QECC has the potential to overcome the current limitations of IoT frameworks, setting a new standard for future IoT applications.

Building Facade Point Clouds Segmentation Based on Optimal Dual-Scale Feature Descriptors

To address the current issues of inaccurate segmentation and the limited applicability of segmentation methods for building facades in point clouds, we propose a facade segmentation algorithm based on optimal dual-scale feature descriptors. First, we select the optimal dual-scale descriptors from a range of feature descriptors. Next, we segment the facade according to the threshold value of the chosen optimal dual-scale descriptors. Finally, we use RANSAC (Random Sample Consensus) to fit the segmented surface and optimize the fitting result. Experimental results show that, compared to commonly used facade segmentation algorithms, the proposed method yields more accurate segmentation results, providing a robust data foundation for subsequent 3D model reconstruction of buildings.

The Future of Cloud Computing: Benefits and Challenges

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better knowledge of the cloud computing as well as to suggest relevant research paths in this growing field. Also, we will go through the future benefits of cloud computing and the upcoming possible challenges we will have. Intext Cloud, performance, cloud computing, architecture, scale-up, and big data are all terms used in this context. Cloud computing offers a wide range of architectural configurations, including the number of processors, memory, and nodes. Cloud computing has already changed the way we store, process, and access data, and it is expected to continue to have a significant impact on the future of information technology. Cloud computing enables organizations to scale their IT resources up or down quickly and easily, without the need for costly hardware upgrades. This can help organizations to respond more quickly to changing business needs and market conditions. By moving IT resources to the cloud, organizations can reduce their IT infrastructure costs and improve their operational efficiency. Cloud computing also allows organizations to pay only for the resources they use, rather than investing in expensive hardware and software licenses. Cloud providers invest heavily in security and compliance measures, which can help to protect organizations from cyber threats and ensure regulatory compliance. Cloud computing provides a scalable platform for AI and machine learning applications, enabling organizations to build and deploy these technologies more easily and cost-effectively. A task, an application, and its input can take up to 20 times longer or cost 10 times more than optimal. Cloud products’ ready adaptability has resulted in a paradigm change. Previously, an application was optimized for a specific cluster;however, in the cloud, the architectural configuration is tuned for the workload. The evolution of cloud computing from the era of mainframes and dumb terminals has been significant, but there are still many advancements to come. As we look towards the future, IT leaders and the companies they serve will face increasingly complex challenges in order to stay competitive in a constantly evolving cloud computing landscape. Additionally, it will be crucial to remain compliant with existing regulations as well as new regulations that may emerge in the future. It is safe to say that the next decade of cloud computing will be just as dramatic as the last where many internet services are becoming cloud-based, and huge enterprises will struggle to fund physical infrastructure. Cloud computing is significantly used in business innovation and because of its agility and adaptability, cloud technology enables new ways of working, operating, and running a business. The service enables users to access files and applications stored in the cloud from anywhere, removing the requirement for users to be always physically close to actual hardware. Cloud computing makes the connection available from anywhere because they are kept on a network of hosted computers that carry data over the internet. Cloud computing has shown to be advantageous to both consumers and corporations. To be more specific, the cloud has altered our way of life. Overall, cloud computing is likely to continue to play a significant role in the future of IT, enabling organizations to become more agile, efficient, and innovative in the face of rapid technological change. This is likely to drive further innovation in AI and machine learning in the coming years.

Point Cloud Classification Using Content-Based Transformer via Clustering in Feature Space

Recently, there have been some attempts of Transformer in 3D point cloud classification. In order to reduce computations, most existing methods focus on local spatial attention,but ignore their content and fail to establish relationships between distant but relevant points. To overcome the limitation of local spatial attention, we propose a point content-based Transformer architecture, called PointConT for short. It exploits the locality of points in the feature space(content-based), which clusters the sampled points with similar features into the same class and computes the self-attention within each class, thus enabling an effective trade-off between capturing long-range dependencies and computational complexity. We further introduce an inception feature aggregator for point cloud classification, which uses parallel structures to aggregate high-frequency and low-frequency information in each branch separately. Extensive experiments show that our PointConT model achieves a remarkable performance on point cloud shape classification. Especially, our method exhibits 90.3% Top-1 accuracy on the hardest setting of ScanObjectN N. Source code of this paper is available at https://github.com/yahuiliu99/PointC onT.

基于Spring Cloud的分布式医疗数据平台建设

为解决互联网时代医疗大数据的可靠存储问题,探索异构数据的有效处理方案,加强医疗数据检索能力。提出一种基于Spring Cloud的分布式医疗数据平台建设方案,该方案通过Spring Cloud技术构建分布式架构,选取MongoDB非关系型数据库作为分布式存储,同时对数据进行标准化、分词等操作,从而实现一个异构数据可存储、系统高可用、规模易扩展、检索高效率的医疗数据平台。

A Blockchain and CP-ABE Based Access Control Scheme with Fine-Grained Revocation of Attributes in Cloud Health

The Access control scheme is an effective method to protect user data privacy.The access control scheme based on blockchain and ciphertext policy attribute encryption(CP–ABE)can solve the problems of single—point of failure and lack of trust in the centralized system.However,it also brings new problems to the health information in the cloud storage environment,such as attribute leakage,low consensus efficiency,complex permission updates,and so on.This paper proposes an access control scheme with fine-grained attribute revocation,keyword search,and traceability of the attribute private key distribution process.Blockchain technology tracks the authorization of attribute private keys.The credit scoring method improves the Raft protocol in consensus efficiency.Besides,the interplanetary file system(IPFS)addresses the capacity deficit of blockchain.Under the premise of hiding policy,the research proposes a fine-grained access control method based on users,user attributes,and file structure.It optimizes the data-sharing mode.At the same time,Proxy Re-Encryption(PRE)technology is used to update the access rights.The proposed scheme proved to be secure.Comparative analysis and experimental results show that the proposed scheme has higher efficiency and more functions.It can meet the needs of medical institutions.

MCWOA Scheduler:Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm for Task Scheduling in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing provides a diverse and adaptable resource pool over the internet,allowing users to tap into various resources as needed.It has been seen as a robust solution to relevant challenges.A significant delay can hamper the performance of IoT-enabled cloud platforms.However,efficient task scheduling can lower the cloud infrastructure’s energy consumption,thus maximizing the service provider’s revenue by decreasing user job processing times.The proposed Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm called Modified Chimp-Whale Optimization Algorithm(MCWOA),combines elements of the Chimp Optimization Algorithm(COA)and the Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA).To enhance MCWOA’s identification precision,the Sobol sequence is used in the population initialization phase,ensuring an even distribution of the population across the solution space.Moreover,the traditional MCWOA’s local search capabilities are augmented by incorporating the whale optimization algorithm’s bubble-net hunting and random search mechanisms into MCWOA’s position-updating process.This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach using a two-story rigid frame and a simply supported beam model.Simulated outcomes reveal that the new method outperforms the original MCWOA,especially in multi-damage detection scenarios.MCWOA excels in avoiding false positives and enhancing computational speed,making it an optimal choice for structural damage detection.The efficiency of the proposed MCWOA is assessed against metrics such as energy usage,computational expense,task duration,and delay.The simulated data indicates that the new MCWOA outpaces other methods across all metrics.The study also references the Whale Optimization Algorithm(WOA),Chimp Algorithm(CA),Ant Lion Optimizer(ALO),Genetic Algorithm(GA)and Grey Wolf Optimizer(GWO).

基于POC CLOUD智能管理云平台的即时检验教学探索

目的探讨使用POC CLOUD智能管理云平台培养住培学员掌握即时检验(point-of-care testing,POCT)各设备的工作原理、操作技能,使其具备一定的质量控制管理能力,保证结果的准确性。方法结合《住培学员规范化培训内容与标准(2022年版)》要求及科室POCT教学开展情况,利用POC CLOUD智能管理云平台,信息化、规范化地培养住培学员。结果通过POC CLOUD智能管理云平台管理住培学员操作POCT设备的资格准入,帮助住培学员快速了解轮转科室POCT设备的使用现状,提高住培学员的学习能力及质量控制能力,帮助住培学员分析与审核检验结果。结论基于POC CLOUD智能管理云平台的即时检验教学,有助于系统化培养住培学员,提升其在POCT操作和质量控制方面的能力,确保检验结果的准确性和可靠性,提高住培学员的综合素质。