I started my PhD 3 months ago and have been reading research papers in the area of mobile cloud security. Actually I have found a quite a few nice papers but I cannot decide how to choose the exact topic or title for further research. I have read about security issues for the mobile cloud and made one report of the exiting frameworks and possible solution given by the researchers. But still I am feeling lost in deciding on a proper plan for the future.
This could be Mobile cloud computing (MCC) or CC. In both the cases the problem is same but in MCC we do care of light weight applications
You can follow the following steps:
1. Write a survey on the existing security issues in mobile cloud.
2. Identify 1-2 research problems by focusing issues of the existing systems/techniques.
3. Considering issues of the existing techniques, propose enhancements or novel techniques.
There are many interesting topics in Cloud Computing (in general) that encompass mobile clouds as well. You may want to look at the storage security issues in cloud computing which is still an open problem. To make it more understandable for you, when you offshore your data to a cloud service provider, would you store encrypted data with the cloud? If yes, then the cloud service provider may not be able to process it for any service that you may want AND what if that data is needed to be shared with somebody else? Would you like to store the data in plaintext? In that case, cloud service provider may abuse your data in any form. This is just a very simple example though. In general, you can look at the storage security issues in Clouds. I hope it gives you a direction at least.
Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) has revolutionized the way in which mobile subscribers across the globe leverage
services on the go. The mobile devices have evolved from mere devices that enabled voice calls only a few years back to smart
devices that enable the user to access value added services anytime, anywhere. MCC integrates cloud computing into the mobile
environment and overcomes obstacles related to performance (e.g. battery life, storage, and bandwidth), environment (e.g.
heterogeneity, scalability, availability) and security (e.g. reliability and privacy).
You can go into a very technical topic of trustzone virtualuzation on ARM based mobiles. Here is a link,
http://soda.swedish-ict.se/5456/
Many academic and commercial groups are focusing on this subject.
I also have an interest in this area and one of the problems with cloud computing and the cloud based applications when it comes to mobility is their consistent availability and ability to give the user what they really need. One of the problems is the device (Battery life and processing power) and the other is availability of good network coverage (Geographical demography) Some places are not covered by the 3G leave alone the 4G LTE networks and this makes it hard to implement cloud based applications and solutions.
Although cloud computing gives many opportunities, it has its own drawbacks. As Mohammad Momeni mentioned, privacy is the main concern of the Cloud Computing. No one guarantees that the service providers share the information with third parties. In case of hackers' attack, sensitive data could be breached to the unauthorized individuals. Many cloud based mobile applications store user information on their servers including wast amount of unnecessary information. Nowadays, because of popularity of big data, vendors try to collect as much as information from the users without the consent of the users. It would be a great idea if you include those issues.
This could be Mobile cloud computing (MCC) or CC. In both the cases the problem is same but in MCC we do care of light weight applications
Mobile Cloud Computing:A Case of Mobile Device Users
Mobile Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing for Mobile Device Users
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