Farrukh Shahzad

State-of-the-art Survey on Cloud Computing Security Challenges, Approaches and Solutions

Abstract The evolution of cloud computing has revolutionized how the computing is abstracted and utilized on remote third party infras- tructure. It is now feasible to try out novel ideas over the cloud with no or very low initial cost. Cloud computing is attractive to companies and organizations as it eliminates the requirement for them to plan ahead for provisioning, and allows them to start with small resources and increase gradually as the service demand rises. There are challenges in adopting cloud computing; but with obstacles, we have opportunities for research in several aspects of cloud computing. One of the main issue is the data security and privacy of information stored and processed at the cloud service providers systems. In this work, We surveyed several research work on cloud computing related to security challenges and privacy issues. The primary goal of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the security challenges of cloud computing and identify approaches and solutions which have been proposed and adopted by the cloud service industry.

DV-maxHop: A Fast and Accurate Range-Free Localization Algorithm for Anisotropic Wireless Networks

Localization awareness is a fundamental requirement in many Internet of Things (IoT) and other wireless sensor applications. The information transmitted by an individual entity or node is of limited use without the knowledge of its location. Research in this area is mostly geared towards multi-hop range-free localization algorithm as that only utilizes connectivity (neighbors) information. This work focuses on anchor-based, range-free localization algorithm, particularly in anisotropic networks. We observe that the pioneer Distance Vector Hop or DV-Hop algorithm, which provides accurate estimation in isotropic networks, can be enhanced to compute localization estimation for anisotropic networks with similar or comparable accuracy. The recently proposed algorithms for anisotropic networks are complex with communication and computational overheads. These algorithms may also be overkill for several location dependent protocols and applications. This paper proposes a scheme, called DV-maxHop, which reaches comparable accuracy quickly utilizing simpler, practical and proven variant of the DV-Hop algorithm. We evaluate the performance of our scheme using extensive simulation on several topologies under the effect of multiple anisotropic factors such as the existence of obstacles, sparse and non-uniform sensor distribution, and irregular radio propagation pattern. Even for isotropic networks, our scheme out-performed recent algorithms with lower computational overheads as well as reduced energy or communication cost due to its faster convergence. We also introduce the formulation and simulation of Multi-objective Optimization to obtain the optimal solution.

Effect of network topology on localization algorithm’s performance

Localization is an important part of wireless network design. In many internet of things (IoT) and other applications, the information produced by an individual entity or node is of limited use without knowledge of its location. Not only it is needed to report data that is geographically meaningful, but it is also required for services such as geographic and context-based routing protocols, location-aware services, location of sensed events in the physical world, object or target tracking, coverage area management and disaster event notification, like gas leakage detection system. This work is intended to perform comprehensive study on effects of topology on performance of existing range-free localization algorithms, in particular, localization in anisotropic network (irregular areas due to holes). We extended a simulation framework, written in Python, which is specially designed for wireless network simulation and add an interactive generic topology generator module. Our simulation framework also produces interactive charts, plots, and log all relevant simulation results for further analysis. In the first phase of our research we are interested in establishing a comprehensive simulation framework or guideline by implementing the original Distance Vector or DV-Hop algorithm. We first generate multiple isotropic and anisotropic topologies of different shapes and then simulate the DV-Hop localization algorithm. We then analyze the results statistically and visually. Our proposed contribution in this paper provides a framework and guideline to systematically and statistically study and compare different network algorithms.

An efficient MAC scheme in wireless sensor network with energy harvesting (EHWSN) for cloud based applications

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are utilized in various applications and are providing the backbone for the new pervasive Internet, or Internet of Things (IoT). Researchers are working on merging other emerging technologies and services such as cloud computing and Big data with IoT to design and build smart cities. Energy consumption is one the important constraint in the design of WSN based system. The sensor nodes typically rely on power sources like batteries which also makes it bulky. Recent advances in ambient energy harvesting technology have made it a potential alternative energy source for WSNs. However, this energy is not available continuously at the desired level and therefore the node need to utilize the sporadic availability of energy to sense and transmit the data efficiently and as quickly as possible. Energy Harvesting-based WSNs (EHWSNs) are the result of granting nodes the capability to extract energy from ambient sources. Due to limited power, it is imperative to optimize every aspect of the WSN including communication protocols. The heart of all this optimization is the medium access control (MAC) layer. In this paper, we study the performance of different MAC schemes for WSNs. Later we proposed a new scheme for better utilization of EHWSN in certain application and provide simulation and experimental results. The cloud services provide the resources to process the information from hundreds of regional IoT systems at a higher level.

Satellite Monitoring of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)

Abstract Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are one of the most important technologies of this century. There are several challenges since WSNs are usually deployed in remote and hazardous areas. One of them is how to transmit the data from all the sensor nodes efficiently to a server/database for back office application to process the information. This paper is based on a project the purpose of which was to find a way to transmit the sensor data from WSN effectively in real time to a back office application. I proposed and implemented a global, low power satellite monitoring solution for remote monitoring of WSNs. The project implements an end-to-end solution from the WSN installed in the field to a user via an internet enabled device. The project was divided into 3 semi-independent tasks: Interface with WSN and programming of the satellite terminal; XML gateway interface to receive/send/decode messages from the service provider (Honeywells message handling system) and to store the data in the database; and an interactive web application. The web application provide Fleet report (arranged by region) and message history report for each asset/unit. It also support interactive Google maps (via JavaScript based API), Google Earth (KML files) interface, for enhanced 3-D visualization of information, charts/graphs of sensor data and Excel sheet download for detailed analysis of data. The web application utilizes DHTML, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery and CSS for dynamic content of the web interface.

Human-computer interaction of single/three phase transformer design and performance

This paper presents a menu-driven, easy-to-use computer package which has been tailored at this stage to assist: (1) young electrical engineers in industry to visualize and enhance the practical use of theoretical and analytical brief notes learned in typical energy conversion courses taken at the undergraduate level, and enable them to have confidence, industry know-how process and sufficient design and performance evaluation skills on the different types of transformers; and (2) in teaching electrical machines laboratory skills to power engineering students by an interactive step-by-step approach. All experiments performed on transformers can be handled by the software to illustrate transformer design and performance details. The scope of this package is to present transformer performance in an interactive logical design procedure and to calculate core/yoke/sheets dimensions, low and high voltage windings number of turns/layers, axial length and other related dimensions.

Multi-objective optimization for a reliable localization scheme in wireless sensor networks

In many wireless sensor network (WSN) applications, the information transmitted by an individual entity or node is of limited use without the knowledge of its location. Research in node localization is mostly geared towards multi-hop range-free localization algorithms to achieve accuracy by minimizing localization errors between the nodes actual and estimated position. The existing localization algorithms are focused on improving localization accuracy without considering efficiency in terms of energy costs and algorithm convergence time. In this work, we show that our proposed localization scheme, called DV-maxHop, can achieve good accuracy and efficiency. We formulate the multi-objective optimization functions to minimize localization errors as well as the number of transmission during localization phase. We evaluate the performance of our scheme using extensive simulation on several anisotropic and isotropic topologies. Our scheme can achieve dual objective of accuracy and efficiency for various scenarios. Furthermore, the recently proposed algorithms require random uniform distribution of anchors. We also utilized our proposed scheme to compare and study some practical anchor distribution schemes.

A Review of Latest Web Tools and Libraries for State-of-the-art Visualization

Most of the existing visualization and simulation applications run on the client machine and require an installation process. Browser based interactive visualizer for scientific and medical applications remain an unheard concept despite all advancements in computer and software technology and it remains a fairly difficult process to quickly prototype a visualization on a PC or a smart device. In this paper, we review and employed state-of-the-art web technologies, third-party libraries and frameworks to compare and develop some interactive browser-based, mobile friendly web applications. These latest web technologies have the potential to fulfill the promise of interactive browser based custom visualization applications. We presented and compared some of the latest web based tools available today. We also introduced couple of lightweight and interactive web based visualizer and simulator tools which are under development.

Safe haven in the cloud: Secure access controlled file encryption (SAFE) system

The evolution of cloud computing has revolutionized how the computing is abstracted and utilized on remote third party infrastructure. It is now feasible to try out novel ideas over the cloud with no or very low initial cost. There are challenges in adopting cloud computing; but with obstacles, we have opportunities for research in several aspects of cloud computing. One of the main issue is the data security and privacy of information stored and processed at cloud providers systems. In this work, a practical system (called SAFE) is designed and implemented to securely store/retrieve users files on the third party cloud storage systems using well established cryptographic techniques. It utilizes the client-side, multilevel, symmetric/asymmetric encryption and decryption operations to provide policy-based access control and assured deletion of remotely hosted clients files. The SAFE is a generic application which can be extended to support any cloud storage provider as long as there is an API which support basic file upload and download operations.

Modern and Responsive Mobile-enabled Web Applications

Abstract Rapid web technology improvements in the last few years have powered software developers to quickly write responsive mobile-friendly applications. The innovative web frameworks and libraries make it easy to have same software code base for desktop and mobile devices. Single-page applications offer a more-native-app-like experience to the user. This also means a web application can easily be converted to a native mobile application if desired. This allows software products to be evolved continuously at a much faster pace with features added on daily basis. The software companies who can adopt these technologies will most likely see the benefit in the long run as they can offer new and modified products faster than their competitors. In this paper, we review some of the state-of-the-art web technologies, third-party libraries, and frameworks for quick interactive web development. Finally, we present a simple interactive browser-based, mobile friendly web application which was developed using one of the latest web development framework.