Authentication and authorisation in entrusted unions

This paper reports on the status of a project whose aim is to implement and demonstrate in a real-life environment an integrated eAuthentication and eAuthorisation framework to enable trusted collaborations and delivery of services across different organisational/governmental jurisdictions. This aim will be achieved by designing a framework with assurance of claims, trust indicators, policy enforcement mechanisms and processing under encryption to address the security and confidentiality requirements of large distributed infrastructures. The framework supports collaborative secure distributed storage, secure data processing and management in both the cloud and offline scenarios and is intended to be deployed and tested in two pilot studies in two different domains, viz, Bio-security incident management and Ambient Assisted Living (eHealth). Interim results in terms of security requirements, privacy preserving authentication, and authorisation are reported

Towards distributed architecture for collaborative cloud services in community networks

Internet and communication technologies have lowered the costs for communities to collaborate, leading to new services like user-generated content and social computing, and through collaboration, collectively built infrastructures like community networks have also emerged. Community networks get formed when individuals and local organisations from a geographic area team up to create and run a community-owned IP network to satisfy the community’s demand for ICT, such as facilitating Internet access and providing services of local interest. The consolidation of today’s cloud technologies offers now the possibility of collectively built community clouds, building upon user-generated content and user-provided networks towards an ecosystem of cloud services. To address the limitation and enhance utility of community networks, we propose a collaborative distributed architecture for building a community cloud system that employs resources contributed by the members of the community network for provisioning infrastructure and software services. Such architecture needs to be tailored to the specific social, economic and technical characteristics of the community networks for community clouds to be successful and sustainable. By real deployments of clouds in community networks and evaluation of application performance, we show that community clouds are feasible. Our result may encourage collaborative innovative cloud-based services made possible with the resources of a community.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Review of the environmental and organisational implications of cloud computing: final report.

Cloud computing – where elastic computing resources are delivered over the Internet by external service providers – is generating significant interest within HE and FE. In the cloud computing business model, organisations or individuals contract with a cloud computing service provider on a pay-per-use basis to access data centres, application software or web services from any location. This provides an elasticity of provision which the customer can scale up or down to meet demand. This form of utility computing potentially opens up a new paradigm in the provision of IT to support administrative and educational functions within HE and FE. Further, the economies of scale and increasingly energy efficient data centre technologies which underpin cloud services means that cloud solutions may also have a positive impact on carbon footprints. In response to the growing interest in cloud computing within UK HE and FE, JISC commissioned the University of Strathclyde to undertake a Review of the Environmental and Organisational Implications of Cloud Computing in Higher and Further Education [19]

Urban Health Informatics through Cloud-Based Data Integration

Cloud-based data integration is critical for effective urban health informatics solutions. Data from multiple sources, such as electronic health records (EHRs), public health databases, wearable devices, social media, and environmental sensors, are consolidated into a single cloud-based platform. This study examines the advantages of cloud-based integration platforms in urban health informatics, focusing on data aggregation, scalability, data interoperability, real-time data processing, collaborative research and analytics, enhanced data security and privacy, and cost efficiency.Cloud-based platforms enable the aggregation of diverse data types and formats from various sources, providing a comprehensive view of urban health for better analysis and decision-making. These platforms also offer scalability, accommodating the exponential growth of health data in urban areas by scaling resources based on demand, ensuring efficient data integration. Data interoperability is facilitated by cloud-based integration platforms, supporting data exchange formats and health information standards. This enables seamless data sharing and integration among healthcare providers, public health agencies, and urban planning departments, promoting collaboration and improving urban health outcomes. Real-time data processing capabilities allow for timely information in urban health scenarios. Early detection of disease outbreaks, emergency response, and resource allocation are enhanced through real-time data analysis. Cloud-based integration platforms provide a centralized environment for collaborative research and analytics. Stakeholders can securely access and analyze integrated data, gaining insights into health trends and developing evidence-based interventions. Advanced analytics and predictive modeling are facilitated by machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms