Youssef Sellami's thesis defense

Secure data management in an IoT-Fog/Edge computing architecture

Rapporteurs:

• Lyes KHOUKHI. HDR, PU. ENSICAEN, Normandie Université.

Examiners:

• Abdelmadjid BOUABDALLAH. HDR, PU. Université de technologie de Compiègne.
• Kalinka CASTELO BRANCO. Pr. University of Sao Paulo - ICMC- USP.

Thesis supervisors:

• Antoine GALLAIS. HDR, PU. LAMIH - CNRS - UMR 8201 Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France

Thesis co-supervisor

• Youcef IMINE, MC, LAMIH - CNRS - UMR 8201 - Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects the physical and digital worlds through a vast network of smart devices, generating massive amounts of data that test the limited capabilities of these devices. Emerging paradigms such as fog computing and edge computing respond to these challenges by processing data as close as possible to devices and users. However, these architectures lack robust security mechanisms for mission-critical applications.

This thesis contributes to addressing these challenges by first addressing data integrity in dynamic, distributed fog computing environments. It proposes a public verification protocol based on the Short Integer Solution (SIS) problem and identity-based signatures, enabling efficient, distributed verification of data integrity without relying on centralized third parties. This protocol guarantees authenticity, enables legitimate data modifications and reduces latency problems.

While data integrity is essential, establishing trust between interconnected systems is just as crucial. To strengthen trust, a new blockchain-based framework is being introduced, providing a transparent and traceable mechanism for assessing the reliability of events and fostering accountability. This framework calculates trust scores based on factors such as the plausibility of events, their temporal relevance and their geographical proximity, effectively identifying malicious entities and promoting reliable behavior in fog systems.

Finally, this thesis addresses the critical issue of data privacy in the face of quantum threats by proposing a collaborative cryptographic scheme based on NTRU. This scheme distributes cryptographic workloads between IoT devices and edge nodes, significantly reducing the resource requirements of constrained devices while preserving the confidentiality of sensitive data.

These contributions collectively enhance the security, trust and efficiency of IoT-fog and edge computing ecosystems, paving the way for their secure deployment in future mission-critical applications such as smart cities, Industry 4.0 and intelligent transportation systems.