Together with an explosive growth of the mobile applications and emerging of cloud computing concept, mobile cloud computing (MCC) has been introduced to be a potential technology for mobile services. MCC integrates the cloud computing into the mobile environment and overcomes obstacles related to the performance (e.g., battery life, storage, and bandwidth), environment (e.g., heterogeneity, scalability, and availability), and security (e.g., reliability and privacy) discussed in mobile computing. This paper gives a survey of MCC, which helps general readers have an overview of the MCC including the definition, architecture, and applications. The issues, existing solutions, and approaches are presented. In addition, the future research directions of MCC are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A survey of mobile cloud computing: architecture, applications, and approaches

An intelligent automated assistant system engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialog, and invokes external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions. The system can be implemented using any of a number of different platforms, such as the web, email, smartphone, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system is based on sets of interrelated domains and tasks, and employs additional functionally powered by external services with which the system can interact.

Intelligent Automated Assistant

A novel system and methodology for conducting financial and other transactions using a wireless device. Credentials may be selectively issued by issuers such as credit card companies, banks, and merchants to consumers permitting the specific consumer to conduct a transaction according to the authorization given as reflected by the credential or set of credentials. The preferred mechanism for controlling and distributing credentials according to the present invention is through one or more publicly accessible networks such as the Internet wherein the system design and operating characteristics are in conformance with the standards and other specific requirements of the chosen network or set of networks. Credentials are ultimately supplied to a handheld device such as a mobile telephone via a wireless network. The user holding the credential may then use the handheld device to conduct the authorized transaction or set of transactions via, for example, a short range wireless link with a point-of-sale terminal.

Method and apparatus for managing credentials through a wireless network

Mobile systems have limited resources, such as battery life, network bandwidth, storage capacity, and processor performance. These restrictions may be alleviated by computation offloading: sending heavy computation to resourceful servers and receiving the results from these servers. Many issues related to offloading have been investigated in the past decade. This survey paper provides an overview of the background, techniques, systems, and research areas for offloading computation. We also describe directions for future research.

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A Survey of Computation Offloading for Mobile Systems

Past, present and future of mobile payments research: A literature review

Cloud computing is clearly one of today's most enticing technology areas due, at least in part, to its cost-efficiency and flexibility. However, despite the surge in activity and interest, there are significant, persistent concerns about cloud computing that are impeding momentum and will eventually compromise the vision of cloud computing as a new IT procurement model. In this paper, we characterize the problems and their impact on adoption. In addition, and equally importantly, we describe how the combination of existing research thrusts has the potential to alleviate many of the concerns impeding adoption. In particular, we argue that with continued research advances in trusted computing and computation-supporting encryption, life in the cloud can be advantageous from a business intelligence standpoint over the isolated alternative that is more common today.

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Controlling data in the cloud: outsourcing computation without outsourcing control

We present a framework for agreements in pervasive environments called the Universal Pervasive Transaction Framework (UPTF) for parties transacting in wireless insecure environments using mobile devices. We discuss one type of such agreement with commercial interest, namely mobile payments from a payer to a payee. We have implemented two complete systems for purchasing and payment with mobile devices utilizing UPTF. The first introduces a special purpose, new mobile device called the Universal Pervasive Transaction Device (UPTD) and the second utilizes J2ME-capable mobile phones.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/9259/29413/01331708.pdf

Wireless wallet

Copilot is a coprocessor-based kernel integrity monitor for commodity systems. Copilot is designed to detect malicious modifications to a host's kernel and has correctly detected the presence of 12 real-world rootkits, each within 30 seconds of their installation with less than a 1% penalty to the host's performance. Copilot requires no modifications to the protected host's software and can be expected to operate correctly even when the host kernel is thoroughly compromised - an advantage over traditional monitors designed to run on the host itself.

/pdf/copilot-a-coprocessor-based-kernel-runtime-integrity-monitor-2wvatq2v8x.pdf

Copilot - a coprocessor-based kernel runtime integrity monitor

Cloud computing is a natural fit for mobile security. Typical handsets have input constraints and practical computational and power limitations, which must be respected by mobile security technologies in order to be effective. We describe how cloud computing can address these issues. Our approach is based on a flexible framework for supporting authentication decisions we call TrustCube (to manage the authentication infrastructure) and on a behavioral authentication approach referred to as implicit authentication (to translate user behavior into authentication scores). The combination results in a new authentication paradigm for users of mobile technologies, one where an appropriate balance between usability and trust can be managed through flexible policies and dynamic tuning.

/pdf/authentication-in-the-clouds-a-framework-and-its-application-1ngjux45xj.pdf

Authentication in the clouds: a framework and its application to mobile users

A method for implementing a mobile trusted platform module includes establishing a connection with a first remote host device via a remote interface. The method also includes authenticating the connection. The method further includes, upon authenticating the connection, allowing the first remote host device to access a securely stored first application within a mobile trusted platform module.

Jesus Molina

Papers

Controlling data in the cloud: outsourcing computation without outsourcing control

Wireless wallet

Copilot - a coprocessor-based kernel runtime integrity monitor

Authentication in the clouds: a framework and its application to mobile users

Method and System for Implementing a Mobile Trusted Platform Module