CLOUD COMPUTING 2
Research Questions
What is cloud computing? How does it work?
What are the typical applications of cloud computing? Explain them.
Describe the cloud computing’s infrastructure security including at the network level, the
host level, and the application level.
Amazon’s cloud computing services is called Amazon Web Services (AWS). The most
central and well-known services are Amazon EC2 and Amazon S3. Explain these two
services of AWS.
Describe the security features of EC2 and S3 for protecting sensitive data and
applications.
Cloud Computing
“Blockchain is an ever-growing, secure, shared recordkeeping system inwhich each
user of the data holds a copy of the records, which can only be updated if a majority
of parties involved in a transaction agree to update.” (Bashir, 2023) There are
multiple elements that make up a generic blockchain. Unique addresses that
identify the senders and recipients. A transaction is the movement of value
between two addresses. A block made up of many transactions as well as
additional components. A genesis block, the initial block in a blockchain that was
hardcoded at the beginning of the blockchain, is one of the components that can be
found in a block. a nonce that is created and used just once. It offers encryption,
authentication, and replay prevention. a timestamp, representing the block's
creation time. A Merkle tree's hash of each node is called the Merkle root. which
are employed to validate big data structures safely and effectively. Lastly,
transactions serve as an event's record. For example, a cash transfer would be a
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transaction. (Bashir, 2023) The majority of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, the
most well-known blockchain application, are powered by blockchain technology. It
maintains an unchangeable record of transactions by using a dispersed network of
computers. Timestamps, part numbers, prices, and dates are among the crucial
pieces of information that are encoded in each individual block in the chain.
Because blockchain technology is decentralized, it is not dependent on a single
point of control. Rather, any transaction carried out on the network is validated by
consensus protocols among a network of nodes.
Typical Applications
Blockchain is frequently hailed as a revolutionary technology because of its inherent qualities,
which are difficult for any other form of technology to match. The combination of its
immutability, security, transparency, and decentralization qualities results in a concept known as
"trust lessness." Thanks to blockchain technology, sellers no longer need the confidence that was
previously necessary in order to sell their services. With the support of cryptographic
verification, this decentralized structure guarantees transparency, verifiability, and immutability.
Because blockchain opens up and transparentizes data in a way that financial systems have never
done before, many believe that blockchain will become the new norm for transparency. On the
blockchain, how precisely is data made transparent? Network users can utilize a block explorer,
which searches a blockchain's blocks, their contents, and other information, to view the holdings
and transactions of public addresses.
Infrastructure
Bitcoin was developed as a trading platform by Satoshi Nakamoto, who is believed to be either
an individual or a group of individuals. Unlike "traditional" fiat currencies, Bitcoin is not
controlled by a single entity but rather is created and maintained through cryptography. A few
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companies have already begun to take bitcoins in addition to fiat currency. (Kliber, 2019) There
are a variety of perspectives on the role that bitcoin plays in the economy. It is regarded as an
alternative to fiat money or as a potential part of a different kind of economy. Given its volatility
and the speed at which transactions are completed, market analysts have questioned the
usefulness of bitcoin as money. Some pundits argue that bitcoin ought to be treated more like a
tangible item, akin to gold or other precious metals. Given that bitcoin shares many qualities
(such its ability to be used as a hedge) with both gold and the dollar, its market position would
fall somewhere in the middle of the two assets. (Kliber, 2019) Blockchain technology is used by
Bitcoin. There are four basic components of bitcoin.
Software
Cryptography
Hardware
Miners (Gaming Theory)
Software: At its core, bitcoin is a piece of software that establishes its definition and protocol
for transmission. Verification of the platform's legitimacy, authorization of users, etc. It
establishes the kind of rules that a valid bitcoin must follow. Software, in this case the bitcoin
program, powers everything. The bitcoin program is always accessible seven days a week,
twenty-four hours a day.
Cryptography: The software's fundamental components are cryptography and bitcoin as a
cryptocurrency. Bitcoin uses encryption to control both the creation of new bitcoin units and
the transfer of existing bitcoin between parties. Without encryption, Bitcoin would not be
possible. We now know that the program in question uses cryptography to control bitcoin
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transactions over the internet. The mathematical method of cryptography is exclusive to
machines; humans cannot solve it. Data security requires the use of cryptography.
Hardware: In order to operate and solve, cryptography requires a lot of hardware. This
equipment was made especially for mining, which is the process of finding Nonce to verify
hashes and blocks. On the bitcoin blockchain, a lot of CPU power is needed to do a basic task.
Right present, mining bitcoin on a smartphone or home computer will result in the loss of your
computer and a hefty utility bill.
Miners (Gaming Theory): The study of game theory focuses on human rational decision-
making. In a system where a player's outcome depends on the actions of other participants,
game theory permits interactions between two or more players. The goal of each player is to
maximize his or her profit. Bitcoin makes use of game theory to make sure that reasonable
people align their interests in a particular way. They specifically affect the interactions and
behavior of the miners on the network. Since bitcoin is essentially a game that miners all over
the world play, miners are people who engage in a certain kind of gaming theory. The first part
is the bitcoin software, which is described above. Every ten minutes, it presents a cryptography
challenge. The cryptography task entails locating a Nonce that will allow the hash of a certain
block to be legitimate. (GeeksforGeeks, 2021)
Services
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that uses blockchain technology to make transactions
between users and decentralized network. The blockchain creates a public history of transactions
organized into “blocks” that are “chained” together to prevent tampering. It contains a public
key and a private key which allow the owner to initiate and digitally sign transactions. Users on
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the network use a process called mining. This confirms that new transactions are consistent with
other transactions that have been done in the past. So that you can’t spend Bitcoin that you don’t
have or that you have previously spent. So, let’s say Alice sends .05 Bitcoin to Bob. Bitcoin
payment is sent from a ledger. So, Alice and Bob would be on the ledger that is on a public
network. The ledger allows you to send and receive money and at the end of the money you can
exchange the bitcoin that you have for money. The problem is the ledger is public and anyone
can be added to the ledger. So, you would need to pick a ledger that you trust, that makes sure to
choose who it adds carefully, that way you won’t have someone that racks up a bunch of debt
that they don’t end up paying back at the end of the month. To prevent this, you can set it up
where each user puts in a certain amount of cash at the beginning of the month to convert to
bitcoin, and they can only send the amount of money that they put in. To continue with the
transaction Bob must approve of the amount being sent by Alice. This requires a digital
signature from both Alice and Bob, which constantly changes, so that the signatures cannot be
copied by just anyone. This is where cryptography and hash come into play. This changes the
amounts of zeros that are in the signatures, and it would be almost impossible for someone to
find the correct set of numbers to copy those signatures. A public key and private key are used,
and they have to be verified as the correct keys before the transaction can take place. To make
sure that Bob doesn’t say copy Alice digital signature to keep sending money, each transaction
will have a unique id to make sure each transaction is a new one. If these things cannot be
verified, then the transaction will not take place.
Security Features
How does this tie in with Biblical principles though. Arnott and Saydometov establish the Ten
Commandments of Biblical Economics of the Scriptures, and then they considered how they can
be used to evaluate the appropriateness of economic systems. The following are their Ten
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Commandments of Biblical Economics: People should have the right to be free, according to the
following tenets: (1) People Should Be Free, (2) Work Is Good, (3) Don't Steal, (4) Don't Covet,
(5) Use Honest Measures, (6) Trade Is Good, (7) Love Your Neighbor as Yourself, (8) Take
Care of Widows and Orphans, (9) Be a Good Samaritan, and (10) Honor Those in Power. They
also discussed that while some level of regulation is undoubtedly required in a sinful world, the
lesser level of regulation is more biblical than a larger one. (Shankle,2022) Bitcoin is slowly
becoming part of our economic system. It also allows people more freedom with their money
which should be a good thing. Because it uses SHA-256 it makes it harder to steal, and it allows
trade, all of which are good things in the Bible. However some see Bitcoin as a sign of the end
of times is coming. Revelation 13:17 says “No one may buy or sell except one who has the mark
or the name of the beast”. Many believe bitcoin is leading to the consolidation of economic
power which in turn leads to what Revelation 13:17 is saying. 2 Thessalonians 2:3; John 17:12
shows that the Antichrist will ascend power before the mark of the Beast is implemented which
to me means we do not need to worry about accidentally taking the mark if we purchase
cryptocurrency but it is understandable to be able to see how becoming a cashless society is
leading to a unified global economy, which in turn can lead to the End Time. Regardless of
where the financial world takes us though God will always be here and He will never abadon us.
References
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Mather, T., Kumaraswamy, S., Latif, S. (2009, September). Cloud Security and Privacy. O’Reilly
Online Learning.
https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/cloud-security-and/9780596806453/
Kabir, H. M. D., Khosravi, A., Mondal, S. K., Rahman, M., Nahavandi, S., & Buyya, R. (2022).
Uncertainty-aware Decisions in Cloud Computing. ACM Computing Surveys, 54(4), 1–30.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3447583
Kuvshinikov, J. (2022). Christ, Trust, and the Twelve Disciples: The Roles of Cognitive and
Affective Trust through Tuckman’s Four Stages of Group Development. The Journal of
Biblical Integration in Business, 25(1), 29-42.
https://cbfa-jbib.org/index.php/jbib/article/view/620/619
Velte, T., Velte, A., & Elsenpeter, R. C. (2010).MCloud Computing, A Practical Approach.
McGraw Hill.
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