Abstract
Recent advances in edge computing~(EC) have pushed cloud-based data caching
services to edge, however, such emerging edge storage comes with numerous
challenging and unique security issues. One of them is the problem of edge data
integrity verification (EDIV) which coordinates multiple participants (e.g.,
data owners and edge nodes) to inspect whether data cached on edge is
authentic. To date, various solutions have been proposed to address the EDIV
problem, while there is no systematic review. Thus, we offer a comprehensive
survey for the first time, aiming to show current research status, open
problems, and potentially promising insights for readers to further investigate
this under-explored field. Specifically, we begin by stating the significance
of the EDIV problem, the integrity verification difference between data cached
on cloud and edge, and three typical system models with corresponding
inspection processes. To thoroughly assess prior research efforts, we
synthesize a universal criteria framework that an effective verification
approach should satisfy. On top of it, a schematic development timeline is
developed to reveal the research advance on EDIV in a sequential manner,
followed by a detailed review of the existing EDIV solutions. Finally, we
highlight intriguing research challenges and possible directions for future
work, along with a discussion on how forthcoming technology, e.g., machine
learning and context-aware security, can augment security in EC. Given our
findings, some major observations are: there is a noticeable trend to equip
EDIV solutions with various functions and diversify study scenarios; completing
EDIV within two types of participants (i.e., data owner and edge nodes) is
garnering escalating interest among researchers; although the majority of
existing methods rely on cryptography, emerging technology is being explored to
handle the EDIV problem.