Security in Distributed Systems

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to give a broad overview on recent developments in securing distributed systems. Special emphasis is put on multilateral security which equally includes the mechanical protection of systems and the guided privacy preservation for users. In the cloud age, characterised by ubiquitous connectivity but also by almost sneaky data collection and activity pattern collection, such a broad view on security is warranted to not put anybody who eventually uses such complex systems at risk more than necessary. Despite extreme caution, there will never be an absolute security, and operational or interaction mistakes may still put users at risk.