Advances in Security, Trust, and Privacy in Cloud–Edge–Terminal Collaborative Networks

Dear Colleagues,

The computing paradigm is rapidly shifting from centralized, cloud-centric models toward a distributed, hierarchical architecture known as cloud–edge–terminal collaboration. This architecture leverages the massive computational power of the cloud, the low-latency processing capabilities of edge computing, and the pervasive sensing abilities of terminal devices. Cloud–edge–terminal collaboration serves as the core foundation for transformative technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things, smart cities, autonomous systems, and augmented reality. However, its distributed and highly dynamic nature introduces a complex and vast attack surface. Traditional security models, designed for perimeter-based defense, are no longer adequate. The complex flow of data across the cloud, edge, and terminal layers poses severe challenges to ensuring end-to-end security, establishing verifiable trust among heterogeneous entities, and protecting user privacy amidst pervasive data collection and processing. The increasing complexity of modern networks, coupled with the rapid development of next-generation communication technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, makes research on security, trust, and privacy in cloud–edge–terminal collaborative networks more critical than ever.

This Special Issue aims to gather the latest research advances in this field to address the novel and multifaceted security, trust, and privacy challenges inherent in cloud–edge–terminal collaborative networks. We seek to explore innovative architectures, models, and protocols that can provide comprehensive protection for this integrated ecosystem. The goal is to showcase cutting-edge progress so as to facilitate the secure and trustworthy realization of next-generation applications.

We invite the submission of original research and review articles on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Adversarial attacks and defenses on AI models in collaborative inference scenarios, model poisoning detection and mitigation, and advanced schemes for using trust mechanisms to enhance AI model reliability.
• Development of efficient, low-power-consumption security and privacy-preserving mechanisms tailored for resource-constrained edge and terminal devices.
• Secure and efficient service migration and offloading mechanisms for different layers and devices in heterogeneous collaborative environments.
• Zero-trust architectures for distributed cloud–edge environments.
• Dynamic trust evaluation and reputation systems for nodes and services.
• Decentralized trust models leveraging blockchain and distributed ledger technology.
• Trusted federated learning and split learning for privacy-aware, cross-device model training.
• AI-driven threat intelligence and anomaly detection across cloud, edge, and terminal computing.
• Verifiable computation and attestation for cloud–edge–terminal integrity.
• Secure data transmission and sharing schemes that guarantee data privacy and regulatory compliance.

Dr. Weidong Fang
Dr. Chunsheng Zhu
Dr. Yepeng Ni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Future Internet is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• distributed cloud–edge environments
• privacy and security Mechanisms
• distributed AI and defense