Word of the Day: Melbourne shuffle algorithm

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms |August 29, 2017

Melbourne shuffle algorithm The Melbourne shuffle algorithm is a sequence of actions intended to obscure the patterns by which cloud-based data is accessed. The goal is to make it difficult for unauthorized parties to draw conclusions about what type of data is being stored in the cloud by observing patterns that emerge as the data is accessed. Even when data is encrypted, details about how often the data is accessed or what action is taken after the data has been accessed can be revealing. By analyzing digital footprints, an outsider can predict such things as who is likely to own a particular data set or what business announcement is likely to correlate with a particular access pattern. As with a deck of cards, a data shuffle rearranges the array to achieve a random permutation of its elements. The Melbourne shuffle moves small amounts of data from the cloud server to the user's local memory, where it is rearranged before being returned to the server. Even when the same user repeatedly accesses the same data, shuffling ensures the access path will not be consistent. The algorithm, which obfuscates the access pattern by making them look quite random, was written by computer scientists at Brown University in 2014. It is named for another kind of shuffle -- a popular dance move in Australia during the 1990s. Quote of the Day "The Melbourne Shuffle is an algorithm that its authors believe will improve existing oblivious storage options as it's computationally more efficient than previous models." - Michael Cobb   Trending Terms access storage array cloud storage algorithm cloud storage providers digital footprint obfuscation   Learning Center To manage cloud-based healthcare applications, focus on security Cloud-based healthcare applications are popular among hospital end users, but IT should prioritize security and set policies to protect health information. How does the Melbourne Shuffle prevent data access pattern recognition? Expert Michael Cobb explains how the Melbourne Shuffle can help prevent hackers from being able to complete data access pattern recognition. Challenges with data protection in the cloud Learn about data protection in the cloud. There are many challenges with data protection in the cloud since capabilities such as encryption and DLP can be complicated. Architectural firm explains move to cloud-based data storage Cloud-based data storage speeds file performance and eliminates the problems when multiple versions of files are used simultaneously by workers. Skills and temperament drive success in cloud-based data science Despite the need for more talent in cloud-based data science, not everyone has the right combination of tech skills and temperament to succeed as a data scientist. Quiz Yourself In this service model, a large company might rent space in their storage infrastructure to a smaller company or individual. a. utility storage b. virtual storage Answer       Stay In Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com   Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed!   FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2016 TechTarget. All rights reserved.