Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency Detection and Mitigation

Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency Detection and Mitigation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency Detection and Mitigation Walid Ben Mesmia, Zied Trifa, Mourad Zinelabidine, Kamel Barkaoui This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739795/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 2 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The rise of digitalization and cloud computing has increased organizational dependence on information systems, enhancing efficiency but also exposing new vulnerabilities. In multi-tenant cloud environments, virtual machine co-residency creates critical risks such as side-channel attacks and hypervisor exploitation, requiring robust, adaptive security models beyond conventional measures. To tackle these issues, we propose the Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency (CCoR-HSPN), a formal modeling framework that integrates Stochastic Petri Nets (SPNs)} with the paradigm of mobile agents. The model employs multiple probability distributions (Exponential, Normal, Log-normal, and Poisson) to represent both the firing times of stochastic transitions and the residence times of tokens. It also distinguishes between discrete and continuous places, thereby qualifying as a true hybrid Petri Net. Moreover, a mobile agent acts as an active token that continuously supervises all system events, while a token coloring mechanism enables the clear identification of virtual machines (victims or attackers) and allocated resources. Finally, the model is mapped onto a Markov state graph, offering both macroscopic and microscopic perspectives for simulation and security analysis. The effectiveness of CCoR-HSPN is demonstrated through a case study inspired by existing research. The results highlight its potential for accurate detection and mitigation of co-residency threats, providing a comprehensive, flexible, and coherent tool for cloud security analysis. This work thus contributes to the growing body of research that combines formal modeling with intelligent monitoring to strengthen the trust, resilience, and competitiveness of cloud environments Multi-agent system Stochastic Petri Nets Cloud Co-residency Mitigation Security Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 04 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7739795","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600581200,"identity":"6916ae97-1451-4496-96a3-7264617fe346","order_by":0,"name":"Walid Ben Mesmia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFUlEQVRIie3SMUvDQBTA8VcK6XIljq9Y9CtcKVwoCH6Vk0KyZHAKnTRTXFpc029Rl863iEvofOUNjYtThkzSIaAXdfSs3QTvD7lAyI+7Bwfgcv3B+NebmaejpPd2ew/gtV/83xAwpNtZpp9kkB4gHykwZKUOkKC3eFzVzXro59NSlYnXHevpS1nPAAOLmcw34XaZEUMdciU3zBM6DEZ5AThUloPpWFA/JQYkubrKkAktxWk/gxu0zbKrBDUNsXOKakM4jvPotSVoJZoJAo8Yp7jdRXKOsfiRTOax2C7MLKNddW1mURKLKhnkBVpJ0CuE3jd0eVY8PTzvEyX9u2iN9ezCSr7pRLbrEcDcFHXM3y6Xy/UPegct42JdemRCNAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1270-5916","institution":"ENIT: Ecole Nationale d'Ingenieurs de Tunis","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Walid","middleName":"Ben","lastName":"Mesmia","suffix":""},{"id":600581201,"identity":"c384329a-cdf2-41d0-a139-18942e0f3dbf","order_by":1,"name":"Zied Trifa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Université de Sfax: Universite de Sfax","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zied","middleName":"","lastName":"Trifa","suffix":""},{"id":600581203,"identity":"bebd41c5-998a-46f9-8f45-b1394277889a","order_by":2,"name":"Mourad Zinelabidine","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Gabes: Universite de Gabes","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mourad","middleName":"","lastName":"Zinelabidine","suffix":""},{"id":600581204,"identity":"e6fc366d-6cd5-4358-bedf-e8998d9ce035","order_by":3,"name":"Kamel Barkaoui","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"CNAM: Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kamel","middleName":"","lastName":"Barkaoui","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-29 08:46:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739795/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739795/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105727612,"identity":"37539c7a-0ff1-48aa-b3d9-79f56e032a50","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-30 10:55:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":611659,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ArticleTitle11.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7739795/v1_covered_873b2dbf-b343-4019-b231-c4500d2c349a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency Detection and Mitigation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"soft-computing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"soco","sideBox":"Learn more about [Soft Computing](https://www.springer.com/journal/500)","snPcode":"500","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/500/3","title":"Soft Computing","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Multi-agent system, Stochastic Petri Nets, Cloud, Co-residency, Mitigation, Security","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739795/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7739795/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The rise of digitalization and cloud computing has increased organizational dependence on information systems, enhancing efficiency but also exposing new vulnerabilities. In multi-tenant cloud environments, virtual machine co-residency creates critical risks such as side-channel attacks and hypervisor exploitation, requiring robust, adaptive security models beyond conventional measures.\nTo tackle these issues, we propose the Hybrid Stochastic Petri Nets for Cloud Co-Residency (CCoR-HSPN), a formal modeling framework that integrates Stochastic Petri Nets (SPNs)} with the paradigm of mobile agents. The model employs multiple probability distributions (Exponential, Normal, Log-normal, and Poisson) to represent both the firing times of stochastic transitions and the residence times of tokens. It also distinguishes between discrete and continuous places, thereby qualifying as a true hybrid Petri Net. Moreover, a mobile agent acts as an active token that continuously supervises all system events, while a token coloring mechanism enables the clear identification of virtual machines (victims or attackers) and allocated resources. 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