Cloud computing technology is rapidly becoming ubiquitous and indispensable. However, its widespread adoption also exposes organizations and individuals to a broad spectrum of potential threats. Despite the multiple advantages the cloud offers, organizations remain cautious about migrating their data and applications to the cloud due to fears of data breaches and security compromises. In light of these concerns, this study has conducted an in-depth examination of a variety of articles to enhance the comprehension of the challenges related to safeguarding and fortifying data within the cloud environment. Furthermore, the research has scrutinized several well-documented data breaches, analyzing the financial consequences they inflicted. Additionally, it scrutinizes the distinctions between conventional digital forensics and the forensic procedures specific to cloud computing. As a result of this investigation, the study has concluded by proposing potential opportunities for further research in this critical domain. By doing so, it contributes to our collective understanding of the complex panorama of cloud data protection and security, while acknowledging the evolving nature of technology and the need for ongoing exploration and innovation in this field. This study also helps in understanding the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of cloud digital forensics, which is found to be quite high at ≈16.53% from 2023 to 2031. Moreover, its market is expected to reach ≈USD 36.9 billion by the year 2031; presently, it is ≈USD 11.21 billion, which shows that there are great opportunities for investment in this area. This study also strategically addresses emerging challenges in cloud digital forensics, providing a comprehensive approach to navigating and overcoming the complexities associated with the evolving landscape of cloud computing.

Secure exchange of sensitive information between different entities is a serious challenge in today’s environment. Therefore, various cryptosystems have been created specifically for this purpose. Various operations are used in these cryptosystems. The most common operations used are substitution and permutation. The substitution-box (S-box), a look-up table that takes x bits as input and replaces them with y bits, is responsible for the substitution operation. The construction of an S-box with strong cryptographic attributes is an essential part of building a robust and secure cryptosystem.Numerous researchers have dedicated their efforts to devising intricate techniques for constructing S-boxes. In this study, a novel approach is proposed to design a robust and dynamic S-box based on a compound-chaotic map. The suggested method for constructing the S-box is characterized by its simplicity and resilience. Notably, the Tent-Sine chaotic system significantly expands the chaotic range, setting it apart from other chaotic systems and rendering it more suitable for cryptographic applications. This research introduces a promising avenue for enhancing the security and effectiveness of S-boxes, contributing to the advancement of cryptographic systems. A number of widely accepted metrics, such as Non-Linearity (NL), Strict Avalanche Criterion (SAC), Bit Independence Criterion (BIC), Linear Probability (LP), and Differential Probability (DP), are extensively exercised for the analysis and evaluation of the proposed S-Box’s cryptographic strength. The results of the proposed of S-box are compared with the S-boxes of other researchers, and it is observed that it is cryptographically sound and worthy of inclusion in modern cryptosystems.

The continuous evolution and proliferation of computer technology and our increasing dependence on computer technology have created a new class of threats: "cyber threats." These threats can be defined as activities that can undermine a society's ability to maintain internal or external order while using information technology. Cyber threats can be mainly divided into two categories, namely cyber-terrorism and cyber-warfare. A variety of malware programs are often used as a primary weapon in these cyber threats. A significant amount of research work has been published covering different aspects of cyber threats, their countermeasures, and the policy-making for cyber laws. This article aims to review the research conducted in various important aspects of cyber threats and provides synthesized information regarding the fundamentals of cyber threats; discusses the countermeasures for such threats; provides relevant details of high-profile cyber-attacks; discusses the developments in global policy-making for cyber laws, and lastly presents promising future directions in this area.

Traditional chaotic maps struggle with narrow chaotic ranges and inefficiencies, limiting their use for lightweight, secure image encryption in resource-constrained Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). We propose the SPCM, a novel one-dimensional discontinuous chaotic system integrating polynomial and sine functions, leveraging a piecewise function to achieve a broad chaotic range () and a high Lyapunov exponent (5.04). Validated through nine benchmarks, including standard randomness tests, Diehard tests, and Shannon entropy (3.883), SPCM demonstrates superior randomness and high sensitivity to initial conditions. Applied to image encryption, SPCM achieves 0.152582 s (39% faster than some techniques) and 433.42 KB/s throughput (134% higher than some techniques), setting new benchmarks for chaotic map-based methods in WSNs. Chaos-based permutation and exclusive or (XOR) diffusion yield near-zero correlation in encrypted images, ensuring strong resistance to Statistical Attacks (SA) and accurate recovery. SPCM also exhibits a strong avalanche effect ( bit difference), making it an efficient, secure solution for WSNs in domains like healthcare and smart cities.

Conventional Substitution-boxes (S-boxes) used in symmetric-key cryptography are typically static or generated through deterministic pseudo-random processes, making them vulnerable to long-term structural analysis, precomputation, and learning-based cryptanalytic attacks. To address these limitations, this paper proposes OTQuSbox, a quantum-assisted session-based framework for constructing dynamic one-time 8×8 S-boxes with secure seed synchronization. The proposed model combines quantum-derived entropy with deterministic algebraic transformations in GF(2⁸), including multiplicative inversion, primitive-element exponentiation, and affine hardening, to achieve both unpredictability and mathematical verifiability. A noisy 8-qubit quantum circuit with whitening is employed to generate high-entropy seeds, while an ephemeral Elliptic Curve Diffie–Hellman (ECDH)-based protocol enables communicating parties to securely reconstruct identical session-specific S-boxes without transmitting the S-box itself. Experimental analysis demonstrates that the generated S-boxes satisfy essential cryptographic criteria, achieving maximum nonlinearity of 108, average SAC of 0.4998, BIC nonlinearity of 103.71, differential uniformity of 10, and linear probability of 0.0625. NIST SP 800-22 randomness evaluation over 1000 trials further confirms the statistical quality of the proposed quantum seed generator. Unlike conventional static designs such as the AES S-box, OTQuSbox introduces instance-level structural diversity while preserving deterministic validation and practical efficiency, making it a promising candidate for adaptive and security-critical cryptographic applications.

For numerous decades, dynamic programming (DP) is being used as a powerful algorithmic tool similar to a divide-and-conquer approach for problem-solving. When using DP to solve larger problems, optimal solutions for sub-problems are re-used and not recomputed. Several articles and books have been written on DP, however, students of computer science all around the world still struggle to understand it. In this article, the concept of DP is explained with the help of examples in a step-by-step approach. Later in the article, a survey was conducted to compare the proposed approach with state-of-the-art Cormen’s approach based on the parameters of organization, understandability, and easiness. The proposed approach outperformed the Cormen’s approach by 75.73% on the parameters of organization, understandability, and easiness.