A novel evidential reasoning based method for software trustworthiness evaluation under the uncertain and unreliable environment

Many software trustworthiness evaluation (STE) problems include both quantitative and qualitative indicators with unreliability and various kinds of uncertainties. In this paper, a novel evidential reasoning (ER) based STE method is developed to model these problems. Considering the reliability of objective and subjective trustworthiness evaluations, two discounting factor estimation approaches to STE are proposed to meet the demands of the unreliable trustworthiness evaluations pretreatment. In order to characterize the degree of evaluation unreliability, the utility theory based trustworthiness evaluation distance is constructed to characterize the degree of evaluation. An intelligent software embedded in the liquid metal detection system is evaluated by the ER based STE method to demonstrate its detailed implementation process, and its validity and applicability.     

A software trustworthiness evaluation model using objective weight based evidential reasoning approach

Evaluation of software trustworthiness is an extensively investigated topic. A lot of software trustworthiness evaluation (STE) models and systems have been proposed in the literature. While scholars have concentrated their efforts on the design and development of trustworthiness metrics, other STE characteristics have been neglected, such as various types of uncertainties and objective of the attribute weights determination. This paper focuses on the STE problems that include both quantitative and qualitative indicators with uncertainties. We propose an objective weight based evidential reasoning approach that employs total uncertainty measure to solve STE problems with specific trustworthiness requirements. A complex software is evaluated by the proposed STE model to demonstrate its applicability and effectiveness.     

User feature-aware trustworthiness measurement of cloud services via evidence synthesis for potential users

Cloud computing can provide elastic and dynamic resources on demand, which facilitates service providers to make profits resulting from the long tail effect. It becomes vitally important to ensure that cloud services can be acceptable to more potential users. However, it is challenging for potential users to discover the trustworthy cloud services due to the deficiency of usage experiences and the information overload of QoE (quality of experience) evaluations from consumers. This paper presents a user feature-aware trustworthiness measurement approach for potential users. In this approach, the influence factors of QoE are systematically analyzed based on the user feature model and the quantitative computation methods are designed to measure the user feature similarity. In addition, employing FAHP (fuzzy analytic hierarchy process) method identifies the user feature community. To enhance the accuracy of trustworthiness measurement, the false evidences in QoE evaluations are iteratively filtered out with dynamic mean distance threshold. Finally, the trustworthiness of service is measured via evidence synthesis combining user feature similarity. The experiments show that this approach is effective to improve the quality of trustworthiness measurement, which is helpful to solve information overload problem and cold start problem of trusted service recommendation for potential users.     

Intuitionistic fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making method based on evidential reasoning

An approach based on interval belief degrees and fuzzy evidential reasoning analytical algorithm is developed for multi-criteria decision problems with uncertainties. The criteria weights are represented by interval numbers and criteria values by triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. The proposed approach does not need to utilize the theories such as arithmetic operations for Triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers, for it can remove the influence of the limitations existed in the arithmetic operations. A numerical example is also provided to illustrate the rationality and utility of the proposed method.     

基于扩展原理的混合型证据推理不确定决策方法

提出一种基于扩展原理的混合证据推理不确定决策模型.通过α截集将同一决策问题中各属性使用的精确数、区间数和模糊数等异构评估信度统一分解为区间结构,采用区间证据推理方法求解各隶属度下的效用区间,并按隶属度次序重组方案效用;化简模糊数质心公式,并用于模糊定量评估的信度计算和方案模糊效用的排序;最后,通过具体实例验证了所提出方法的有效性和可行性.将该方法在算例中的适用情况进行比较和分析,结果表明所提出的方法具有良好的适应性.     

Evidential reasoning‐based nonlinear programming model for MCDA under fuzzy weights and utilities

In a multiple‐criteria decision analysis (MCDA) problem, qualitative information with subjective judgments of ambiguity is often provided by people, together with quantitative data that may also be imprecise or incomplete. There are several uncertainties that may be considered in an MCDA problem, such as fuzziness and ambiguity. The evidential reasoning (ER) approach is well suited for dealing with such MCDA problems and can generate comprehensive distributed assessments for different alternatives. Many researches in dealing with imprecise or uncertain belief structures have been conducted on the ER approach. In this paper, both triangular fuzzy weights of criteria and fuzzy utilities assigned to evaluation grades are introduced to the ER approach, which may be incurred in several circumstances such as group decision‐making situation. The Hadamard multiplicative combination of judgment matrix is extended for the aggregation of triangular fuzzy judgment matrices, the result of which is applied as the fuzzy weights used in the fuzzy ER approach. The consistency of the aggregated triangular fuzzy judgment matrix is also proved. Several pairs of ER‐based programming models are designed to generate the total fuzzy belief degrees and the overall expected fuzzy utilities for the comparison of alternatives. A numerical example is conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于证据推理的嵌入式软件可信性评估方法*

传统的可信性评估模型通常使用软件度量医逻辑验证方法进行定量估计,在应用于体系结构复杂、可信度要求较高的嵌入式软件时,依然存在可信需求不明确、专家主观认知无法集成等问题.在分析嵌入式软件可信需求的基础上,构建一种基于证据推理方法的嵌入式软件可信性评估模型,并定义证据合成算子和效用估算模型以实现多样化可信证据的一致融合与量化.仿真实验验证了该模型在解决嵌入式软件可信性评估问题时的合理性与有效性.     

构件化软件系统安全性分析技术研究

复杂系统的软件安全性分析中存在众多的含糊表述和不确定性问题,主观评价和模糊集理论即为处理此类问题的有效方法。首先对复杂软件涉及到的安全性要素进行模糊数学化表述,按照构件化的思想,对单个构件/模块的安全度进行分析,进而利用Dempster-Shafer证据理论对整个软件系统进行安全度综合,实现对软件系统的安全性分析和评估,最终按照DO-178B标准给出软件的安全等级,并通过实例加以说明。     

Induced Ordered Weighted Evidential Reasoning Approach for Multiple Attribute Decision Analysis with Uncertainty

We are primarily concerned with the problem of aggregating multiple attributes with uncertainty to form an overall decision function. We introduce a new type of approach for aggregation called an induced ordered weighted evidential reasoning (IOWER) approach, which is inspired by an induced ordered weighted averaging operator and the evidential reasoning (ER) approach. In the IOWER approach, we use a belief decision matrix combined with an induced ordered weighting vector for problem modeling and the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence for attribute aggregation. It is proved that the original ER algorithm is a special case of the IOWER algorithm. Then we examine the properties of the IOWER approach. One key point in the IOWER approach is to reorder the arguments in the form of distributed assessment structure. A kind “expected utility” order‐inducing variable is proposed in the IOWER approach, which can make the alternative's advantages prominent. Finally, we present an illustrative example in which the result obtained with the new aggregation approach can be seen.     

Extended event–condition–action rules and fuzzy Petri nets based exception handling for workflow management

Exception handling plays a key role in dynamic workflow management that enables streamlined business processes. Handling application-specific exceptions is a knowledge-intensive process involving different decision-making strategies and a variety of knowledge, especially much fuzzy knowledge. Current efforts in workflow exception management are not adequate to support the knowledge-based exception handling. This paper proposes a hybrid exception handling approach based on two extended knowledge models, i.e., generalized fuzzy event–condition–action (GFECA) rule and typed fuzzy Petri net extended by process knowledge (TFPN-PK). The approach realizes integrated representation and reasoning of fuzzy and non-fuzzy knowledge as well as specific application domain knowledge and workflow process knowledge. In addition, it supports two handling strategies, i.e., direct decision and analysis-based decision, during exception management. The approach fills in the gaps in existing related researches, i.e., only providing the capability of direct exception handling and neglecting fuzzy knowledge. Based on TFPN-PK, a weighted fuzzy reasoning algorithm is designed to address the reasoning problem of uncertain goal propositions and known goal concepts by combining forward reasoning with backward reasoning and therefore to facilitate cause analysis and handling of workflow exceptions. A prototype system is developed to implement the proposed approach.     

Towards an accurate evaluation of quality of cloud service in service-oriented cloud computing

Cloud computing promises to provide high quality, on-demand services with service-oriented architecture. However, cloud service typically come with various levels of services and performance characteristics, which makes Quality of Cloud Service (QoCS) high variance. Hence, it is difficult for the users to evaluate these cloud services and select them to fit their QoCS requirements. In this paper, we propose an accurate evaluation approach of QoCS in service-oriented cloud computing. We first employ fuzzy synthetic decision to evaluate cloud service providers according to cloud users’ preferences and then adopt cloud model to computing the uncertainty of cloud services based on monitored QoCS data. Finally, we obtain the evaluation results of QoCS using fuzzy logic control. The simulation results demonstrate that our proposed approach can perform an accurate evaluation of QoCS in service-oriented cloud computing.     

基于改进模糊熵和证据推理的多属性决策方法

针对证据推理方法框架下属性权重难以获取的问题,提出一种基于改进模糊熵和证据推理的多属性决策方法。首先,定义证据推理信度决策矩阵框架下的三角函数模糊熵公式,并证明了其满足熵的四个公理化定义。其次,所提方法能够同时处理属性权重完全未知和属性权重信息部分已知两种情况：当属性权重完全未知时,基于信度框架下的改进模糊熵和熵权法的基本思想计算属性权重;当属性权重信息部分已知时,定义加权模糊熵,建立期望模糊熵最小的线性规划模型求解最优属性权重。最后,利用证据推理算法融合方案属性值,结合期望效用理论得到方案排序结果。通过实例计算,并与传统模糊熵计算方法进行比较分析,验证了所提方法能够更加充分地反映原始决策信息,更具客观性和一般性。     

MMLT: A mutual multilevel trust framework based on trusted third parties in multicloud environments

In this article, a mutual multilevel trust framework is proposed, which involves managing trust from the perspective of cloud users (CUs) and cloud service providers (CSPs) in a multicloud environment based on a set of trusted third parties (TTPs). These independent agents are trusted by CUs and CSPs and distributed on different clouds. The TTPs evaluate the CUs' trustworthiness based on the accuracy of feedback ratings and assess the CSPs' trustworthiness based on the quality of service monitoring information. They are connected themselves through the trusted release network, which enables a TTP to obtain trust information about CSPs and CUs from other clouds. With the objective of developing an effective trust management framework, a new approach has been provided to improve trust-based interactions, that is, able to rank the trusted cloud services (CSs) based on CU's priorities via fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is applied to manage the different priorities of CUs, all the CUs do not have the same priorities to use trusted CSs. Customizing service ranking allows CUs to apply trusted CSs based on their priorities. Experiments on real datasets well matched the analytical results, indicating that our proposed approach is effective and outperforms the existing approaches.     

证据推理规则的性质研究及方法修正

证据推理规则能有效处理证据的重要性及可靠性,针对该方法中证据权重归一化对合成结果的影响进行研究,据此分析证据合成时是否应归一化权重;探究证据推理规则与证据折扣方法之间的联系,证明两者的合成结果呈比例关系;分析证据推理规则在证据的重要性与可靠性表示上的不合理之处,并提出一种改进方法,证明了修改后的方法仍然满足4条基本合成公理．     

Evidential reasoning using extended fuzzy Dempster–Shafer theory for handling various facets of information deficiency

This work investigates the problem of combining deficient evidence for the purpose of quality assessment. The main focus of the work is modeling vagueness, ambiguity, and local nonspecificity in information within a unified approach. We introduce an extended fuzzy Dempster–Shafer scheme based on the simultaneous use of fuzzy interval‐grade and interval‐valued belief degree (IGIB). The latter facilitates modeling of uncertainties in terms of local ignorance associated with expert knowledge, whereas the former allows for handling the lack of information on belief degree assignments. Also, generalized fuzzy sets can be readily transformed into the proposed fuzzy IGIB structure. The reasoning for quality assessment is performed by solving nonlinear optimization problems on fuzzy Dempster–Shafer paradigm for the fuzzy IGIB structure. The application of the proposed inference method is investigated by designing a reasoning scheme for water quality monitoring and validated through the experimental data available for different sampling points in a water distribution network. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Convex optimization approach to identify fusion for multisensortarget tracking

We consider the problem of identity fusion for a multisensor target tracking system whereby the sensors generate reports on the target identities. Since sensor reports are typically fuzzy, incomplete, or inconsistent, the fusion of such sensor reports becomes a major challenge. In this paper, we introduce a new identity fusion method based on the minimization of inconsistencies among the sensor reports by using a convex quadratic programming formulation. In contrast to Dempster-Shafer's evidential reasoning approach which suffers from exponentially growing complexity, our approach is highly efficient (polynomial time solvable). Moreover, our approach can fuse sensor reports of the form more general than that allowed by the evidential reasoning theory. Simulation results show that our method generates reasonable fusion results which are similar to that obtained via the evidential reasoning theory     

Recommend trustworthy services using interval numbers of four parameters via cloud model for potential users

How to discover the trustworthy services is a challenge for potential users because of the deficiency of usage experiences and the information overload of QoE (quality of experience) evaluations from consumers. Aiming to the limitations of traditional interval numbers in measuring the trustworthiness of service, this paper proposed a novel service recommendation approach using the interval numbers of four parameters (INF) for potential users. In this approach, a trustworthiness cloud model was established to identify the eigenvalue of INF via backward cloud generator, and a new formula of INF possibility degree based on geometrical analysis was presented to ensure the high calculation precision. In order to select the highly valuable QoE evaluations, the similarity of client-side feature between potential user and consumers was calculated, and the multi-attributes trustworthiness values were aggregated into INF by the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process method. On the basis of ranking INF, the sort values of trustworthiness of candidate services were obtained, and the trustworthy services were chosen to recommend to potential user. The experiments based on a realworld dataset showed that it can improve the recommendation accuracy of trustworthy services compared to other approaches, which contributes to solving cold start and information overload problem in service recommendation.     

Smart shopper: an agent-based web-mining approach to Internet shopping

This paper presents an agent-based Web-mining approach to Internet shopping. We propose a fuzzy neural network to tackle the uncertainties in practical shopping activities, such as consumer preferences, product specification, product selection, price negotiation, purchase, delivery, after-sales service and evaluation. The fuzzy neural network provides an automatic and autonomous product classification and selection scheme to support fuzzy decision making by integrating fuzzy logic technology and the backpropagation feed forward neural network. In addition, a new visual data model is introduced to overcome the limitations of the current Web browsers that lack flexibility for customers to view products from different perspectives. Such a model also extends the conventional data warehouse schema to deal with intensive data volumes and complex transformations with a high degree of flexibility for multiperspective visualization and morphing capability in an interactive environment. Furthermore, an agent development tool named "Aglet" is used as a programming framework for system implementation. The integration of dynamic object visualization, interactive user interface and data mining decision support provides an effective technique to close the gap between the "real world" and the "cyber world" from a business perspective. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach for Web-based business transactions.     

A Multi-dimensional Trust-aware Cloud Service Selection Mechanism Based on Evidential Reasoning Approach

In the last few years, cloud computing as a new computing paradigm has gone through significant development, but it is also facing many problems. One of them is the cloud service selection problem. As increasingly boosting cloud services are offered through the internet and some of them may be not reliable or even malicious, how to select trustworthy cloud services for cloud users is a big challenge. In this paper, we propose a multi-dimensional trust-aware cloud service selection mechanism based on evidential reasoning(ER) approach that integrates both perception-based trust value and reputation based trust value, which are derived from direct and indirect trust evidence respectively, to identify trustworthy services. Here, multi-dimensional trust evidence, which reflects the trustworthiness of cloud services from different aspects, is elicited in the form of historical users feedback ratings. Then, the ER approach is applied to aggregate the multi-dimensional trust ratings to obtain the real-time trust value and select the most trustworthy cloud service of certain type for the active users. Finally, the fresh feedback from the active users will update the trust evidence for other service users in the future.     

Evidential Reasoning Approach for Multiattribute Decision Analysis Under Both Fuzzy and Interval Uncertainty

Many multiple attribute decision analysis (MADA) problems are characterized by both quantitative and qualitative attributes with various types of uncertainties. Incompleteness (or ignorance) and vagueness (or fuzziness) are among the most common uncertainties in decision analysis. The evidential reasoning (ER) and the interval grade ER (IER) approaches have been developed in recent years to support the solution of MADA problems with interval uncertainties and local ignorance in decision analysis. In this paper, the ER approach is enhanced to deal with both interval uncertainty and fuzzy beliefs in assessing alternatives on an attribute. In this newly developed fuzzy IER (FIER) approach, local ignorance and grade fuzziness are modeled under the integrated framework of a distributed fuzzy belief structure, leading to a fuzzy belief decision matrix. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the detailed implementation process of the FIER approach and its validity and applicability.