Modeling the Security of Virtual Machines in the Cloud using Repetitive Game Theory

Today, the many benefits of cloud computing have led many businesses, large and small, to use cloud services to reduce their costs. In the meantime, there are some barriers to using cloud services, one of the biggest of which is security attacks affected by the supervisor. When a direct attack on a user is carried out on a supervisor, it may also indirectly attack other users' virtual machines. Meanwhile, the conflicting goals and interests of cloud service users and attackers make it difficult for cloud service providers to decide to invest in cloud server security modules. Therefore, in this article, using game theory, a suitable solution for deciding to invest in one of the security modules for each of the actors is presented. Also, using the iterative game model, all Nash equilibria have been extracted and analyzed. The results show that game theory can be well used in making the right decision and finding the right balance to make decisions about investing in the field of applied security. Based on the simulation results, it can be said that in repetitive games with a probability of repeating the game between 0.2 and 0.8, predetermined investment strategies or non-investment can lead to an appropriate Nash equilibrium and Pursue maximum benefits for cloud service users.