Edge Computing Security for Real-Time Online Musical Performances
Keywords:
Cybersecurity, Distributed systems, Edge computing, Internet of musical things, Networked music performance, Real-time audio streaming, Secure multimedia communicationAbstract
The work investigates the role of secure edge computing architectures in enhancing real-time online musical performances and collaborative Networked Music Performance (NMP) systems. The emergence of edge computing has significantly transformed digital musical interactions by enabling ultra-low-latency communication, distributed audio processing, and immersive collaborative experiences. Traditional cloud-based infrastructures often fail to satisfy the stringent latency, synchronization, and reliability requirements necessary for high-quality online musical performances. To address these limitations, edge computing relocates computational and networking resources closer to performers and audiences, thereby minimizing transmission delays and improving real-time responsiveness. Despite these advantages, the decentralized and distributed nature of edge infrastructures introduces substantial cybersecurity challenges, including Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, packet interception, unauthorized access, data leakage, synchronization manipulation, and malicious traffic injection. These threats can severely disrupt timing-sensitive musical interactions and degrade user experience in Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT) ecosystems. This research proposes a hybrid edge-cloud security framework that integrates lightweight encryption mechanisms, AI-based anomaly detection, blockchain-assisted authentication, and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for secure orchestration and traffic management. The framework is designed to maintain low latency while simultaneously strengthening security, scalability, and reliability in distributed musical collaboration environments. Experimental simulations and performance evaluations demonstrate that the proposed secure edge framework reduces average latency by 38%, packet loss by 29%, and cyber-attack vulnerability by 46% compared to conventional cloud-centric architectures. The results indicate that integrating security-aware edge intelligence significantly improves synchronization stability, communication efficiency, and overall Quality of Experience (QoE) for performers and audiences. The findings further emphasize the importance of secure edge computing as a foundational technology for future IoMusT ecosystems, immersive virtual concerts, metaverse-based performances, and geographically distributed music collaboration platforms.
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