E-MAEL: Efficient Multi-Cloud Data Auditing With Error Localization for IoT Consumer Devices in Metaverse

By integrating multi-cloud (MC) storage with the “edge-to-cloud” architecture of consumer IoT, the metaverse paradigm achieves enhanced efficiency in real-time data collection and interactive virtual feedback. However, data stored across multiple clouds is vulnerable to tampering and theft due to the inherent insecurity of cloud computing, and cloud service providers, driven by economic interests, may conceal data losses. Existing data integrity auditing techniques fail to ensure prompt and reliable verification for distributed data in the MC-enabled metaverse paradigm, limiting their effectiveness in eliminating erroneous data swiftly. To address these challenges, we propose E-MAEL (Efficient Multi-cloud Data Auditing with Error Localization) for IoT devices in the metaverse. We design an MC self-auditing framework based on blockchain to eliminate audit delays caused by third-party auditors. A variable-length auditing protocol based on Schnorr is introduced, reducing computation overhead by up to 21% compared to schemes relying on bilinear pairing and RSA assumptions. We develop a single-round error localization strategy based on symmetric unbalanced block design, enabling efficient identification and removal of erroneous data while resisting collusion attacks. A dynamic reputation update strategy using convex functions is proposed, providing robust reputation management for MCs and effectively penalizing audit errors. Theoretical security analyses and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of E-MAEL in improving computational efficiency and enhancing reliability in MC auditing systems.