  This paper proposes a conceptual model for a secure and performance-efficient
workload management model in cloud environments. In this model, a resource
management unit is employed for energy and performance proficient allocation of
virtual machines while ensuring the secure processing of users' applications by
defending against data breaches due to unauthorized access to virtual machines
in real-time. The resource management unit is guided by a secure virtual
machine management unit which is designed to generate information regarding
unauthorized access or inter-communication links among active virtual machines.
Also, a workload analyzer unit operates concurrently to estimate resource
utilization information to assist the resource management unit in the
performance-efficient allocation of virtual machines. Contrary to prior works
which engage access control mechanisms, encryption, and decryption of data
before the transfer and the use of tunneling for prevention of unauthorized
access to virtual machines which raises excess computational cost overhead, the
proposed model operates diversely for efficiently serving the same purpose.
