Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Nymble: Blocking Misbehaving Users In Anonymizing Networks, Patrick P. Tsang, Apu Kapadia, Cory Cornelius, Sean W. Smith

Computer Science Technical Reports

Anonymizing networks such as Tor allow users to access Internet services privately by using a series of routers to hide the client's IP address from the server. The success of such networks, however, has been limited by users employing this anonymity for abusive purposes such as defacing popular websites. Website administrators routinely rely on IP-address blocking for disabling access to misbehaving users, but blocking IP addresses is not practical if the abuser routes through an anonymizing network. As a result, administrators block \emph{all} known exit nodes of anonymizing networks, denying anonymous access to misbehaving and behaving users alike. To address …

Energy Efficient Embedded System Design For Medical Care System Using Wireless Sensor Network, Qi Li

Theses and Dissertations

Recent surveys on medical service systems show that the cost of patient monitoring has grown significantly. The widespread use of portable digital medical device makes it possible to provide a more comprehensive tracking of patient conditions. However, the development of a full scale, distributed health monitoring system is much delayed due to the lack of efficient wireless communication in a large distributed network. This becomes a challenging research topic which is to find a way to provide accurate and real time patient information to medical experts in a fast, efficient and cost effective fashion. This paper proposes a novel solution …

Wireless Intelligent Structural Health Monitoring System, Belle Ashwin

Theses and Dissertations

Metal structures are susceptible to various types of damages, including corrosion, stress damage, pillowing deformation, cracks etc. These kinds of damages in the metal structures occur mainly due to operational conditions and exposure to the environment. Our research involves a portable integrated wireless sensor system with video camera and ultrasound capabilities which is being developed to investigate corrosion damage on real structures in real time. This system uses images of the metal surfaces, which are captured from an integrated wireless sensor and then quantified and analyzed using computational intelligence. The quantification of the obtained images is done with specialized component …

Performance Analysis Of A Light Weight Packet Scanner, Paras Gandhi

Theses and Dissertations

The growth of networks around the world has also given rise to threats like viruses and Trojans. This rise in threats has resulted in counter measures for these threats. These counter measures are in the form of applications called firewalls or IDS. The incorporation of these applications in the network results in some delay in communications. The aim of the experiment in this thesis is to measure the delay introduced by such a firewall in the best case and compare it with the communication done on a network without such an application. These experiments are done using a special miniature …

Sb-Corla: Schema-Based Constructivist Robot Learning Architecture, Yifan Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores schema-based robot learning. I developed SB-CoRLA (Schema- Based, Constructivist Robot Learning Architecture) to address the issue of constructivist robot learning in a schema-based robot system. The SB-CoRLA architecture extends the previously developed ASyMTRe (Automated Synthesis of Multi-team member Task solutions through software Reconfiguration) architecture to enable constructivist learning for multi-robot team tasks. The schema-based ASyMTRe architecture has successfully solved the problem of automatically synthesizing task solutions based on robot capabilities. However, it does not include a learning ability. Nothing is learned from past experience; therefore, each time a new task needs to be assigned to a new …

Scalable Graph Algorithms With Applications In Genetics, Yun Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Graph theoretical approaches have been widely used to solve problems arising in bioinformatics and genomic analysis. In particular, enumeration problems such as maximal clique and maximal biclique finding are cores for addressing many biological problems, such as the integration of genome mapping data. However, the enumeration problems may become computation and memory bot- tlenecks for genome-scale elucidation of biological networks due to their NP-hard nature and the huge memory requirements.

Therefore, this research is interested in developing exact, scalable, and efficient algorithms for these biological problems. The Clique Enumerator including a maximal clique enumeration algo- rithm and its parallel …

Direct Extraction Of Normal Mapped Meshes From Volume Data, Mark Barry, Zoë J. Wood

Computer Science and Software Engineering

We describe a method of directly extracting a simplified contour surface along with detailed normal maps from volume data in one fast and integrated process. A robust dual contouring algorithm is used for efficiently extracting a high-quality "crack-free" simplified surface from volume data. As each polygon is generated, the normal map is simultaneously generated. An underlying octree data structure reduces the search space required for high to low resolution surface normal mapping. The process quickly yields simplified meshes fitted with normal maps that accurately resemble their complex equivalents.

Calibrating Function Point Backfiring Conversion Ratios Using Neuro-Fuzzy Technique, Justin Wong, Luiz Fernando Capretz, Danny Ho

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Software estimation is an important aspect in software development projects because poor estimations can lead to late delivery, cost overruns, and possibly project failure. Backfiring is a popular technique for sizing and predicting the volume of source code by converting the function point metric into source lines of code mathematically using conversion ratios. While this technique is popular and useful, there is a high margin of error in backfiring. This research introduces a new method to reduce that margin of error. Neural networks and fuzzy logic in software prediction models have been demonstrated in the past to have improved performance …

An Analysis Of Entries In The First Tac Market Design Competition, Jinzhong Niu, Kai Cai, Peter Mcburney, Simon Parsons

Publications and Research

This paper presents an analysis of entries in the first TAC Market Design Competition final that compares the entries across several scenarios. The analysis complements previous work analyzing the 2007 competition, demonstrating some vulnerabilities of entries that placed highly in the competition. The paper also suggests a simple strategy that would have performed well.

Functional Monitoring Without Monotonicity, Chrisil Arackaparambil, Joshua Brody, Amit Chakrabarti

Computer Science Technical Reports

The notion of distributed functional monitoring was recently introduced by Cormode, Muthukrishnan and Yi to initiate a formal study of the communication cost of certain fundamental problems arising in distributed systems, especially sensor networks. In this model, each of k sites reads a stream of tokens and is in communication with a central coordinator, who wishes to continuously monitor some function f of \sigma, the union of the k streams. The goal is to minimize the number of bits communicated by a protocol that correctly monitors f(\sigma), to within some small error. As in previous work, we focus on a …

Digital Image Ballistics From Jpeg Quantization: A Followup Study, Hany Farid

Computer Science Technical Reports

The lossy JPEG compression scheme employs a quantization table that controls the amount of compression achieved. Because different cameras typically employ different tables, a comparison of an image's quantization scheme to a database of known cameras affords a simple technique for confirming or denying an image's source. This report describes the analysis of quantization tables extracted from 1,000,000 images downloaded from Flickr.com.

Group-Aware Stream Filtering For Bandwidth-Efficient Data Dissemination, Ming Li, David Kotz

Dartmouth Scholarship

In this paper we are concerned with disseminating high-volume data streams to many simultaneous applications over a low-bandwidth wireless mesh network. For bandwidth efficiency, we propose a group-aware stream filtering approach, used in conjunction with multicasting, that exploits two overlooked, yet important, properties of these applications: 1) many applications can tolerate some degree of “slack” in their data quality requirements, and 2) there may exist multiple subsets of the source data satisfying the quality needs of an application. We can thus choose the “best alternative” subset for each application to maximize the data overlap within the group to best benefit …

A Performance And Productivity Study Using Mpi, Titanium, And Fortress, Amy Apon, Chris Bryan, Wesley Emeneker

Publications

The popularity of cluster computing has increased focus on usability, especially in the area of programmability. Languages and libraries that require explicit message passing have been the standard. New languages, designed for cluster computing, are coming to the forefront as a way to simplify parallel programming. Titanium and Fortress are examples of this new class of programming paradigms. This papers presents results from a productivity study of these two newcomers with MPI, the de- facto standard for parallel programming.

Head-Pose Tracking With A Time-Of-Flight Camera, Simon Meers, Koren Ward

Faculty of Informatics - Papers (Archive)

Intelligent interfaces that make use of the user's head pose or facial features in order to interpret the user's identity or point of attention, are finding increasing application in numerous fields. Although various techniques exist to passively track the user's gaze or head pose using monocular or stereo cameras, these systems generally cannot perceive in detail the characteristic three-dimensional (3D) profile of the user's head or face. Time-of-flight cameras, such as the Swiss Ranger SR-3000, are a recent innovation capable of providing three-dimensional image data from a single sensor. The advent of such sensors opens up new possibilities in the …

On A-Ary Subdivision For Curve Design Ii. 3-Point And 5-Point Interpolatory Schemes, Jian-Ao Lian

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The a-ary 3-point and 5-point interpolatery subdivision schemes for curve design are introduced for arbitrary odd integer a greater than or equal to 3. These new schemes further extend the family of the classical 4- and 6-point interpolatory schemes.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure With Games Technology, Adrian Boeing, Martin Masek, Bill Bailey

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

It is widely recognised that there is a considerable gap in the protection of the national infrastructure. Trying to identify what is in fact ‘critical’ is proving to be very difficult as threats constantly evolve. An interactive prototyping tool is useful in playing out scenarios and simulating the effect of change, however existing simulators in the critical infrastructure area are typically limited in the visual representation and interactivity. To remedy this we propose the use of games technology. Through its use, critical infrastructure scenarios can be rapidly constructed, tested, and refined. In this paper, we highlight the features of games …

A Holistic Scada Security Standard For The Australian Context, Christopher Beggs

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems which control Australia’s critical infrastructure are currently demonstrating signs of vulnerabilities as they are being interconnected to corporate networks, essentially exposing them to malicious threats. This paper discusses the vulnerabilities associated with SCADA systems, as well as discussing various SCADA standards and initiatives that have been developed in recent years to mitigate such threats. The paper presents the requirement for a holistic SCADA security standard that is practical and feasible for each SCADA industry sector.

Visualisation Of Critical Infrastructure Failure, W D. Wilde, M J. Warren

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

The paper explores the complexity of critical infrastructure and critical infrastructure failure (CIF), real life examples are used to discuss the complexity involved. The paper then discusses what Visualisation is and how Visualisation can be applied to a security situation, in particular critical infrastructure. The paper concludes by discussing the future direction of the research.

Media, Government And Manipulation: The Cases Of The Two Gulf Wars, William Hutchinson

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

This paper explores the bias and manipulation of the Western mass media during the Gulf wars of 1991 and 2003. The tactics of compliance and the ethics of the press and journalists are examined. The need for a pluralist press is extolled.

Iphone Forensics Methodology And Tools, Haitham Al-Hajri, Krishnun Sansurooah

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

iPhone mobile devices are rapidly overtaking the new generation of mobile phones market, especially among the young generation. It is also gaining a lot of popularity among security specialists and fancy gadgets for collectors. The device is considered as a “special” mobile phone due to its ability to perform multi-operations if not multitasking. It can therefore be used as a entertainment media device, a camera, a GPS, Internet surfing via Wi-Fi technology, Internet Mobile Edge Services, personal organizer, and finally performing as a cell phone with all the usual services including sms, and so forth. However, the difference between the …

Information Sharing: Hackers Vs Law Enforcement, David P. Biros, Mark Weiser, Jim Burkman, Jason Nichols

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

The fields of information assurance and digital forensics continue to grow in both importance and complexity, spurred on by rapid advancement in digital crime. Contemporary law enforcement professionals facing such issues quickly discover that they cannot be successful while operating in a vacuum and turn to colleagues for assistance. However, there is a clear need for greater IT-based knowledge sharing capabilities amongst law enforcement organizations; an environment historically typified by a silo mentality. A number of efforts have attempted to provide such capabilities, only to be met with limited enthusiasm and difficulties in sustaining continued use. Conversely, the hacker community …

Security Metrics - A Critical Analysis Of Current Methods, Manwinder Kaur, Andy Jones

Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference

This paper documents and analyses a number of security metrics currently in popular use. These will include government standards and commercial methods of measuring security on networks. It will conclude with a critical look at some of the problems and challenges faced when using the metrics available today, and also with the development of new metrics.

Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A neural network (NN) based output feedback controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The NNs are utilized in the observer and for generating virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, where the NNs learn the nonlinear dynamics of the UAV online including uncertain nonlinear terms like aerodynamic friction and blade flapping. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the position, orientation, and velocity tracking errors, the virtual control and observer estimation errors, and the NN weight estimation errors for each NN are all semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in the presence of bounded disturbances and NN functional …

On Static And Dynamic Partitioning Behavior Of Large-Scale Networks, Zhongmei Yao, Derek Leonard, Xiaoming Wang, Dmitri Loguinov

Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this paper, we analyze the problem of network disconnection in the context of large-scale P2P networks and understand how both static and dynamic patterns of node failure affect the resilience of such graphs. We start by applying classical results from random graph theory to show that a large variety of deterministic and random P2P graphs almost surely (i.e., with probability 1 − o(1)) remain connected under random failure if and only if they have no isolated nodes. This simple, yet powerful, result subsequently allows us to derive in closed-form the probability that a P2P network develops isolated nodes, and …

Efficient Client-To-Client Password Authenticated Key Exchange, Yanjiang Yang, Feng Bao, Robert H. Deng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With the rapid proliferation of client-to-client applications, PAKE (password authenticated key exchange) protocols in the client-to-client setting become increasingly important. In this paper, we propose an efficient client-to client PAKE protocol, which has much better performance than existing generic constructions. We also show that the proposed protocol is secure under a formal security model.

Robust Regularized Kernel Regression, Jianke Zhu, Steven C. H. Hoi, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Robust regression techniques are critical to fitting data with noise in real-world applications. Most previous work of robust kernel regression is usually formulated into a dual form, which is then solved by some quadratic program solver consequently. In this correspondence, we propose a new formulation for robust regularized kernel regression under the theoretical framework of regularization networks and then tackle the optimization problem directly in the primal. We show that the primal and dual approaches are equivalent to achieving similar regression performance, but the primal formulation is more efficient and easier to be implemented than the dual one. Different from …

Isometric Morphing Of Triangular Meshes, Prosenjit Bose, Joseph O'Rourke, Chang Shu, Stefanie Wuhrer

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

We present a novel approach to morph between two isometric poses of the same non-rigid object given as triangular meshes. We model the morphs as linear interpolations in a suitable shape space S. For triangulated 3D polygons, we prove that interpolating linearly in this shape space corresponds to the most isometric morph in R3. We extend this shape space to arbitrary triangulations in 3D using a heuristic approach.

Two Highly Diverse Studies In Computing: A Vitruvian Framework For Distribution And A Search Approach To Cancer Therapies, Brian G. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Solid cancer tumors must recruit new blood vessels for growth and maintenance. Discovering drugs that block this tumor-induced development of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) is an important approach in cancer treatment. However, the complexity of angiogenesis and the difficulty in implementing and evaluating medical changes prevent the discovery of novel and effective new therapies. This paper presents a massively parallel computational search-based approach for the discovery of novel potential cancer treatments, using a high fidelity simulation of angiogenesis. Discovering new therapies is viewed as multi-objective combinatorial optimization over two competing objectives: minimizing the medical cost of the intervention while minimizing …

Understanding Unfolding Change And The Value Of Strategic Unification In Recent Usu Information Technology Functional Realignment, Eric S. Hawley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This is a qualitative case study of the 2005-2008 Utah State University Information Technology reorganization from the perspective of key change advocates. The study identified and documented the unfolding change process involved in the reorganization in terms of dissatisfaction, executive changes, internal executive strategic planning, implementation and initial impacts, and continuous "in situ" strategic planning. The study also answered a set of supporting concluding questions indicating increased value to the institution in areas of customer service and confidence, organization, financial resources, planning and policy, security, and increased/improved services and service functions.

Impact Analysis Of System And Network Attacks, Anupama Biswas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Systems and networks have been under attack from the time the Internet first came into existence. There is always some uncertainty associated with the impact of the new attacks. Compared to the problem of attack detection, analysis of attack impact has received very little attention. Generalize and forecasting the kind of attack that will hit systems in future is not possible. However, it is possible to predict the behavior of a new attack and, thereby, the impact of the attack. This thesis proposes a method for predicting the impact of a new attack on systems and networks as well as …