Digital Commons Network^™

Design And Development Of Machine Learning And Deep Learning Based Algorithms For Cyberattacks Detection, Abiramasundari S

Theses and Dissertations

E-mail is the fastest mode of communication. It is amongst the most commonly used modes of communication and can be used for both legal and illegal purposes. Many elements that could be useful in detecting email fraud are constantly being investigated. Phishing assaults in which thieves use Internet to trick consumers into visiting fake websites are very common and are causing significant harm to victims. Several methods of filtering phishing emails have been devised but a solution to the problem still evades. One of the attacks addressed in this research is email phishing. Machine learning is a popular and efficient …

Investigations Of Secure Memory For Vlsi Based Crypto System, Vijay Sai R Mr

Theses and Dissertations

Semiconductor technology is growing very rapidly in their architectural developments, involving the usage of processor and memory. Presence of memory, in general is a vital commodity in various devices which are almost embedded into human activity, from robust work stations to handy mobile phones. Security of data stored in memory is very important, and hence, observation must be made that these valuable data should not be thwarted by malicious means. Security in cache memory is a major issue in memory related applications such as smart cards and bio-metric implementations.

Cache, is a small and limited memory located between central processing …

The Role Of Advanced Business Analytics In Shaping Organizational Decision-Making In Banking Industry, Krystal S. Mcdowall

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the role of advanced business analytics in shaping decision-making within the banking industry, focusing on its implementation, impact, and the challenges that financial institutions face. As banks increasingly embrace data-driven strategies to enhance competitiveness and customer service, analytics has emerged as a key enabler of operational efficiency and strategic foresight. However, despite its potential, banks often encounter obstacles such as legacy systems, data silos, regulatory constraints, and skill shortages that hinder full-scale integration. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, the study combines quantitative survey data from banking professionals with qualitative insights drawn from interviews and secondary data analysis …

Predicting Price Movements Of The S&P 500 Using Conventional And Alternative Market Indicators, Patrick M. Scarborough

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether integrating alternative data sources with conventional financial indicators enhances S&P 500 forecasting accuracy in modern financial markets characterized by increased complexity and rapid information flows. The study analyzes daily S&P 500 returns using twelve predictor variables comprising conventional indicators (VIX volatility index, WTI crude oil, gold futures, AAA bond yields, Federal Funds Rate, Treasury yield spreads) and alternative data sources (Bitcoin returns, Daily News Sentiment Index, Indeed job postings, Economic Policy Uncertainty Index) across 1,341 observations from February 2020 to June 2025. The methodology employs ordinary least squares regression and ARIMAX(5,5) modeling with rigorous preprocessing including …

News Mediated Reporting And Governmental Narratives About The Enforcement Of Elite Criminality: Exploring The Social Construction Of Financial Frauds And Discrepancies In Punishment, Dominic J. Zicari

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how financial crime enforcement decisions are socially constructed through a qualitative content analysis of news articles and government communications pertaining to two specific cases: the Enron scandal of 2001 and the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. The study was guided by a theoretical framework that utilizes Barak’s (2017) theory of state-routinized crime control. The rigorous analysis of 394 news articles and government communication documents revealed that the media and the state rarely framed the subprime mortgage crisis as a criminal issue. Although the Enron scandal was frequently described as financial crime, journalists and government communicators were often …

Invading The Integrity Of Deep Learning (Dl) Models Using Lsb Perturbation & Pixel Manipulation, Ashraful Tauhid

Theses and Dissertations

The use of deep learning (DL) models for solving classification and recognition-related problems are expanding at an exponential rate. However, these models are computationally expensive both in terms of time and resources. This imposes an entry barrier for low-profile businesses and scientific research projects with limited resources. Therefore, many organizations prefer to use fully outsourced trained models, cloud computing services, pre-trained models are available for download and transfer learning. This ubiquitous adoption of DL has unlocked numerous opportunities but has also brought forth potential threats to its prospects. Among the security threats, backdoor attacks and adversarial attacks have emerged as …

Automatic Short Answer Grading Using Deep Learning, Jinzhu Luo

Theses and Dissertations

Under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional in-person teaching has undergone significant changes. Online courses become an essential education method. However, online teaching lacks adequate evaluation approaches. That's why exams are still indispensable. However, grading short answer exam questions can be an onerous task. In this work, we propose a novel Automatic Short Answer Grading (ASAG) model based on the Sentence BERT model. On the Short Answer Scoring V2.0 dataset, our proposed model shows improvements on accuracy, Marco F1 score, and Weighted F1 score comparing to the results obtained from the BERT model. In addition, we also compare different …

Automated Essay Evaluation Using Natural Language Processing And Machine Learning, Harshanthi Ghanta

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of automated essay evaluation is to assign grades to essays and provide feedback using computers. Automated evaluation is increasingly being used in classrooms and online exams. The aim of this project is to develop machine learning models for performing automated essay scoring and evaluate their performance. In this research, a publicly available essay data set was used to train and test the efficacy of the adopted techniques. Natural language processing techniques were used to extract features from essays in the dataset. Three different existing machine learning algorithms were used on the chosen dataset. The data was divided into …

Protecting Non-Public Information In Community Banks: A Study For Implementing Risk Based Framework For Protecting Non Public Personal Information, Bruce Lee Upton

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s world it seems that cyber hackers, cyber terrorists, and cyber activists make headlines almost every day. Information security has become a major concern for bankers from both a reputation and regulatory examination standpoint. Bank management is tasked to answer a litany of questions. Is my bank secure? What impact does this security have on productivity? What solutions are cost effective? What impact will a security breach have on my bank and respective customer base? Additionally, many bankers don’t have on-staff expertise to answer these questions. Having a framework where bankers can know how likely it is they will …

Cybercrime And Facebook: An Examination Of Lifestyle Routine Activity Theory, Kristina E. Morales

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if Facebook® utilization impacts online victimization experience, and if prevention measures moderate such impact. This study primarily focuses on Facebook® users due to this social media outlet being considered the most prominent online networking site today (Milanovic, 2015). It will focus on an understudied population—Hispanic college students. Additionally, this study argues that lifestyle-routine activity theory is appropriate in the attempt of explaining cybercrime. Overall, this study will explain and define: online victimization, types of cybercrimes, prevention measures, Facebook® utilization, Hispanic and college student statistics, and studies on the application of lifestyle-routine activity …

Can Using The Internal Audit Function As A Training Ground For Management Deter Internal Auditor Fraud Reporting?, Christopher K. Eller

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effects of using the internal audit function as a training ground for management and fraud magnitude on internal auditor fraud reporting decisions. Using a 2x2 between-participants experiment, the current study manipulates the use of the internal audit function as a management training ground (used as a training ground vs. not used as a training ground) and fraud magnitude (large fraud, defined as 30 percent of net income vs. small fraud, defined as one percent of net income). The results indicate that internal auditors may be less likely to report a fraud to their superior when the …

Monitoring Gulf Coast Fish Quality, Karl Edward Bell

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization and the rise of fish importation has led to an increase in mislabeling. To combat this problem, analytical and molecular methods have been employed. First, nitrofuran metabolites were extracted, hydrolyzed, and derivatized in channel catfish, swai, and tilapia. Utilizing high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, derivatized metabolites were detected at levels of 1 ng/mL with coefficients of determination greater than 0.998. Recoveries greater than 90% and relative standard deviation less than 17% indicate that the method is successful. Secondly, chip based electrophoresis coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism was used for the species differentiation. By …

Analiza Forenzike E Regjistrit Të Windows-It, Avdush Jashari

Theses and Dissertations

Kjo temë do të prezantoj data bazën e Windows Regjistrit dhe do të shpjegojë se sa është e rëndësishme në ekzaminimet forenzike kjo data bazë për ekzaminuesit e fushës së forenzikës digjitale. Në esencë tema do të diskutoj disa lloje të ndryshme të gjurmëve të regjistrit dhe do të hulumtojmë se çfarë informacione të rëndësishme mund të marrim duke bërë një ekzaminim forenzik.

Gjithashtu do të diskutohet edhe për shumë çelësa të regjistrit (Registry KEY) të cilët janë shumë të domosdoshëm në një ekzaminim. Forenzika Kompjuterike (Forenzika Digjitale) është aplikimi i teknikave të hetimit dhe analizimit për të mbledhur dhe …

Towards The Mitigation Of Correlation Effects In The Analysis Of Hyperspectral Imagery With Extension To Robust Parameter Design, Jason P. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Standard anomaly detectors and classifiers assume data to be uncorrelated and homogeneous, which is not inherent in Hyperspectral Imagery (HSI). To address the detection difficulty, a new method termed Iterative Linear RX (ILRX) uses a line of pixels which shows an advantage over RX, in that it mitigates some of the effects of correlation due to spatial proximity; while the iterative adaptation from Iterative Linear RX (IRX) simultaneously eliminates outliers. In this research, the application of classification algorithms using anomaly detectors to remove potential anomalies from mean vector and covariance matrix estimates and addressing non-homogeneity through cluster analysis, both of …

Process Flow Features As A Host-Based Event Knowledge Representation, Benhur E. Pacer

Theses and Dissertations

The detection of malware is of great importance but even non-malicious software can be used for malicious purposes. Monitoring processes and their associated information can characterize normal behavior and help identify malicious processes or malicious use of normal process by measuring deviations from the learned baseline. This exploratory research describes a novel host feature generation process that calculates statistics of an executing process during a window of time called a process flow. Process flows are calculated from key process data structures extracted from computer memory using virtual machine introspection. Each flow cluster generated using k-means of the flow features represents …

Insider Threat Detection On The Windows Operating System Using Virtual Machine Introspection, Martin H. Crawford

Theses and Dissertations

Existing insider threat defensive technologies focus on monitoring network traffic or events generated by activities on a user's workstation. This research develops a methodology for signaling potentially malicious insider behavior using virtual machine introspection (VMI). VMI provides a novel means to detect potential malicious insiders because the introspection tools remain transparent and inaccessible to the guest and are extremely difficult to subvert. This research develops a four step methodology for development and validation of malicious insider threat alerting using VMI. Six core use cases are developed along with eighteen supporting scenarios. A malicious attacker taxonomy is used to decompose each …

Romancing Organizational Leadership: A Study Of The Relationship Between Personality, Maturity, National Culture, And Romance Of Leadership In A Multinational Organization, Vu Nguyen Tran

Theses and Dissertations

Romance of Leadership is a disposition to over-attribute organizational and societal outcomes to the actions of senior level leaders. The greater the magnitude of the outcome, the stronger the belief that leadership is the most significant driving force behind that outcome. Strong believers are found to be more susceptible to the emergence of transformational and despotic leadership. The tendency to romanticize leadership cannot be eliminated but needs to be understood, accounted for, and hopefully managed, by aspiring leaders. This study found that romance of leadership is a pervasive and durable phenomenon that is rooted in human personality, and shaped by …

Investigating The Relationship Between Governance Mechanisms And The Disclosure Of It Control Weaknesses, Basil Hamdan

Theses and Dissertations

The current research is concerned with exploring the quality of information technology (IT) control over financial reporting systems as reported under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. More specifically, this dissertation examines the association between organizational governance mechanisms and the occurrence and subsequent disclosure of IT control weaknesses. Despite the adverse impact of IT control weaknesses on internal control quality and financial reporting reliability, research on IT controls in general and IT control weaknesses in particular remains largely anecdotal with limited reliance on theory. The current work proposes and tests an integrated theoretical model of the antecedents of …

A Neural Network Approach To Estimating The Allowance For Bad Debt, Donald Joyner

Theses and Dissertations

The granting of credit is a necessary risk of doing business. If companies only accepted cash, sales would be negatively impacted. In a perfect world, all consumers would pay their bills when they become due. However, the fact is that some consumers do default on debt. Companies are willing to accept default risk because the value of defaults does not exceed the value of the additional sales generated. This creates an issue in regards to the valuation of uncollectible accounts. In order for a company to disclose the true value of its accounts receivable, it must establish an allowance for …

An Analysis Of The Teaching Aids Provided For Sunday School Teachers In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Kevin Douglas Whitehead

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is, and always has been, important in the work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As one of the auxiliaries of the Church, the Sunday School has made an ongoing effort to provide effective teaching aids for its teachers in order to improve instruction in the Church. This work documents and examines change in principles of gospel teaching over the course of a century. By comparing teaching aids provided for Gospel Doctrine teachers in different time periods with guidelines found in the scriptures and words of modern prophets this work seeks to increase understanding of themes …

Comparing Information Assurance Awareness Training For End-Users: A Content Analysis Examination Of Air Force And Defense Information Systems Agency User Training Modules, John W. Frugé

Theses and Dissertations

Today, the threats to information security and assurance are great. While there are many avenues for IT professionals to safeguard against these threats, many times these defenses prove useless against typical system users. Mandated by laws and regulations, all government agencies and most private companies have established information assurance (IA) awareness programs, most of which include user training. Much has been given in the existing literature to laying out the guidance for the roles and responsibilities of IT professionals and higher level managers, but less is specified for "everyday" users of information systems. This thesis attempts to determine the content …

Development Of A Malicious Insider Composite Vulnerability Assessment Methodology, William H. King

Theses and Dissertations

Trusted employees pose a major threat to information systems. Despite advances in prevention, detection, and response techniques, the number of malicious insider incidents and their associated costs have yet to decline. There are very few vulnerability and impact models capable of providing information owners with the ability to comprehensively assess the effectiveness an organization's malicious insider mitigation strategies. This research uses a multi-dimensional approach: content analysis, attack tree framework, and an intent driven taxonomy model are used to develop a malicious insider Decision Support System (DSS) tool. The DSS tool's utility and applicability is demonstrated using a notional example. This …

Dirty Laundry, Mona Mullins Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Making art is cathartic for me. Working in a visual medium allows me to communicate ideas and feelings that I would find difficult to express in words. I use a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional materials as symbolic elements in my work. While the pieces are not always pretty, my goal is that they contain an element of irony and humor which helps us laugh at ourselves.

An Investigation Of Firms' Earnings Management Practices Around Product Recalls, Zeeshan Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the earnings management practices of firms around product recalls. In recent years, the management of earnings around firm-specific events has received considerable attention in the finance and accounting literature. New equity issues, mergers and acquisitions, share repurchases, and management buyouts are some events around which at least some firms have been shown to manage their earnings to achieve managements? objectives. Product recalls offer yet another interesting occasion when managers have incentives to cover up the true financial performance of their firms and mislead investors. In order to determine whether firms announcing product recalls manage earnings more aggressively …

Efficient Generation Of Social Network Data From Computer-Mediated Communication Logs, Jason Wei Sung Yee

Theses and Dissertations

The insider threat poses a significant risk to any network or information system. A general definition of the insider threat is an authorized user performing unauthorized actions, a broad definition with no specifications on severity or action. While limited research has been able to classify and detect insider threats, it is generally understood that insider attacks are planned, and that there is a time period in which the organization's leadership can intervene and prevent the attack. Previous studies have shown that the person's behavior will generally change, and it is possible that social network analysis could be used to observe …

Designing, Implementing And Assessing A Financial Education Curriculum In The Juvenile Justice Commission, Kathleen Kelley Michalowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the project is to determine the effectiveness of a financial education curriculum on the understanding and application of financial resources to begin a financial plan for the future. This study will provide insight into the current financial practices and beliefs of incarcerated youth in the State of New Jersey and the impact the financial education curriculum has on the reliance of State aid and welfare.

The data was collected through a pen and pencil survey, informal interviews and record abstraction. The sample was derived from five New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission programs and institutions. The sample was …

An Auditor’S Approach To Detecting Fraud, Twinkle D. Ratnasamy

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Health Care Marketing : Implications For The Health Professional, David M. Gregory

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Auditing Expectation Gap, Dr. Harold Wilde

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of The Attest Function: A Study Of The American Audit Objective, Carolee A. Deutsch

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.