Digital Commons Network^™

The Paradox Of Perfection: Hidden Risks Of High-Performing Ai In Human-In-The-Loop Governance, Chen Zhong, Alper Yayla, Xueping Liang

Proceedings of the Cognitive Innovation Conference (CognoCon)

As AI systems achieve near-perfect accuracy in high-stakes decision-making domains, governance frameworks risk overlooking a critical paradox: superior AI reliability may render human oversight ceremonial rather than functional. This paper presents a theoretically grounded experimental research design to investigate Automation Complacency—the cognitive degradation of human vigilance triggered by sustained streaks of accurate AI outputs. Grounded in Dual-Process Theory and the competency trap literature, we hypothesize that consistent AI reliability shifts operators from analytical (System 2) to heuristic (System 1) processing, significantly impairing error detection when AI eventually fails. Using a simulated phishing detection task (N=200), we plan to test how …

Private Coverage, Public Risk: The Role Of Cyber Insurance In National Security Governance, Deborah L. Johnson

Faculty Publications

This Article explores the growing yet underexamined role of the commercial cyber insurance market in shaping the United States' approach to cybersecurity readiness. It argues that, as cyber threats against U.S. critical infrastructure and essential services increase, commercial cyber insurance has quietly come to function as a de facto governance tool in national cybersecurity. In hospitals, water and energy systems, and other public-facing sectors, policy language, underwriting questionnaires, and post-breach claims practices help define what counts as "reasonable" security, influence how organizations plan for and respond to incidents, and affect the pace and scope of recovery after an attack. Yet …

Rise Of Social Media Hacking: Ai-Based Ip Tracking For Uae Law Enforcement, Mounikha Naarrayen Chakravarthula

Theses

Social media has evolved into a critical channel for communication, expression, and public influence, but it has also become a prevalent avenue for cybercrime, particularly in digitally advanced nations such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The rising complexity of online offences, coupled with anonymisation tools and cross-border digital behaviour, has made the attribution of social-media-based cyber incidents increasingly challenging for law enforcement. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) offers the potential to strengthen digital investigations by providing intelligent, scalable, and evidence-driven attribution capabilities. This research develops an AI-assisted Internet Protocol (IP) attribution framework tailored specifically for UAE law enforcement …

An Envisioned And Efficient Design Of Next Generation Decentralized Iot Bot Detection Model, Ahmed Abdullah Almalki

Doctoral Dissertations

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) are revolutionizing critical infrastructures, but their expansion has also introduced severe cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Traditional IoT Bot Detection Systems (IBDS) struggle to scale in environments characterized by high-dimensional, large-scale, and redundant network traffic. These challenges hinder the development of reliable cloud-based intrusion detection systems. The limitations of static and rulebased methods in detecting evolving IoT botnet attacks—such as those launched by Mirai and Gafgyt—underscore the need for intelligent, adaptive approaches. To address this, the present study proposes a machine learning and deep learning-driven IoT Botnet Detection Model, validated through …

Gnsi Decision Brief: Building Trust In Digital Response: The Role Of Chatbots In Cybercrime Prevention Open-Source Tools For Safer Digital Reporting And Public Trust, George Burruss, Loni Hagen, Ly Dinh, Lingyao Li

GNSI Decision Briefs

Cybercrime poses a growing global threat, inflicting financial harm on individuals, businesses, and governments. In 2024 alone, the FBI's Internet Crime Complain Center (IC3) received over 800,000 complains, with reported losses exceeding $16.6 billion, a 33 percent increase from the prior year. The damage extends beyond financial loss: cybercrime undermines trust in digital systems and can cause psychological harm. Its anonymous and complex nature makes detection and prosecurtion difficult, creating low-risk, high-reward conditions for offenders.

Cyber Insurance For Public Housing: Confronting Market Barriers And Forging Policy Solutions, Deborah L. Johnson, William B. Simpson

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

In 2023, the Los Angeles Public Housing Authority was hit by the LockBit ransomware gang, which claimed to have exfiltrated 15 terabytes of data. In another incident, hackers impersonated a vendor and diverted nearly $1 million in housing funds from a second California agency. Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), which handle large amounts of sensitive data, are increasingly being targeted by cyberattacks. These attacks often exploit the weak cyber defenses and broad risk profiles of these relatively unsophisticated entities. With limited resources and few avenues for recovery, PHAs are left vulnerable to, and by, cyberattacks, threatening the vital services they provide. …

Ransomware In Healthcare: Threats, Impacts, And Mitigation Strategies, Mackenzie Dotson, Kasi Gorli, Alberto Coustasse

Management Faculty Research

Excerpt: The growing digitalization of healthcare has exposed hospitals to significant cybersecurity threats, particularly ransomware attacks. The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) reported that as of mid-2024, there were 730 cyber-attacks worldwide against healthcare institutions, with 530 targeting the U.S. (AHA, 2024). Half of these incidents involved ransomware, a type of malware that restricts access to critical data until a ransom is paid (HHS, 2021). Hospitals are attractive targets for cybercriminals due to their essential role in patient care. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in hospital networks, often causing severe operational and financial damage. Factors such as understaffed IT teams, outdated …

Insider Risks And The Evolving Role Of Executive Protection Professionals In Cybersecurity, Alan Saquella

Publications

Insider risks have long been a critical concern in corporate security, traditionally encompassing threats from employees, contractors, or third-party vendors with access to sensitive information. However, as digital transformation accelerates, the convergence of physical and cyber threats has created new vulnerabilities. Executive protection (EP) professionals, historically tasked with safeguarding high-profile individuals from physical threats, now find themselves on the frontlines of combating cyber-criminal attacks. Expanding their skill sets to include cybersecurity awareness is no longer optional—it is a necessity.

This article explores insider risks, the growing need for executive protection professionals to adapt, and practical ways they can enhance their …

Scalable Approaches Towards Characterizing And Mitigating Emerging Phishing Scams, Sayak Saha Roy

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Phishing scams are among the most dangerous and persistent forms of cybercrime, leveraging social engineering to exploit human behavior and obtain sensitive information, leading to widespread identity theft and data breaches. In the past year, these attacks have resulted in financial losses exceeding $10 billion in the United States alone. As phishing scams continue to evolve, they have not only expanded in scale but also grown in sophistication, spreading rapidly across social media and employing adversarial techniques to evade detection by anti-scam tools. The situation is further exacerbated by the availability of advanced phishing kits, and more recently, generative AI, …

Insights In Cybersecurity Of A Smart Campus - A Review, Mircea Ţălu

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The profound impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on various fronts, is driven by technological advancements, the ubiquitous spread of information, and the emergence of transformative events. IoT presents a diverse array of possibilities within university environments, fostering a more connected and enhanced educational experience. This research undertakes a comprehensive review of existing literature to provide context to the IoT and underscore its crucial significance in the realm of smart campuses. Additionally, the paper explores the intricate connections between IoT and key concepts such as cybersecurity and wireless sensor networks to present a holistic perspective. It delves into the …

Pig Butchering In Cybersecurity: A Modern Social Engineering Threat, Sharon L. Burton, Pamela D. Moore

Publications

Pig butchering is an escalating cybersecurity threat that exploits social engineering to build trust and execute financial fraud. The relevance of this research problem lies in the growing incidence and sophistication of these scams, which have severe financial and psychological impacts on victims. The main purpose of this research is to uncover the methods used in pig butchering scams and their impact on individuals and businesses. The research focuses on digital platforms such as social media, dating apps, and professional networking sites, chosen for their wide user bases and the ease of establishing personal connections. The study period encompasses recent …

Regulating Deepfakes: An Indian Perspective, Shinu Vig

Journal of Strategic Security

Deepfakes are a growing concern throughout the world including India. Deepfakes can be used for several purposes, both innocuous or malicious. In India, several problems related to regulation of deepfakes have emerged. This paper makes an examination of current legal challenges posed by deepfakes as well as solutions in India that can be repurposed to address these challenges, including intellectual property laws, criminal laws, and the right to privacy. While these existing laws can be used to address certain aspects of the deep fake problem, there is an increasing recognition that specific legislations and regulations addressing deep fakes and synthetic …

Cryptogensec: A Hybrid Generative Ai Algorithm For Dynamic Cryptographic Cyber Defence, Ghada Al-Kateb, Ismael Khaleel, Mohammad Aljanabi

Mesopotamian Journal of CyberSecurity

As the world of cybersecurity constantly changes, traditional cryptographic techniques have faced limitations in the context of today's sophisticated and dynamic threats. Existing protections usually adopt static algorithms and key structures, making it difficult for them to resist the categories of modern attacks. This research paper, therefore, presents CryptoGenSec, a brand-new generative AI algorithm based on a hybrid consisting of generative adversarial networks (GANs) on reconnaissance learning (RL), for the purpose of increasing cryptographic cyber defences. CryptoGenSec applies a GAN to simulate various types of attack scenarios in cyberspace to perceive possible vulnerabilities. Then, RL refines the response strategies of …

Technology Assessment For Cybersecurity Organizational Readiness: Case Of Airlines Sector And Electronic Payment, Sultan Ayed Alghamdi, Tugrul Daim, Saeed Mohammed Alzahrani

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Payment processing systems have advanced significantly in the airline business. Because e-payments are easy, they have captured the attention of many companies in the aviation industry and are quickly becoming the dominant means of payment. However, as technology advances, fraud grows at a comparable rate. Over the years, there has been a surge in payment fraud incidents in the airline sector, reducing the platform's trustworthiness. Despite attempts to eliminate epayment fraud, decision-makers lack the technical expertise required to use the finest fraud detection and prevention assessments. This research recognizes the lack of an established decision model as a hurdle and …

Customer Decision To Save In Sharia Banks Following A Ransomware Attack: An Analysis Of The Role Of Word Of Mouth, Trust, Perception Of Cybersecurity, And Perception Of Sharia Label, Sudana Sudana, Lina Marlina

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

Ransomware attacks on Islamic banking institutions can lead to a decline in public interest in saving. To stimulate the growth of savings, it is crucial to investigate the determinants influencing customer decision to save their money in Islamic banking institutions following a ransomware attack. This study implemented a unique approach in examining the impact of perceptions of cybersecurity and Sharia label on the decision to save in Sharia banks in Indonesia subsequent to a ransomware attack. It aims to explore the intervening role of trust and Word of Mouth (WOM) in information dissemination and analyze how the Sharia label can …

An Integrated Framework For Video-Based Deepfake Forensic Analysis, Bashaer Mohamed Alsalami

Theses

Deepfakes are AI-generated synthetic media that use AI algorithms to mimic human faces, voices, and actions with high levels of realism. They utilize advanced machine learning and deep learning techniques to generate realistic synthetic media, making the distinction between real and fake content increasingly difficult. Deepfakes were initially developed for entertainment and creative applications. However, they are currently being misused in various domains, posing significant security and ethical challenges. These risks necessitate effective deepfake detection systems to mitigate potential harm and preserve the integrity of digital communication. Nonetheless, the existing detection methods are inadequate and lack a holistic detection mechanism, …

Unveiling The Digital Shadows: Cybersecurity And The Art Of Digital Forensics, Derek Beardall

Cyber Operations and Resilience Program Graduate Projects

This paper navigates the symbiotic relationship between cybersecurity and digital forensics, exploring the profound role of digital forensic methodologies in addressing cyber incidents. Beginning with foundational definitions and historical evolution, this study delves into diverse types of methodologies and their applications across law enforcement and cybersecurity domains. The mechanics of cyber incident response illuminates the strategic orchestration of digital forensic methodologies. Amidst triumphs, challenges emerge from the shadows: swift threat evolution, digital ecosystem complexity, standardization gaps, resource limitations, and legal intricacies. Best practices guide experts through this intricate terrain, culminating in an enhanced understanding of the inseparable bond between cybersecurity …

A Longitudinal Study Of Factors That Affect User Interactions With Social Media And Email Spam, Wojciech M. Mazurek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Given the rapid growth of social media and the increasing prevalence of spam, it is crucial to understand users’ interactions with unsolicited content to develop effective countermeasures against spam. This thesis focuses on exploring the factors that influence users’ decisions to interact with spam on social media and email. It builds upon prior work, which serves as a foundation for further research and conducting a longitudinal analysis. Our results are based on the analysis of 221 responses collected through an online survey. The survey not only gathered demographic information such as age, gender, and race but also collected data on …

Leveraging Maching Learning In Financial Fraud Forensics In The Age Of Cybersecurity, Md. Ariful Haque, Sachin Shetty

VMASC Publications

Financial sectors are lucrative cyber-attack targets because of their immediate financial gain. As a result, financial institutions face challenges in developing systems that can automatically identify security breaches and separate fraudulent transactions from legitimate transactions. Today, organizations widely use machine learning techniques to identify any fraudulent behavior in customers' transactions. However, machine learning techniques are often challenging because of financial institutions' confidentiality policy, leading to not sharing the customer transaction data. This chapter discusses some crucial challenges of handling cybersecurity and fraud in the financial industry and building machine learning-based models to address those challenges. The authors utilize an open-source …

Few-Shot Malware Detection Using A Novel Adversarial Reprogramming Model, Ekula Praveen Kumar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The increasing sophistication of malware has made detecting and defending against new strains a major challenge for cybersecurity. One promising approach to this problem is using machine learning techniques that extract representative features and train classification models to detect malware in an early stage. However, training such machine learning-based malware detection models represents a significant challenge that requires a large number of high-quality labeled data samples while it is very costly to obtain them in real-world scenarios. In other words, training machine learning models for malware detection requires the capability to learn from only a few labeled examples. To address …

Cybersecurity Challenges In Smart Cities: An Overview And Future Prospects, Maad Mijwil, Ruchi Doshi, Kamal Kant Hiran, Abdel-Hameed Al-Mistarehi, Abdel-Hameed Al-Mistarehi

Mesopotamian Journal of CyberSecurity

Today, most governments in the world are considering establishing smart cities that work through the use of the latest technological means. Where smart cities are considered economically, socially and environmentally sustainable cities as they have the ability to develop sustainable development, increase the quality of life of citizens, increase the efficiency of available resources and active citizen participation with confidence and quickly. Nations are looking forward to creating a more profitable future for them by employing a set of main things, which are the economy, citizens, government, mobility, environment, and health. Smart cities are one of the main pillars that …

Security Awareness Strategies Used In The Prevention Of Cybercrimes By Cybercriminals, Pascal Pouani Tientcheu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cybercrime is a growing phenomenon that impacts many lives worldwide. Businesses, organizations, and governments continue to search for ways to protect their data and intellectual property from cybercrimes. Grounded in the routine activity theory, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to explore strategies information security officers used to prevent cybercrimes. The participants included seven information security officers listed on social media who manage information security within organizations located in the northeast geographic region of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, the National Institute of Standards and Technology documentations and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four key …

Complementary Approaches Or Conflicting Strategies? Examining Cisa And New York's Dfs Cybersecurity Regulations As A Harmonizing Framework For A Bilateral Approach To Cybersecurity, Richard Q. Sterns

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The question of whether more aggressive approaches to the enforcement of cybersecurity standards can survive in a time where sharing threat information is crucial to protecting privacy has been ongoing for some time. This paper argues that this is not an either-or proposition and that enforcement frameworks like New York’s DFS Cybersecurity Regulations and information sharing frameworks such as CISA can exist in harmony, and that their divergent approaches actually strengthen American cybersecurity law as a whole.

Teaching About The Dark Web In Criminal Justice Or Related Programs At The Community College And University Levels., Scott H. Belshaw, Brooke Nodeland, Lorrin Underwood, Alexandrea Colaiuta

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Increasingly, criminal justice practitioners have been called on to help solve breaches in cyber security. However, while the demand for criminal justice participation in cyber investigations increases daily, most universities are lagging in their educational and training opportunities for students entering the criminal justice fields. This article discusses the need to incorporate courses discussing the Dark Web in criminal justice. A review of existing cyber-criminal justice programs in Texas and nationally suggests that most community colleges and 4-year universities have yet to develop courses/programs in understanding and investigating the Dark Web on the internet. The Dark Web serves as the …

Strategies To Reduce The Fiscal Impact Of Cyberattacks, Shirley Denise Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A single cyberattack event involving 1 major corporation can cause severe business and social devastation. In this single case study, a major U.S. airline company was selected for exploration of the strategies information technology administrators and airline managers implemented to reduce the financial devastation that may be caused by a cyberattack. Seven participants, of whom 4 were airline managers and 3 were IT administrators, whose primary responsibility included implementation of strategies to plan for and respond to cyberattacks participated in the data collection process. This study was grounded on the general systems theory. Data collection entailed semistructured face-to-face and telephone …

Evaluation And Enhancement Of Public Cyber Security Awareness, Faisal Fahad G Alotaibi

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

With the spread of the Internet and the technology, Cyberspace has become the life of everyone, which requires them to be aware of the threats of it. Also, to be prepared with the speed of the technology, whether electronic payment, social life, leisure work IOT، and everything. However, in spite of increasing security practices there has been a rise in the cyber security threats and attacks. As the life is becoming more and more dependent on the technology, the need for cyber security awareness has become an important activity that need to be practiced in order to be safe and …

Risk And Anxiety: A Theory Of Data Breach Harms, Daniel Solove, Danielle K. Citron

Faculty Scholarship

In lawsuits about data breaches, the issue of harm has confounded courts. Harm is central to whether plaintiffs have standing to sue in federal court and whether their claims are viable. Plaintiffs have argued that data breaches create a risk of future injury from identity theft or fraud and that breaches cause them to experience anxiety about this risk. Courts have been reaching wildly inconsistent conclusions on the issue of harm, with most courts dismissing data breach lawsuits for failure to allege harm. A sound and principled approach to harm has yet to emerge, resulting in a lack of consensus …

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 …

The Proceedings Of 15th Australian Information Security Management Conference, 5-6 December, 2017, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, Craig Valli (Ed.)

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Conference Foreword

The annual Security Congress, run by the Security Research Institute at Edith Cowan University, includes the Australian Information Security and Management Conference. Now in its fifteenth year, the conference remains popular for its diverse content and mixture of technical research and discussion papers. The area of information security and management continues to be varied, as is reflected by the wide variety of subject matter covered by the papers this year. The papers cover topics from vulnerabilities in “Internet of Things” protocols through to improvements in biometric identification algorithms and surveillance camera weaknesses. The conference has drawn interest and …

Threats To Information Protection - Industry And Academic Perspectives: An Annotated Bibliography, Michael E. Whitman, Herbert J. Mattord

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Threats to information assets have always been a concern to those responsible for making information useful and defending its value. The concepts of threat, threat agent, threat events and threat sources have evolved in recent years have very precise definitions. A summary of threat classification models used in academic research is provided along with a summary of recent industry threat assessment reports. Finally, the results from a recent study, 2015 SEC/CISE Threats to Information Protection Report Including a Current Snapshot of the State of the Industry, are given.