Computer Engineering Commons^™

Topical Review Of Vulnerability Management For Local Hampton Roads Industry, Gregory W. Hubbard Jr., Matthew Eunice

OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal

The progress towards an interconnected digital world offers an exciting level of advancement for humanity. Unfortunately, this “online” connection is not safe from the threats and dangers typically associated with physical operations. With the foundation of Cyber Command of DoD cyberspace, the United States Government is taking a prominent stance in cyberspace operations. Like the federal government, both industries and individuals are not immune and are oftentimes unknowingly at risk to cyberattack. This report hopes to bring awareness to common vulnerabilities in multi-user networks by describing a historical background on cyber security as well as outlining current methods of vulnerability …

Technological Challenges And Innovations In Cybersecurity And Networking Technology Program, Syed R. Zaidi, Ajaz Sana, Aparicio Carranza

Publications and Research

This era is posing a unique challenge to the Cybersecurity and related Engineering Technology areas, stimulated by the multifaceted technological boom expressed in accelerated globalization, digital transformation, the cloud, mobile access apps, and the Internet of Things (IoT)—where more and more devices are connected to the Internet every day. As the use of new Internet-based technologies increase; so does the risk of theft and misuse of sensitive information. This demands the awareness of cyber-criminality and the need for cyber hygiene in corporations, small businesses, and the government. As the need for experienced cybersecurity specialists has skyrocketed in recent years and …

Internet Of Things For Sustainability: Perspectives In Privacy, Cybersecurity, And Future Trends, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

In the sustainability IoT, the cybersecurity risks to things, sensors, and monitoring systems are distinct from the conventional networking systems in many aspects. The interaction of sustainability IoT with the physical world phenomena (e.g., weather, climate, water, and oceans) is mostly not found in the modern information technology systems. Accordingly, actuation, the ability of these devices to make changes in real world based on sensing and monitoring, requires special consideration in terms of privacy and security. Moreover, the energy efficiency, safety, power, performance requirements of these device distinguish them from conventional computers systems. In this chapter, the cybersecurity approaches towards …

On The Potential, Feasibility, And Effectiveness Of Chat Bots In Public Health Research Going Forward, Stanley Mierzwa, Samir Souidi, Tammy Allen

Center for Cybersecurity

This paper will discuss whether bots, particularly chat bots, can be useful in public health research and health or pharmacy systems operations. Bots have been discussed for many years; particularly when coupled with artificial intelligence, they offer the opportunity of automating mundane or error-ridden processes and tasks by replacing human involvement. This paper will discuss areas where there are greater advances in the use of bots, as well as areas that may benefit from the use of bots, and will offer practical ways to get started with bot technology. Several popular bot applications and bot development tools along with practical …

Guest Editorial Special Issue On Toward Securing Internet Of Connected Vehicles (Iov) From Virtual Vehicle Hijacking, Yue Cao, Houbing Song, Omprakash Kaiwartya, Sinem Coleri Ergen, Jaime Lloret, Naveed Ahmad

Publications

Today’s vehicles are no longer stand-alone transportation means, due to the advancements on vehicle-tovehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications enabled to access the Internet via recent technologies in mobile communications, including WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G, and even 5G networks. The Internet of vehicles was aimed toward sustainable developments in transportation by enhancing safety and efficiency. The sensor-enabled intelligent automation of vehicles’ mechanical operations enhances safety in on-road traveling, and cooperative traffic information sharing in vehicular networks improves traveling efficiency.

Management And Security Of Multi-Cloud Applications, Lav Gupta

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Single cloud management platform technology has reached maturity and is quite successful in information technology applications. Enterprises and application service providers are increasingly adopting a multi-cloud strategy to reduce the risk of cloud service provider lock-in and cloud blackouts and, at the same time, get the benefits like competitive pricing, the flexibility of resource provisioning and better points of presence. Another class of applications that are getting cloud service providers increasingly interested in is the carriers' virtualized network services. However, virtualized carrier services require high levels of availability and performance and impose stringent requirements on cloud services. They necessitate the …

Cyber Security- A New Secured Password Generation Algorithm With Graphical Authentication And Alphanumeric Passwords Along With Encryption, Akash Rao

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Graphical passwords are always considered as an alternative of alphanumeric passwords for their better memorability and usability [1]. Alphanumeric passwords provide an adequate amount of satisfaction, but they do not offer better memorability compared to graphical passwords [1].

On the other hand, graphical passwords are considered less secured and provide better memorability [1]. Therefore many researchers have researched on graphical passwords to overcome the vulnerability. One of the most significant weaknesses of the graphical passwords is "Shoulder Surfing Attack," which means, sneaking into a victim's computer to learn the whole password or part of password or some confidential information. Such …

A Blockchain-Based Anomalous Detection System For Internet Of Things Devices, Joshua K. Mosby

Theses and Dissertations

Internet of Things devices are highly susceptible to attack, and owners often fail to realize they have been compromised. This thesis describes an anomalous-based intrusion detection system that operates directly on Internet of Things devices utilizing a custom-built Blockchain. In this approach, an agent on each node compares the node's behavior to that of its peers, generating an alert if they are behaving differently. An experiment is conducted to determine the effectiveness at detecting malware. Three different code samples simulating common malware are deployed against a testbed of 12 Raspberry Pi devices. Increasing numbers are infected until two-thirds of the …

A Framework For Cyber Vulnerability Assessments Of Infiniband Networks, Daryl W. Schmitt

Theses and Dissertations

InfiniBand is a popular Input/Output interconnect technology used in High Performance Computing clusters. It is employed in over a quarter of the world’s 500 fastest computer systems. Although it was created to provide extremely low network latency with a high Quality of Service, the cybersecurity aspects of InfiniBand have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The InfiniBand Architecture was designed as a data center technology, logically separated from the Internet, so defensive mechanisms such as packet encryption were not implemented. Cyber communities do not appear to have taken an interest in InfiniBand, but that is likely to change as attackers branch …

Project Insight: A Granular Approach To Enterprise Cybersecurity, Sunna Quazi, Adam Baca, Sam Darsche

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper, we disambiguate risky activity corporate users are propagating with their software in real time by creating an enterprise security visualization solution for system administrators. The current problem in this domain is the lag in cyber intelligence that inhibits preventative security measure execution. This is partially due to the overemphasis of network activity, which is a nonfinite dataset and is difficult to comprehensively ingest with analytics. We address these concerns by elaborating on the beta of a software called "Insight" created by Felix Security. The overall solution leverages endpoint data along with preexisting whitelist/blacklist designations to unambiguously communicate …

Comprehending The Safety Paradox And Privacy Concerns With Medical Device Remote Patient Monitoring, Marc Doyle

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Medical literature identifies a number of technology-driven improvements in disease management such as implantable medical devices (IMDs) that are a standard treatment for candidates with specific diseases. Among patients using implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD), for example, problems and issues are being discovered faster compared to patients without monitoring, improving safety. What is not known is why patients report not feeling safer, creating a safety paradox, and why patients identify privacy concerns in ICD monitoring.

There is a major gap in the literature regarding the factors that contribute to perceived safety and privacy in remote patient monitoring (RPM). To address this …

Procure-To-Pay Software In The Digital Age: An Exploration And Analysis Of Efficiency Gains And Cybersecurity Risks In Modern Procurement Systems, Drew Lane

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Procure-to-Pay (P2P) softwares are an integral part of the payment and procurement processing functions at large-scale governmental institutions. These softwares house all of the financial functions related to procurement, accounts payable, and often human resources, helping to facilitate and automate the process from initiation of a payment or purchase, to the actual disbursal of funds. Often, these softwares contain budgeting and financial reporting tools as part of the offering. As such an integral part of the financial process, these softwares obviously come at an immense cost from a set of reputable vendors. In the case of government, these vendors mainly …

Assessing Risk In Iot Devices, David Levitsky

Master's Theses

The explosive growth of the Internet of Things ecosystem has thrust these devices into the center of our lives. Unfortunately, the desire to create these devices has been stronger than the one to secure them. Recent attacks have shown us ignoring security in Internet of Things devices can cause severe harm in both a digital and physical sense. This thesis outlines a framework for developers and managers to assess the risk of IoT devices using a weighted scoring system across five different categories. Our case studies suggest that devices with higher security considerations have a better security posture and lower …

Aviation Cybersecurity: An Overview, Gary C. Kessler, J. Philip Craiger

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Information security—aka cybersecurity—is the most rapidly growing threat to critical infrastructures, including the aviation industry. Due to the plethora of digital devices, ubiquity of the Internet and other networks, and the rapid growth in the adoption of technology, everyone is an information system security manager. Every professional in the aviation and aeronautics industry use computers, mobile devices, tablets, GPS devices, and/or other hardware on a daily basis, as well as go online for a variety of reasons.

Attacks on information have been ongoing since the inception of the industry a hundred years ago, in such forms as intellectual property theft …

Survey Results On Adults And Cybersecurity Education, Frank Breitinger, Joseph Ricci, Ibrahim Baggili

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Cyberattacks and identity theft are common problems nowadays where researchers often say that humans are the weakest link in the security chain. Therefore, this survey focused on analyzing the interest for adults for ‘cyber threat education seminars’, e.g., how to project themselves and their loved ones. Specifically, we asked questions to understand a possible audience, willingness for paying / time commitment, or fields of interest as well as background and previous training experience. The survey was conducted in late 2016 and taken by 233 participants. The results show that many are worried about cyber threats and about their children exploring …

Data Defenders, Madison Claire Cannon

Alumni Publications

No abstract provided.

User's Manual For Tardigrade Risk Assessment, Alexis M. Shook

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This user-guide provides instructions for operating Tardigrade 1.1.3, a cybersecurity software for Nollysoft, LLC. This guide instructs users step-by-step on how to set security controls, risk assessments, and administrative maintenance. Tardigrade 1.1.3 is a Risk Assessment Enterprise that evaluates the risk level of corporations and offers solutions to any security gaps within an organization. Tardigrade 1.1.3 is a role-based software that operates through three modules, Cybersecurity Assessment, Internal Control, and Security Requirement Traceability Matrix.

Ftc Regulating Cybersecurity Post Wyndham: An International Common Law Comparison On The Impact Of Regulation Of Cybersecurity, Andrew Z. R. Smith

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Cybersecurity Assessment And Mitigation Stochastic Model, Matthew W. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

With numerous cybersecurity incidents and vulnerability concerns in an increasingly contested cyber warfighting environment, the Department of Defense (DoD) has mandated cybersecurity assessment and authorization of all major weapon systems (MWS) before their use. In response to this direction, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) created the Platform Information Technology Assessment and Authorization (PIT A&A) Process. Modeled after the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF), this process applies a risk-based approach to cybersecurity with the goal of identifying risks and mitigating vulnerabilities in MWS. Within this work, a stochastic model of the PIT A&A Process is presented with an …

Employing A User-Centered Design Process For Cybersecurity Awareness In The Power Grid, Jean C. Scholtz, Lyndsey Franklin, Aditya Ashok, Katya Leblanc, Christopher Bonebrake, Eric Andersen, Michael Cassiadoro

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

In this paper, we discuss the process we are using in the design and implementation of a tool to improve the situation awareness of cyberattacks in the power grid. We provide details of the steps we have taken to date and describe the steps that still need to be accomplished. The focus of this work is to provide situation awareness of the power grid to staff from different, non-overlapping roles in an electrical transmission organization in order to facilitate an understanding of a possible occurrence of a cyberattack. Our approach follows a user-centered design process and includes determining the types …

Malware Analysis Skills Taught In University Courses, Swetha Gorugantu

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Career opportunities for malware analysts are growing at a fast pace due to the evolving nature of cyber threats as well as the necessity to counter them. However, employers are often unable to hire analysts fast though due to a lack of the required skillset. Hence, the primary purpose of the thesis is to conduct a gap analysis between the binary analysis skills taught in universities with those that the recruiters are looking for. Malware can be analyzed using three main types of tools and techniques: high-level profiling, static analysis, and dynamic analysis. These methods provide detailed information about the …

Cyber Security And Risk Society: Estonian Discourse On Cyber Risk And Security Strategy, Lauren Kook

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

The main aim of this thesis is to call for a new analysis of cyber security which departs from the traditional security theory. I argue that the cyber domain is inherently different in nature, in that it is lacking in traditional boundaries and is reflexive in nature. Policy-makers are aware of these characteristics, and in turn this awareness changes the way that national cyber security strategy is handled and understood. These changes cannot be adequately understood through traditional understanding of security, as they often are, without missing significant details. Rather, examining these changes through the lens of Ulrich Beck’s risk …

Perceptions Of Female Cybersecurity Professionals Toward Factors That Encourage Females To The Cybersecurity Field, Kembley Kay Lingelbach

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple national, educational, and industry initiatives, women continue to be underrepresented in the cybersecurity field. Only 11% of cybersecurity professionals, globally, are female. This contributes to the growing overall shortage of workers in the field. This research addressed the significant underrepresentation of females in the cybersecurity workforce. There are many practitioner and industry studies that suggest self-efficacy, discrimination and organizational culture play important roles in the low rate of women in the cybersecurity field. A limited number of scholarly studies identify causal factors; however, there is not a general consensus or framework to explain the problem thoroughly. Moreover, there …

Breadcrumbs: Privacy As A Privilege, Prachi Bhardwaj

Capstones

Breadcrumbs: Privacy as a Privilege Abstract

By: Prachi Bhardwaj

In 2017, the world saw more data breaches than in any year prior. The count was more than the all-time high record in 2016, which was 40 percent more than the year before that.

That’s because consumer data is incredibly valuable today. In the last three decades, data storage has gone from being stored physically to being stored almost entirely digitally, which means consumer data is more accessible and applicable to business strategies. As a result, companies are gathering data in ways previously unknown to the average consumer, and hackers are …

Cybercrime: An Investigation Of The Attitudes And Environmental Factors That Make People More Willing To Participate In Online Crime, Dearbhail Kirwan

Dissertations

Cybercrime incidence rates are increasing. In order to identify solutions to this problem, the sources of cybercrime need to be identified. This research attempted to identify a potential set of circumstances that create an environment in which people are more likely to engage in cybercrime. There are three aspects to this; (1) Behaviour on the internet – Are people more likely to engage in illicit activities online than in the physical world? (2) Crime Perceptions – Do people perceive cybercrime as being less serious than non-cybercrime? (3) Resources on the Internet – Are people aware of the types of free …

Dynamic Adversarial Mining - Effectively Applying Machine Learning In Adversarial Non-Stationary Environments., Tegjyot Singh Sethi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While understanding of machine learning and data mining is still in its budding stages, the engineering applications of the same has found immense acceptance and success. Cybersecurity applications such as intrusion detection systems, spam filtering, and CAPTCHA authentication, have all begun adopting machine learning as a viable technique to deal with large scale adversarial activity. However, the naive usage of machine learning in an adversarial setting is prone to reverse engineering and evasion attacks, as most of these techniques were designed primarily for a static setting. The security domain is a dynamic landscape, with an ongoing never ending arms race …

Cyberpdx: A Camp For Broadening Participation In Cybersecurity, Wu-Chang Feng, Robert Liebman, Lois Delcambre, Michael Mooradian Lupro, Tim Sheard, Scott Britell, Gerald W. Recktenwald

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

With society’s increasing dependence on technology infrastructure, the importance of securing the computers, networks, data, and algorithms that run our digital and physical lives is becoming critical. To equip the next generation of citizens for the challenges ahead, an effort is underway to introduce security content early in a student’s academic career. It is important that these efforts broaden participation and increase diversity in the field. While many camps and curricula focus on introducing technical content and skills related to cybersecurity, such approaches can prematurely limit how students view career opportunities in the field, potentially limiting those who ultimately pursue …

Teaching Cybersecurity Using The Cloud, Khaled Salah, Mohammad Hammoud, Sherali Zeadally

Information Science Faculty Publications

Cloud computing platforms can be highly attractive to conduct course assignments and empower students with valuable and indispensable hands-on experience. In particular, the cloud can offer teaching staff and students (whether local or remote) on-demand, elastic, dedicated, isolated, (virtually) unlimited, and easily configurable virtual machines. As such, employing cloud-based laboratories can have clear advantages over using classical ones, which impose major hindrances against fulfilling pedagogical objectives and do not scale well when the number of students and distant university campuses grows up. We show how the cloud paradigm can be leveraged to teach a cybersecurity course. Specifically, we share our …

Cybersecurity In The Information Age

DePaul Magazine

According to the Identify Theft Resource Center, more than 750 breaches occurred in 2014, exposing more than 83 million records. Breaches occur because people have discovered that there’s money to be made from stealing corporate and customer information. Faced with this reality, consumers and companies may wonder if it’s possible to protect their personal and financial data. DePaul's College of Computing and Digital Media is training the next generation of cybersecurity experts to thwart cybersecurity attacks. In addition, DePaul faculty and alumni in data security offer advice to consumers on securing their financial and personal information.

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities In The Smart Grid & Thermodynamical Properties Database Software, Abderrahmen Chouat, Shiyoon Joo, Jacob Holcombe

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Project Scope: Smart grid stability and issues/ challenges associated with coupling nuclear and renewable energy source will be researched. The changes we can expect in grid technology so the robustness and resilience could be further improved will be addressed. This projects will entail literature surveys and may involve running some simulation software and comparisons. Another aspect of the project will be focus on nuclear plant as part of the future smart grid stability challenge. Specifically, this part of the project will entail CFD modeling of zig-zag Printed Circuit compact heat exchanger and modeling it in MATLAB and seeing the difference …