Computer and Systems Architecture Commons^™

Mitigating Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures In Cobol-Based Critical Systems Using The Strangler-Fig Pattern, Lauren E. Caruso, Vincent J. Compeau, Assefaw H. Gebremedhin

Military Cyber Affairs

COBOL-based legacy systems continue to underpin critical infrastructure in banking and government sectors despite their age and associated cybersecurity risks. Originally developed through a Department of Defense–sponsored initiative to standardize business computing, COBOL remains widely used in mission-critical environments. However, these systems face increasing vulnerabilities due to outdated security architectures, workforce shortages, and rising maintenance costs. This paper examines cybersecurity and operational challenges associated with COBOL systems and evaluates the Strangler Fig pattern as a modernization strategy that enables incremental replacement while maintaining continuity. The findings highlight implications for financial institutions and public-sector organizations dependent on legacy infrastructure.

Semantic Shields: Automating Critical Infrastructure Defense Via Nlp-Driven Ransomware Profiling, Henry Trowbridge, Ian Zalcberg, Ryan Schley, Carter Yagemann, Natasha Phan, Srikar Maduposu, Vimal Buck

Military Cyber Affairs

Ransomware poses a growing threat to critical infrastructure, where successful attacks can disrupt operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) with significant public safety consequences. However, attributing ransomware incidents to specific threat actors remains challenging due to ransomware-as-a-service ecosystems, actor rebranding, and the obfuscation of traditional indicators of compromise. This paper presents Semantic Shields, an NLP-driven attribution framework that leverages BERT-generated semantic embeddings and DBSCAN clustering to profile ransomware actors through the linguistic characteristics of ransom notes. Using a dataset of 295 ransom notes from 189 distinct threat groups, the framework achieved an 87.2% true positive clustering rate and …

Ai Cyber First Responders: Bottleneck Analysis Of Heterogeneous Cpu–Gpu Pipelines For Security Operations Center Triage, Christine Pierce

Harrisburg University Other Works

Abstract — Modern Security Operations Centers (SOCs) must continuously process massive volumes of heterogeneous security telemetry while meeting stringent throughput, latency, and operational continuity requirements. Although transformer-based artificial intelligence has significantly improved threat detection and alert prioritization, most cybersecurity research evaluates model accuracy rather than the end-to-end behavior of AI-enabled operational pipelines. Consequently, relatively little is known about how heterogeneous CPU–GPU coordination, scheduling overhead, memory movement, and synchronization collectively influence operational SOC performance. This paper presents the AI Cyber First Responder, a heterogeneous SOC triage architecture that integrates GPU-accelerated transformer inference with CPU-based doctrine-driven reasoning to investigate end-to-end pipeline behavior …

Trends In Non-Profit Cybersecurity: Analyzing Three Years Of Incident Data From The Npcir, Stanley Mierzwa, Joanna Paliszkiewicz, Edyta Skarzyńska

Center for Cybersecurity

This study analyzes cyberattack trends targeting non-profit organizations using longitudinal data collected over a three-year period within the Non-Profit Cybersecurity Incident Repository (NPCIR). Developed through a National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (NSA CAE-CD) designated center, the NPCIR applies an open-source intelligence (OSINT) methodology to systematically document cybersecurity incidents affecting the global non-profit sector. This study examines attack types, threat actor characteristics, sectoral distribution, and cybersecurity impacts using the Confidentiality–Integrity–Availability (CIA) triad framework. The results indicate that availability-related incidents, particularly ransomware and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, constitute the most prevalent threats, while confidentiality breaches remain highly …

Analyzing Network Traffic And Data Exfiltration Via Smb In Post-Vm Escape Scenarios, Noah M. Disanza

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Virtual machines (VMs) play a crucial role in modern IT infrastructure environments by providing isolation and enhanced security, among other things, for both personal and corporate systems. VMs are heavily rely upon to safely test malware, manage infrastructure, and reduce risk to host systems. This reliance is so substantial that the idea of reducing risk to the host system is believed to be erasing risk entirely. However, this mindset has shown to be challenged time and time again by the emergence of exploits known as virtual machine escapes. These exploits allow malicious actors to break out of the virtualized environment …

Implications Of Quantum Computing For Enterprise Cybersecurity And Data Integrity, Manikantha Varaprasad Inakollu

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Quantum computing represents a paradigm shift in computational capabilities that poses both unprecedented threats and opportunities for enterprise cybersecurity. This research examines the implications of quantum computing advancement on current cryptographic systems, data protection mechanisms, and organizational security frameworks. Through analysis of quantum computing developments from 2019-2024 and surveys of 280 cybersecurity professionals across various industries, this study identifies critical vulnerabilities in existing encryption standards and explores emerging quantum-resistant solutions. The findings reveal that approximately 78% of enterprises remain unprepared for quantum threats, with current RSA and ECC encryption systems facing potential compromise within the next 10-15 years. The research …

Internet Of Things And Modern Digital Evidence Collection, Muhammad T. Haider

Student Theses

The ever-evolving landscape of technology and its innovations are populating our houses, streets and all kinds of industries. The use of smart devices is booming from most developed nations to underdeveloped countries. The complications which come with the use of the Internet of Things has been an active discussion for the past many years. If we look around in a room of 30 people, we will most likely find double the amount of IoT devices than the people in that room. All of those devices are connected to the Internet, and are communicating with data servers across the world. The …

Using Blockchain Technology To Help Secure America's Defense Critical Infrastructure, Vimal Buck, Aerin Krebs, Brynn Hillard, Jakob Gerha, Joseph Lutma, Srikar Maduposu, Ted Allen

Military Cyber Affairs

Critical water infrastructure in the United States faces increasing cybersecurity threats from state-sponsored actors, with potentially devastating consequences for national security, economic stability, and public health. (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2025). This infrastructure supports defense critical assets and is actively being targeted by various state-sponsored hacking groups, which poses a major concern for civilians and military alike. K. Herath (personal communication, February 24, 2025) reported being aware of two attacks on Ohio water systems during his tenure as Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

Water is essential to everyday life and defense and presents as a high-value …

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 …

Crowdstrike Cyber Incident Vs. Past Major Cyber Incidents: Analysis And Solutions, Priyant Banerjee

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

On July 19, 2024, a technical malfunction in CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor software led to a global ITdisruption, affecting millions of devices across multiple sectors. This incident, although not a direct cyber-attack, caused significant operational upheavals reminiscent of major past cyber incidents. This paperexplores the CrowdStrike incident in detail, compares it with previous major cyber events, and proposescomprehensive solutions to mitigate such risks in the future.The faulty update from CrowdStrike resulted in widespread system crashes, notably the "Blue Screen ofDeath," paralyzing operations in critical sectors such as healthcare, finance, and transportation. The paperexamines the immediate and cascading effects of the incident, …

Comprehensive Network Redundancy Implementation And Cybersecurity Hardening Project: Ensuring Resilience And Defending Against Dhcp Starvation, Stp Man-In-The-Middle, And Brute Force Attacks, Seth Shaheen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I have created a network topology that contains three Cisco routers, three Cisco switches, and three endpoints. The network has been built using the software GNS-3. The endpoints on the topology include one VPC, one Kali Linux VM, and one Ubuntu Server VM. The main purpose of this network topology is to show the skills I have learned during my tenure at The University of Akron. This will be done by hardening this network to ensure that the network is impervious to cyber-attacks. The Kali Linux VM will act as the attacker on the network and conduct three attacks: STP …

Improving Ethics Surrounding Collegiate-Level Hacking Education: Recommended Implementation Plan & Affiliation With Peer-Led Initiatives, Shannon Morgan, Dr. Sanjay Goel

Military Cyber Affairs

Cybersecurity has become a pertinent concern, as novel technological innovations create opportunities for threat actors to exfiltrate sensitive data. To meet the demand for professionals in the workforce, universities have ramped up their academic offerings to provide a broad range of cyber-related programs (e.g., cybersecurity, informatics, information technology, digital forensics, computer science, & engineering). As the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of hackers evolve, the knowledge and skillset required to be an effective cybersecurity professional have escalated accordingly. Therefore, it is critical to train cyber students both technically and theoretically to actively combat cyber criminals and protect the confidentiality, integrity, …

Generative Machine Learning For Cyber Security, James Halvorsen, Dr. Assefaw Gebremedhin

Military Cyber Affairs

Automated approaches to cyber security based on machine learning will be necessary to combat the next generation of cyber-attacks. Current machine learning tools, however, are difficult to develop and deploy due to issues such as data availability and high false positive rates. Generative models can help solve data-related issues by creating high quality synthetic data for training and testing. Furthermore, some generative architectures are multipurpose, and when used for tasks such as intrusion detection, can outperform existing classifier models. This paper demonstrates how the future of cyber security stands to benefit from continued research on generative models.

Securing The Void: Assessing The Dynamic Threat Landscape Of Space, Brianna Bace, Dr. Unal Tatar

Military Cyber Affairs

Outer space is a strategic and multifaceted domain that is a crossroads for political, military, and economic interests. From a defense perspective, the U.S. military and intelligence community rely heavily on satellite networks to meet national security objectives and execute military operations and intelligence gathering. This paper examines the evolving threat landscape of the space sector, encompassing natural and man-made perils, emphasizing the rise of cyber threats and the complexity introduced by dual-use technology and commercialization. It also explores the implications for security and resilience, advocating for collaborative efforts among international organizations, governments, and industry to safeguard the space sector.

Enhancing Cyber Resilience: Development, Challenges, And Strategic Insights In Cyber Security Report Websites Using Artificial Inteligence, Pooja Sharma

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

In an era marked by relentless cyber threats, the imperative of robust cyber security measures cannot be overstated. This thesis embarks on an in-depth exploration of the historical trajectory and contemporary relevance of penetration testing methodologies, elucidating their evolution from nascent origins to indispensable tools in the cyber security arsenal. Moreover, it undertakes the ambitious task of conceptualizing and implementing a cyber security report website, meticulously designed to fortify cyber resilience in the face of ever-evolving threats in the digital realm.

The research journey commences with an insightful examination of the historical antecedents of penetration testing, tracing its genesis in …

Cybersecurity In Critical Infrastructure Systems: Emulated Protection Relay, Mitchell Bylak

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cyber-attacks on Critical Systems Infrastructure have been steadily increasing across the world as the capabilities of and reliance on technology have grown throughout the 21st century, and despite the influx of new cybersecurity practices and technologies, the industry faces challenges in its cooperation between the government that regulates law practices and the private sector that owns and operates critical infrastructure and security, which has directly led to an absence of eas- ily accessible information and learning resources on cybersecurity for use in public environments and educational settings. This honors research thesis addresses these challenges by submitting the development of an …

Integrating Nist And Iso Cybersecurity Audit And Risk Assessment Frameworks Into Cameroonian Law, Bernard Ngalim

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

This paper reviews cybersecurity laws and regulations in Cameroon, focusing on cybersecurity and information security audits and risk assessments. The importance of cybersecurity risk assessment and the implementation of security controls to cure deficiencies noted during risk assessments or audits is a critical step in developing cybersecurity resilience. Cameroon's cybersecurity legal framework provides for audits but does not explicitly enumerate controls. Consequently, integrating relevant controls from the NIST frameworks and ISO Standards can improve the cybersecurity posture in Cameroon while waiting for a comprehensive revision of the legal framework. NIST and ISO are internationally recognized as best practices in information …

Sel4 On Risc-V - Developing High Assurance Platforms With Modular Open-Source Architectures, Michael A. Doran Jr

Masters Theses

Virtualization is now becoming an industry standard for modern embedded systems. Modern embedded systems can now support multiple applications on a single hardware platform while meeting power and cost requirements. Virtualization on an embedded system is achieved through the design of the hardware-software interface. Instruction set architecture, ISA, defines the hardware-software interface for an embedded system. At the hardware level the ISA, provides extensions to support virtualization.

In addition to an ISA that supports hypervisor extensions it is equally important to provide a hypervisor completely capable of exploiting the benefits of virtualization for securing modern embedded systems. Currently there does …

Security-Enhanced Serial Communications, John White, Alexander Beall, Joseph Maurio, Dane Fichter, Dr. Matthew Davis, Dr. Zachary Birnbaum

Military Cyber Affairs

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are widely used by critical infrastructure and are ubiquitous in numerous industries including telecommunications, petrochemical, and manufacturing. ICS are at a high risk of cyber attack given their internet accessibility, inherent lack of security, deployment timelines, and criticality. A unique challenge in ICS security is the prevalence of serial communication buses and other non-TCP/IP communications protocols. The communication protocols used within serial buses often lack authentication and integrity protections, leaving them vulnerable to spoofing and replay attacks. The bandwidth constraints and prevalence of legacy hardware in these systems prevent the use of modern message authentication and …

Enhancing Cyberspace Monitoring In The United States Aviation Industry: A Multi-Layered Approach For Addressing Emerging Threats, Matthew Janson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research project examined the cyberspace domain in the United States (U.S.) aviation industry from many different angles. The research involved learning about the U.S. aviation cyberspace environment, the landscape of cyber threats, new technologies like 5G and smart airports, cybersecurity frameworks and best practices, and the use of aviation cyberspace monitoring capabilities. The research looked at how vulnerable the aviation industry is from cyber-attacks, analyzed the possible effects of cyber-attacks on the industry, and suggests ways to improve the industry's cybersecurity posture. The project's main goal was to protect against possible cyber-attacks and make sure that the aviation industry …

Multifaceted Cybersecurity Analysis: Reconnaissance, Exploitation And Mitigation In A Controlled Network Environment, Austin Coontz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report details a network penetration test in a simulated environment using GNS3, focusing on the configuration of routers, switches, and hosts. The project successfully identified and exploited network vulnerabilities, including FTP access, misconfigured sudo permissions, and SMB protocol weaknesses. The penetration testing process utilized tools like fping and nmap for reconnaissance and vulnerability scanning, revealing the importance of device configurations in network security. The project concluded with mitigation strategies, emphasizing the need for secure access, robust password policies, and security controls. The experience underscored the significance of continuous learning and adaptation in the ever-evolving field of cybersecurity. The project …

Small Business Office Network, Michael Gerome

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will emulate a small office network environment. The project will demonstrate the process of building and configuring the network to meet the requirements laid out in the project plan. This network includes four subnets with Windows 10 end devices and a Kali Linux device, it also includes five Cisco layer 2 switches and three Cisco routers. There are also three subnets connecting the routers to each other to enable routing between the subnets. After the network environment is set up, various penetration tests are performed from the Kali Linux device to gather information. The Nmap reconnaissance tool is …

Defensive Industrial Policy: Cybersecurity Interventions To Reduce Intellectual Property Theft, Dr. Chad Dacus, Dr. Carl (Cj) Horn

Military Cyber Affairs

Through cyber-enabled industrial espionage, China has appropriated what Keith Alexander, the former Director of the National Security Agency, dubbed “the largest transfer of wealth in history.” Although China disavows intellectual property (IP) theft by its citizens and has set self-sustained research and development as an important goal, it is unrealistic to believe IP theft will slow down meaningfully without changing China’s decision calculus. China and the United States have twice agreed, in principle, to respect one another’s IP rights. However, these agreements have lacked any real enforcement mechanism, so the United States must do more to ensure its IP is …

A Trusted Platform For Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Bridge Inspection Management System, Hwapyeong Song

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Bridge inspection has a pivotal role in assuring the safety of critical structures constituting society. However, high cost, worker safety, and low objectivity of quality are classic problems in traditional visual inspection. Recent trends in bridge inspection have led to a proliferation of research utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This thesis proposes a Trusted Platform for Bridge Inspection Management System (Trusted-BIMS) for safe and efficient bridge inspection by proving the UAV-based inspection process and improving the prototype of the previous study. Designed based on a Zero-Trust (ZT) strategy, Trusted-BIMS consist of (1) a database-driven web framework with security features for …

Book Review: This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race (2020) By Nicole Perlroth, Amy C. Gaudion

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Artificial Intelligence (Ai): The New Look Of Customer Service In A Cybersecurity World, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

Cybersecurity leaders are not adequately developed to guide the re-engineering of quality customer service (QCS) workflows, designed with automation and AI, that interrelate with people through customers’ perceptions. Realizing re-engineering processes should be a team effort with well-versed leadership and stakeholders guiding the successful design through a follow-up process. Leaders must shape compelling and straightforward needs to learn and teach employees and chat boxes indispensable customer service skills demonstrating patience, self-discipline, flexibility, and resourcefulness in communication with irritated customers or difficult circumstances. Whether the analysis, design, development, and implementation struggles are vacuums in cybersecurity knowledge, skill, and abilities or a …

Artificial Intelligence (Ai) And Augmented Reality (Ar): Disambiguated In The Telemedicine / Telehealth Sphere, Sharon L. Burton

Publications

The world is navigating through unfamiliar and incomprehensible times – COVID-19, international economic crisis, and crumbling healthcare systems. The United States (US) healthcare industry is grappling with an increased workload and advancing digitization technological concerns. The failure of organizations to offer suitable cybersecurity controls within the critical infrastructure leads to advanced persistent threat (APT) that could have incapacitating effects on organizations. A keen understanding of cybersecurity is vital for leaders and the need is referenced in US policy that advances a national unity of effort to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure. Akin to the Presidential Policy …

Infiniband Network Monitoring: Challenges And Possibilities, Kyle D. Hintze

Theses and Dissertations

Within the realm of High Performance Computing, the InfiniBand Architecture is among the leading interconnects used today. Capable of providing high bandwidth and low latency, InfiniBand is finding applications outside the High Performance Computing domain. One of these is critical infrastructure, encompassing almost all essential sectors as the work force becomes more connected. InfiniBand is not immune to security risks, as prior research has shown that common traffic analyzing tools cannot effectively monitor InfiniBand traffic transmitted between hosts, due to the kernel bypass nature of the IBA in conjunction with Remote Direct Memory Access operations. If Remote Direct Memory Access …

Energy Harvesting And Sensor Based Hardware Security Primitives For Cyber-Physical Systems, Carson Labrado

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The last few decades have seen a large proliferation in the prevalence of cyber-physical systems. Although cyber-physical systems can offer numerous advantages to society, their large scale adoption does not come without risks. Internet of Things (IoT) devices can be considered a significant component within cyber-physical systems. They can provide network communication in addition to controlling the various sensors and actuators that exist within the larger cyber-physical system. The adoption of IoT features can also provide attackers with new potential avenues to access and exploit a system's vulnerabilities. Previously, existing systems could more or less be considered a closed system …