Computer Sciences Commons^™

Improving Fairness, Throughput And Blocking Performance For Long Haul And Short Reach Optical Networks, Sana Tariq

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Innovations in optical communication are expected to transform the landscape of global communications, internet and datacenter networks. This dissertation investigates several important issues in optical communication such as fairness, throughput, blocking probability and differentiated quality of service (QoS). Novel algorithms and new approaches have been presented to improve the performance of optical circuit switching (OCS) and optical burst switching (OBS) for long haul, and datacenter networks. Extensive simulations tests have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. These simulation tests were performed over a number of network topologies such as ring, mesh and U.S. Long-Haul, some high …

Mapping The Laws Which Apply To Intercepting Wireless Communications In A Western Australian Legal Context, Tim Thomas, Craig Valli

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The rapid evolution and deployment of WiFi technology creates a new environment where offenders can intercept and obtain sensitive information for use in the commissioning of further criminal activity. This paper explores how the law applies to an protects the wireless communications environment, with specific focus on the interception of WiFi data communications.

An Overview Of Bluetooth Device Discovery And Fingerprinting Techniques – Assessing The Local Context, Maxim Chernyshev

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The ubiquitous nature of portable communication devices presents a number of opportunities for automated device discovery, tracking and possible owner identification. Consumer devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearables, laptops and vehicle entertainment systems commonly support the 802.15.1 (Bluetooth) wireless communication protocol that enables a variety device discovery and fingerprinting techniques. We provide an overview of these techniques encompassing those native to the protocol as well as those that are possibly protocol-agnostic due to their inherently generic nature. We then introduce an opportunity for a comparison study that sets out to examine and quantify the effectiveness of selected techniques in the …

The Spy In Your Pocket: Smartphones And Geo-Location Data, Krishnun Sansurooah, Bradley Keane

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The integration of Global Positioning Systems and Smartphones has seen the significance of location based services rise. Geo-location data could prove to be an invaluable source of evidence in a forensic investigation. An attempt to extract geo-location data from an iPhone4s and Huawei Ascend G526 in a forensically sound manner revealed significant geo-location data embedded within geo-tags within photos taken on the devices. Other limited evidence was located on the devices.

Image Similarity Using Dynamic Time Warping Of Fractal Features, Ahmed Ibrahim, Craig Valli

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Hashing algorithms such as MD/SHA variants have been used for years by forensic investigators to look for known artefacts of interest such as malicious files. However, such hashing algorithms are not effective when their hashes change with the slightest alteration in the file. Fuzzy hashing overcame this limitation to a certain extent by providing a close enough measure for slight modifications. As such, image forensics is an essential part of any digital crime investigation, especially in cases involving child pornography. Unfortunately such hashing algorithms can be thwarted easily by operations as simple as saving the original file in a different …

Cyber Blackbox For Collecting Network Evidence, Jooyoung Lee, Sunoh Choi, Yangseo Choi, Jonghyun Kim, Ikkyun Kim, Youngseok Lee

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

In recent years, the hottest topics in the security field are related to the advanced and persistent attacks. As an approach to solve this problem, we propose a cyber blackbox which collects and preserves network traffic on a virtual volume based WORM device, called EvidenceLock to ensure data integrity for security and forensic analysis. As a strategy to retain traffic for long enough periods, we introduce a deduplication method. Also this paper includes a study on the network evidence which is collected and preserved for analyzing the cause of cyber incident. Then, a method is proposed to suggest a starting …

Security Risks Of Medical Devices In Wireless Environments, Krishnun Sansurooah

Australian eHealth Informatics and Security Conference

The advancement of wireless medical devices technology, that has developed in hospitals and migrated into the home environment, has created unsustainability in in terms of the management of security for such devices. Through this paper, we shall attempt to explain how medical devices have completely changed the way security needs to be approached in the medical field. We shall also explore the history of medical devices and the organizational problems faced for the development of these devices, the different stakeholders strengths and weaknesses, especially if the device is implanted inside the body of a patient. Once the risk is understood …

Creating An Operational Security Management Structure For Inimical Environments: Papua New Guinea As A Case Study, William J. Bailey

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

Security is a necessary cost for businesses wishing to operate in the developing economy of Papua New Guinea. The country continues to face levels of crime and violence out of proportion to other East Asian countries; which deters many would be investors. However, the potential in PNG is vast and eagerly sought after despite the high costs required to operate without harm, therefore, it is necessary manage the security situation. Experience from similar countries has shown by using optimal security management systems and structures it is possible to work safely, securely and effectively, but this requires a comprehensive security, threat …

Cctv Surveillance: The Differing Aims And Functions Of Cctv Within The Corporate Stratum, Johan Malmenbratt, David J. Brooks

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems are found in a variety of environments and used for a multitude of purposes, leading to differing views of CCTV within an organisation. In accordance to management theory, organisations contain a stratum of work where each level requires specific skills set. In accordance with this work stratum, the study’s methodology used semi-structured interviews with different levels of security personnel in a Casino complex to extract and undertake a thematic analysis. The study extracted 10 CCTV surveillance features across two themes, being its aims and functions. CCTV features included creating a safe environment, protection, legal compliance …

Attributes Of An Analyst: What We Can Learn From The Intelligence Analysts Job Description, Jeffrey D. Corkill, Teresa Kasprzyk Cunow, Elisabeth Ashton, Amanda East

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

No abstract provided.

Intensity Based Interrogation Of Optical Fibre Sensors For Industrial Automation And Intrusion Detection Systems, Gary Andrew Allwood

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this study, the use of optical fibre sensors for intrusion detection and industrial automation systems has been demonstrated, with a particular focus on low cost, intensity-based, interrogation techniques. The use of optical fibre sensors for intrusion detection systems to secure residential, commercial, and industrial premises against potential security breaches has been extensively reviewed in this thesis. Fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensing is one form of optical fibre sensing that has been underutilised in applications such as in-ground, in-fence, and window and door monitoring, and addressing that opportunity has been a major goal of this thesis. Both security and industrial …

Intelligent Network Intrusion Detection Using An Evolutionary Computation Approach, Samaneh Rastegari

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

With the enormous growth of users' reliance on the Internet, the need for secure and reliable computer networks also increases. Availability of effective automatic tools for carrying out different types of network attacks raises the need for effective intrusion detection systems.

Generally, a comprehensive defence mechanism consists of three phases, namely, preparation, detection and reaction. In the preparation phase, network administrators aim to find and fix security vulnerabilities (e.g., insecure protocol and vulnerable computer systems or firewalls), that can be exploited to launch attacks. Although the preparation phase increases the level of security in a network, this will never completely …

Ciphercard: A Token-Based Approach Against Camera-Based Shoulder Surfing Attacks On Common Touchscreen Devices, Teddy Seyed, Xing-Dong Yang, Anthony Tang, Saul Greenberg, Jiawei Gu, Bin Zhu, Xiang Ciao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present CipherCard, a physical token that defends against shoulder-surfing attacks on user authentication on capacitive touchscreen devices. When CipherCard is placed over a touchscreen’s pin-pad, it remaps a user’s touch point on the physical token to a different location on the pin-pad. It hence translates a visible user password into a different system password received by a touchscreen, but is hidden from observers as well as the user. CipherCard enhances authentication security through Two-Factor Authentication (TFA), in that both the correct user password and a specific card are needed for successful authentication. We explore the design space of CipherCard, …

Integrated Intelligence For Human-Robot Teams, Jean Oh, Et. Al.

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With recent advances in robotics technologies and autonomous systems, the idea of human-robot teams is gaining ever-increasing attention. In this context, our research focuses on developing an intelligent robot that can autonomously perform non-trivial, but specific tasks conveyed through natural language. Toward this goal, a consortium of researchers develop and integrate various types of intelligence into mobile robot platforms, including cognitive abilities to reason about high-level missions, perception to classify regions and detect relevant objects in an environment, and linguistic abilities to associate instructions with the robot’s world model and to communicate with human teammates in a natural way. This …

Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (Mimo) Communication With Distributed Antenna Systems In Wireless Networks, Karthikeyan Sundaresan, Mohammad Khojastepour, Sampath Rangarajan, Jie Xiong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

A system and a method are provided. The method includes deploying a plurality of antennas of an access point or a base station as a distributed antenna system. The method further includes configuring the distributed antenna system for multi-user wireless transmissions by applying medium access techniques and power-balanced pre-coding at the access point or the base station. The method also includes providing device localization for devices communicating with the distributed antenna system by applying time-difference-of-arrival techniques to antenna pairs from among the plurality of antennas at the access point or the base station.

A Domain Decomposition Method For The Steady-State Navier-Stokes-Darcy Model With Beavers-Joseph Interface Condition, Xiaoming He, Jian Li, Yanping Lin, Ju Ming

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes and analyzes a Robin-type multiphysics domain decomposition method (DDM) for the steady-state Navier-Stokes-Darcy model with three interface conditions. In addition to the two regular interface conditions for the mass conservation and the force balance, the Beavers-Joseph condition is used as the interface condition in the tangential direction. The major mathematical difficulty in adopting the Beavers-Joseph condition is that it creates an indefinite leading order contribution to the total energy budget of the system [Y. Cao et al., Comm. Math. Sci., 8 (2010), pp. 1-25; Y. Cao et al., SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 47 (2010), pp. 4239-4256]. In …

Composition-Dependent Structural And Transport Properties Of Amorphous Transparent Conducting Oxides, Rabi Khanal, D. Bruce Buchholz, Robert P. Chang, Julia E. Medvedeva

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Structural properties of amorphous In-based oxides, In-X-O with X=Zn, Ga, Sn, or Ge, are investigated using ab initio molecular dynamics liquid-quench simulations. The results reveal that indium retains its average coordination of 5.0 upon 20% X fractional substitution for In, whereas X cations satisfy their natural coordination with oxygen atoms. This finding suggests that the carrier generation is primarily governed by In atoms, in accord with the observed carrier concentration in amorphous In-O and In-X-O. At the same time, the presence of X affects the number of six-coordinated In atoms as well as the oxygen sharing between the InO_{6 …}

Network And Device Forensic Analysis Of Android Social-Messaging Applications, Daniel Walnycky, Ibrahim Baggili, Andrew Marrington, Jason Moore, Frank Breitinger

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

In this research we forensically acquire and analyze the device-stored data and network traffic of 20 popular instant messaging applications for Android. We were able to reconstruct some or the entire message content from 16 of the 20 applications tested, which reflects poorly on the security and privacy measures employed by these applications but may be construed positively for evidence collection purposes by digital forensic practitioners. This work shows which features of these instant messaging applications leave evidentiary traces allowing for suspect data to be reconstructed or partially reconstructed, and whether network forensics or device forensics permits the reconstruction of …

An Empirical Comparison Of Widely Adopted Hash Functions In Digital Forensics: Does The Programming Language And Operating System Make A Difference?, Satyendra Gurjar, Ibrahim Baggili, Frank Breitinger, Alice E. Fischer

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Hash functions are widespread in computer sciences and have a wide range of applications such as ensuring integrity in cryptographic protocols, structuring database entries (hash tables) or identifying known files in forensic investigations. Besides their cryptographic requirements, a fundamental property of hash functions is efficient and easy computation which is especially important in digital forensics due to the large amount of data that needs to be processed when working on cases. In this paper, we correlate the runtime efficiency of common hashing algorithms (MD5, SHA-family) and their implementation. Our empirical comparison focuses on C-OpenSSL, Python, Ruby, Java on Windows and …

Computational Discovery Of Lanthanide Doped And Co-Doped Y₃Al₅O₁₂ For Optoelectronic Applications, Kamal Kumar Choudhary, Aleksandr V. Chernatynskiy, Kiran Mathew, Eric W. Bucholz, Simon R. Phillpot, Susan Sinnott, Richard G. Hennig

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We systematically elucidate the optoelectronic properties of rare-earth doped and Ce co-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) using hybrid exchange-correlation functional based density functional theory. The predicted optical transitions agree with the experimental observations for single doped Ce:YAG, Pr:YAG, and co-doped Er,Ce:YAG. We find that co-doping of Ce-doped YAG with any lanthanide except Eu and Lu lowers the transition energies; we attribute this behavior to the lanthanide-induced change in bonding environment of the dopant atoms. Furthermore, we find infrared transitions only in case of the Er, Tb, and Tm co-doped Ce:YAG and suggest Tm,Ce:YAG and Tb,Ce:YAG as possible functional materials for …

Electron- And Photon-Impact Ionization Of Furfural, D. B. Jones, E. Ali, K. L. Nixon, P. Limão-Vieira, M.-J. Hubin-Franskin, J. Delwiche, C. G. Ning, J. Colgan, Andrew J. Murray, Don H. Madison, M .J. Brunger

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The He(i) photoelectron spectrum of furfural has been investigated, with its vibrational structure assigned for the first time. The ground and excited ionized states are assigned through ab initio calculations performed at the outer-valence Green's function level. Triple differential cross sections (TDCSs) for electron-impact ionization of the unresolved combination of the 4a" + 21a' highest and next-highest occupied molecular orbitals have also been obtained. Experimental TDCSs are recorded in a combination of asymmetric coplanar and doubly symmetric coplanar kinematics. The experimental TDCSs are compared to theoretical calculations, obtained within a molecular 3-body distorted wave framework that employed either an orientation …

Real-Time Shadows For Gigapixel Displacement Maps, Kevin Anthony Cherry

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Shadows portray helpful information in scenes. From a scientific visualization standpoint, they help to add data without unnecessary clutter. In video games they add realism and depth. In common graphics pipelines, due to the independent and parallel rendering of geometric primitives, shadows are difficult to achieve. Objects require knowledge of each other and therefore multiple renders are needed to collect the necessary data. The collection of this data comes with its own set of trade offs. Our research involves adding shadows into a lunar rendering framework developed by Dr. Robert Kooima. The NASA-collected data contains a multi-gigapixel displacement map describing …

Virtual Polytopes, G. Yu Panina, I. Streinu

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Originating in diverse branches of mathematics, from polytope algebra and toric varieties to the theory of stressed graphs, virtual polytopes represent a natural algebraic generalization of convex polytopes. Introduced as elements of the Grothendieck group associated to the semigroup of convex polytopes, they admit a variety of geometrizations. The present survey connects the theory of virtual polytopes with other geometrical subjects, describes a series of geometrizations together with relations between them, and gives a selection of applications.

Cyberspace: A Venue For Terrorism, David Bieda, Leila Halawi

Publications

This paper discusses how cyberspace has become a venue for terrorists groups for recruiting and proliferating propaganda and terrorism. Moreover, this study explores how the low cost Internet infrastructure and social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) have contributed to their networking and operations due to the convenience, in terms of availability, accessibility, message redundancy, ease of use, and the inability to censor content. Concepts such as cyber-weapons, cyber-attacks, cyber-war, and cyber-terrorism are presented and explored to assess how terrorist groups are exploiting cyberspace.

Dynamic Phases, Pinning, And Pattern Formation For Driven Dislocation Assemblies, Caizhi Zhou, Charles Reichhardt, Cynthia Olson Reichhardt, Irene J. Beyerlein

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We examine driven dislocation assemblies and show that they can exhibit a set of dynamical phases remarkably similar to those of driven systems with quenched disorder such as vortices in superconductors, magnetic domain walls, and charge density wave materials. These phases include pinned-jammed, fluctuating, and dynamically ordered states, and each produces distinct dislocation patterns as well as specific features in the noise fluctuations and transport properties. Our work suggests that many of the results established for systems with quenched disorder undergoing plastic depinning transitions can be applied to dislocation systems, providing a new approach for understanding pattern formation and dynamics …

Collaboration Portal For Researchers At Eastern Illinois University, Fatemeh Khastkhodaardekani

Masters Theses

This thesis addresses a need for an online collaboration environment for the researchers at Eastern Illinois University (EIU). As the solution, it provides a portal for researchers (students and faculties) who wish to explore and collaborate on projects based on ideas from those who may not have the necessary skills. This is considered to help developing projects based on the ideas as well as making teams, and teach different groups of people different perspectives. Therefore, it offers a learning environment. I started off by examining existing tools and methodologies to satisfy this purpose. As the result, the deliverable project is …

Spiking Neural Networks: Neuron Models, Plasticity, And Graph Applications, Shaun Donachy

Theses and Dissertations

Networks of spiking neurons can be used not only for brain modeling but also to solve graph problems. With the use of a computationally efficient Izhikevich neuron model combined with plasticity rules, the networks possess self-organizing characteristics. Two different time-based synaptic plasticity rules are used to adjust weights among nodes in a graph resulting in solutions to graph prob- lems such as finding the shortest path and clustering.

A Survey And Method For Analysing Soho Router Firmware Currency, Nikolai Hampton, Patryk Szewczyk

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Network routers are a core component of contemporary SoHo networks. The firmware within these devices provides routing, control and monitoring functionality coupled with mechanisms to ensure a secure and reliable network. End-users are typically reliant on manufacturers to provide timely firmware updates to mitigate known vulnerabilities. An investigation was undertaken to identify the underlying software components used in the firmware of currently available, SoHo network devices used in Australia. Firmware from 37 devices was deconstructed to identify potential security issues; in each instance, the firmware images were found to include vulnerabilities, obsolete software and out-of-date operating system components. 95% of …

Evaluating Single Sign On Security Failure In Cloud Services, Brian Cusack, Eghbal Zadeh

Australian Information Security Management Conference

The business use of cloud computing services is motivated by the ease of use and the potential financial cost reductions. Service failure may occur when the service provider does not protect information or when the use of the services becomes overly complex and difficult. The benefits also bring optimisation challenges for the information owners who must assess the service security risk and the degree to which new human behaviours are required. In this research we look at the risk of identity theft when ease of service access is provided through a Single Sign On (SSO) authorisation and ask: What are …

Ransomware: Emergence Of The Cyber-Extortion Menace, Nikolai Hampton, Zubair A. Baig

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Ransomware is increasingly posing a threat to the security of information resources. Millions of dollars of monetary loss have been afflicted on end-users and corporations alike through unlawful deployment of ransomware. Through malware injection into end-user devices and subsequent extortion of their system or data, ransomware has emerged as a threat requiring immediate attention and containment by the cyber-security community. We conduct a detailed analysis of the steps of execution involved in ransomware deployment to facilitate readiness of the cyber-security community in containing the rapid proliferation of ransomware. This paper examines the evolution of malware over a period of 26 …