Information Security Commons^™

Penetration Testing Frameworks And Methodologies: A Comparison And Evaluation, Aleatha Shanley

Theses : Honours

Cyber security is fast becoming a strategic priority across both governments and private organisations. With technology abundantly available, and the unbridled growth in the size and complexity of information systems, cyber criminals have a multitude of targets. Therefore, cyber security assessments are becoming common practice as concerns about information security grow. Penetration testing is one strategy used to mitigate the risk of cyber-attack. Penetration testers attempt to compromise systems using the same tools and techniques as malicious attackers thus, aim to identify vulnerabilities before an attack occurs. Penetration testing can be complex depending on the scope and domain area under …

Survey On Remnant Data Research: The Artefacts Recovered And The Implications In A Cyber Security Conscious World, Michael James, Patryk Szewczyk

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The prevalence of remnant data in second hand storage media is well documented. Since 2004 there have been ten separate papers released through Edith Cowan University alone. Despite numerous government agencies providing advice on securing personal and corporate information, and news articles highlighting the need for data security, the availability of personal and confidential data on second hand storage devices is continuing, indicating a systemic laissez faire attitude to data security, even in our supposedly cyber security conscious world. The research continues, but there seems to be a lack of correlation of these studies to identify trends or common themes …

The Corporate Security Stratum Of Work: Identifying Levels Of Work In The Domain, Codee Roy Ludbey

Theses : Honours

Corporate security is a practicing domain and developing academic discipline that provides for the protection of people, information and assets, as well as the self-protection of organisations. Fayol (1949) articulated such an activity within organisations to be a core business function of significant importance; embedding security operations within all aspects of organisational work. This embedded nature of security within organisations has led to difficulty in the literature delineating roles and responsibilities of security practitioners; consequently leading to a nebulous understanding of security as a whole. Therefore, an investigation of the corporate security stratum of work has been undertaken to address …

Celestial Sources For Random Number Generation, Erin Chapman, Jerina Grewar, Tim Natusch

Australian Information Security Management Conference

In this paper, we present an alternative method of gathering seed data for random number generation (RNG) in cryptographic applications. Our proposed method utilises the inherent randomness of signal data from celestial sources in radio astronomy to provide seeds for RNG. The data sets were collected from two separate celestial sources, and run through the SHA-256 algorithm to deskew the data and produce random numbers with a uniform distribution. The resulting data sets pass all tests in the NIST Statistical Test Suite for random data, with a mean of 98.9% of the 512 total bitstreams from the two sources passing …

The Proceedings Of 14th Australian Information Security Management Conference, 5-6 December 2016, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia, Mike Johnstone

Australian Information Security Management Conference

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 fourteenth 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 conference has drawn interest and papers from within Australia and internationally. All submitted papers were subject to a double blind peer review process. Fifteen papers were submitted from Australia …

An Analysis Of Chosen Alarm Code Pin Numbers & Their Weakness Against A Modified Brute Force Attack, Alastair Nisbet, Maria Kim

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Home and commercial alarms are an integral physical security measure that have become so commonplace that little thought is given to the security that they may or may not provide. Whilst the focus has shifted from physical security in the past to cyber security in the present, physical security for protecting assets may be just as important for many business organisations. This research looks at 700 genuine alarm PIN codes chosen by users to arm and disarm alarm systems in a commercial environment. A comparison is made with a study of millions of PIN numbers unrelated to alarms to compare …

Understanding And Combatting Terrorist Networks: Coupling Social Media Mining With Social Network Analysis, Benn Van Den Ende

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Throughout the past decade the methods employed by terrorist organisations have changed drastically. One of these key changes has been associated with the rise of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogging in general. Terrorist organisations appear to be using the wide reach and vast network capabilities created by social media to disseminate propaganda, radicalise susceptible individuals, recruit potential fighters and communicate strategic and operational objectives. However, this growing terrorist presence on Social Media can also offer invaluable insights into the social networks of terrorist organisations through the use of Social Media Mining and Social Network Analysis. By …

Future Of Australia’S Etp: Script Exchange, Script Vault Or Secure Mobile Alternative, Kyaw Kyaw Htat, Patricia A. H. Williams, Vincent Mccauley

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Electronic transfer of prescriptions is an essential element of electronic medications management. Unfortunately, current manual and preliminary electronic transfer of prescription methods are not patient focussed, leading to a suboptimal solution for the patient. This is increasingly relevant in the push for more patient engagement in their own healthcare. The area is highly controlled by legislation and regulation. Through research and an analysis of the possible methods to improve and personalise electronic transfer of prescriptions, this paper provides an overview of these conclusions, and presents an alternative technical solution. The solution has been derived from a number of experiments in …

An Investigation Into Off-Link Ipv6 Host Enumeration Search Methods, Clinton Carpene

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research investigated search methods for enumerating networked devices on off-link 64 bit Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) subnetworks. IPv6 host enumeration is an emerging research area involving strategies to enable detection of networked devices on IPv6 networks. Host enumeration is an integral component in vulnerability assessments (VAs), and can be used to strengthen the security profile of a system. Recently, host enumeration has been applied to Internet-wide VAs in an effort to detect devices that are vulnerable to specific threats. These host enumeration exercises rely on the fact that the existing Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) can be exhaustively …

Optical Fiber Sensors In Physical Intrusion Detection Systems: A Review, Gary Andrew Allwood, Graham Wild, Steven Hinkley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Fiber optic sensors have become a mainstream sensing technology within a large array of applications due to their inherent benefits. They are now used significantly in structural health monitoring, and are an essential solution for monitoring harsh environments. Since their first development over 30 years ago, they have also found promise in security applications. This paper reviews all of the optical fiber-based techniques used in physical intrusion detection systems. It details the different approaches used for sensing, interrogation, and networking, by research groups, attempting to secure both commercial and residential premises from physical security breaches. The advantages and the disadvantages …

Controlled Access To Cloud Resources For Mitigating Economic Denial Of Sustainability (Edos) Attacks, Zubair A. Baig, Sadiq M. Sait, Farid Binbeshr

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Cloud computing is a paradigm that provides scalable IT resources as a service over the Internet. Vulnerabilities in the cloud infrastructure have been readily exploited by the adversary class. Therefore, providing the desired level of assurance to all stakeholders through safeguarding data (sensitive or otherwise) which is stored in the cloud, is of utmost importance. In addition, protecting the cloud from adversarial attacks of diverse types and intents, cannot be understated. Economic Denial of Sustainability (EDoS) attack is considered as one of the concerns that has stalled many organizations from migrating their operations and/or data to the cloud. This is …

Security Assessment Of Iot Devices: The Case Of Two Smart Tvs, Maxim Chernyshev, Peter Hannay

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Being increasingly complex devices, smart TVs are becoming more capable and have the potential to receive, store, process and transmit considerable amounts of personal data. These capabilities also represent several diverse attack surfaces potentially rendering these devices highly vulnerable. The emergence and high adoption rate of smart TVs have been drawing notable interest from security researchers and industry. We utilise an attack surface area-based approach to assess the security of two modern smart TVs from different vendors and describe some of the possible multi-surface attacks that can be carried out against these devices.

Comparison Of Live Response, Linux Memory Extractor (Lime) And Mem Tool For Acquiring Android’S Volatile Memory In The Malware Incident, Andri Heriyanto, Craig Valli, Peter Hannay

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

The increasing use of encryption and obfuscation within the malware development arena has necessitated the use of volatile memory acquisition on smartphone platforms. Current smartphone forensics research lacks a well-formulated process for the acquisition of volatile memory. This research evaluates and contrasts three differing tools for acquisition of volatile memory from the Android platform: Live Response, Linux Memory Extractor (LiME) and Mem Tool. Evaluation is conducted through practical examination during the analysis of an infected device. The results demonstrate a combination of LiME and the Volatility Framework provides the most robust findings. Complexities due to the nature of LiME prevent …

Steganography As A Threat – Fairytale Or Fact?, Tom Cleary

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Almost since the birth of the Internet, there has been a fear that steganographically-encoded threats would be used to bring harm. Serious consideration has been given to the idea that merely downloading an image could introduce malware. Yet, for decades, evidence of this malware channel has been missing in action. There is still an unwritten assumption that images are harmless. Many vendors have implicitly avoided producing defences against steganographic threats. Is it truly impossible to make a widely harmful exploit this way or have malicious actors accepted general wisdom? Three recent papers suggest that there may be a new chapter …

File System Modelling For Digital Triage: An Inductive Profiling Approach, Benjamin Rice, Benjamin Turnbull

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Digital Triage is the initial, rapid screening of electronic devices as a precursor to full forensic analysis. Triage has numerous benefits including resource prioritisation, greater involvement of criminal investigators and the rapid provision of initial outcomes. In traditional scientific forensics and criminology, certain behavioural attributes and character traits can be identified and used to construct a case profile to focus an investigation and narrow down a list of suspects. This research introduces the Triage Modelling Tool (TMT), that uses a profiling approach to identify how offenders utilise and structure files through the creation of file system models. Results from the …

Mobile Device Damage And The Challenges To The Modern Investigator, Dan Blackman

Australian Digital Forensics Conference

Mobile Forensics has developed into an area of significant concern to law enforcement agencies and their counterparts, specifically as a result of individuals moving away from using traditional computers and focusing attention on their mobile device. Due to the smart phone being almost permanently attached to the person or in near proximity, it has become a significant source of information for investigators and can mean the difference between proving guilt or innocence. Tools have long been established, which provide agencies the ability to encapsulate expertise, which allows the easy download and production of reports for the mobile device and how …

Behavior-Based Anomaly Detection On Big Data, Hyunjoo Kim, Jonghyun Kim, Ikkyun Kim, Tai-Myung Chung

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Recently, cyber-targeted attacks such as APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) are rapidly growing as a social and national threat. It is an intelligent cyber-attack that infiltrates the target organization and enterprise clandestinely using various methods and causes considerable damage by making a final attack after long-term and through preparations. These attacks are threatening cyber worlds such as Internet by infecting and attacking the devices on this environment with the malicious code, and by destroying them or gaining their authorities. Detecting these attacks requires collecting and analysing data from various sources (network, host, security equipment, and devices) over the long haul. Therefore, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Innovating Additional Layer 2 Security Requirements For A Protected Stack, Brian Cusack, Raymond Lutui

Australian Information Security Management Conference

Security is only as good as the weakest link and if the weakness is at a low level in the communication stack then every other Layer has potential to inherit the problem. The OSI Layer model has defined the theoretical architecture for network communications (ISO/IEC 7498-1). Standardisation assures that each element of an internetwork uses the same model and hence a message can be moved intelligibly and correctly between participants. The OSI model divides communications into seven hierarchical Layers that provide the necessary services from the application Layer through to the physical Layer of electricity (ISO/IEC 7498-2). Each Layer is …

Using Passive And Active Enumeration Methods To Improve Ipv6 Host Enumeration Search Algorithms, Clinton Carpene

Australian Information Security Management Conference

IPv6 off-link host enumeration, when compared to IPv4 host enumeration, is a difficult and expensive exercise. The expense arises from the difference in address space sizes between the two protocols, with IPv6 having a 296 larger address space than that of IPv4. This paper presents an algorithm for performing contextual IPv6 host enumeration against a target. The algorithm uses passive and active enumeration in order to focus the search upon areas of the address space where it is more probable that targets will exist. Experiments were conducted to test the proposed adaptive heuristic search algorithm involving applying the algorithm to …