Information Security Commons^™

Achieving Covert Communication With A Probabilistic Jamming Strategy, Xun Chen, Fujun Gao, Min Qiu, Jia Zhang, Feng Shu, Shihao Yan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In this work, we consider a covert communication scenario, where a transmitter Alice communicates to a receiver Bob with the aid of a probabilistic and uninformed jammer against an adversary warden's detection. The transmission status and power of the jammer are random and follow some priori probabilities. We first analyze the warden's detection performance as a function of the jammer's transmission probability, transmit power distribution, and Alice's transmit power. We then maximize the covert throughput from Alice to Bob subject to a covertness constraint, by designing the covert communication strategies from three different perspectives: Alice's perspective, the jammer's perspective, and …

Secrecy Rate Maximization For Active Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface Assisted Mimo Systems, Bin Gao, Jingru Zhao, Shihao Yan, Shaozhang Xiao

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) is a promising technology for future 6G communications and has been used to enhance secrecy performance. However, the performance improvement is restricted by the 'double fading' effect of the reflection channel link. To address this issue, we introduce an active RIS design, where the reflecting elements of RIS not only adjust the phase shift but also amplify the reflected signal through the amplifier integrated into its elements. To obtain a satisfactory solution to the non-convex problem resulting from this design, the penalty dual decomposition based alternating gradient projection (PDDAPG) method is proposed. We compare the proposed …

The Impact Of Domain Name Server (Dns) Over Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (Https) On Cyber Security: Limitations, Challenges, And Detection Techniques, Muhammad Dawood, Shanshan Tu, Chuangbai Xiao, Muhammad Haris, Hisham Alasmary, Muhammad Waqas, Sadaqat Ur Rehman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The DNS over HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) (DoH) is a new technology that encrypts DNS traffic, enhancing the privacy and security of end-users. However, the adoption of DoH is still facing several research challenges, such as ensuring security, compatibility, standardization, performance, privacy, and increasing user awareness. DoH significantly impacts network security, including better end-user privacy and security, challenges for network security professionals, increasing usage of encrypted malware communication, and difficulty adapting DNS-based security measures. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of DoH on network security and develop new privacy-preserving techniques to allow the analysis of DoH traffic …

Genai In Rule-Based Systems For Iomt Security: Testing And Evaluation, Kulsoom S. Bughio, David M. Cook, Syed Afaq A. Shah

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Generative AI (GenAI) represents a significant advancement in artificial intelligence research, offering numerous benefits and opening new avenues for innovation across various domains. In healthcare, Generative AI has shown promise in applications such as drug discovery, personalized medicine, and medical imaging. This paper examines the role of Generative AI in rule-based systems, where vulnerabilities are detected with the help of formal logic. In this context, the ruleset is generated and tested to evaluate the performance of rule-based systems with the aid of GenAI. The effectiveness of the GenAI tool was evaluated using a publicly available case study from a laboratory …

Pdf Malware Detection: Toward Machine Learning Modeling With Explainability Analysis, G. M.Sakhawat Hossain, Kaushik Deb, Helge Janicke, Iqbal H. Sarker

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is one of the most widely used file types, thus fraudsters insert harmful code into victims' PDF documents to compromise their equipment. Conventional solutions and identification techniques are often insufficient and may only partially prevent PDF malware because of their versatile character and excessive dependence on a certain typical feature set. The primary goal of this work is to detect PDF malware efficiently in order to alleviate the current difficulties. To accomplish the goal, we first develop a comprehensive dataset of 15958 PDF samples taking into account the non-malevolent, malicious, and evasive behaviors of the …

Developing A Novel Ontology For Cybersecurity In Internet Of Medical Things-Enabled Remote Patient Monitoring, Kulsoom S. Bughio, David M. Cook, Syed A. A. Shah

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

IoT has seen remarkable growth, particularly in healthcare, leading to the rise of IoMT. IoMT integrates medical devices for real-time data analysis and transmission but faces challenges in data security and interoperability. This research identifies a significant gap in the existing literature regarding a comprehensive ontology for vulnerabilities in medical IoT devices. This paper proposes a fundamental domain ontology named MIoT (Medical Internet of Things) ontology, focusing on cybersecurity in IoMT (Internet of Medical Things), particularly in remote patient monitoring settings. This research will refer to similar-looking acronyms, IoMT and MIoT ontology. It is important to distinguish between the two. …

Expanding Australia's Defence Capabilities For Technological Asymmetric Advantage In Information, Cyber And Space In The Context Of Accelerating Regional Military Modernisation: A Systemic Design Approach, Pi-Shen Seet, Anton Klarin, Janice Jones, Michael N. Johnstone, Violetta Wilk, Stephanie Meek, Summer O'Brien

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction. The aim of the project was to conduct a systemic design study to evaluate Australia'sopportunities and barriers for achieving a technological advantage in light of regional military technological advancement. It focussed on the three domains of (1) cybersecurity technology, (2) information technology, and (3) space technology.

Research process. Employing a systemic design approach, the study first leveraged scientometric analysis, utilising informetric mapping software (VOSviewer) to evaluate emerging trends and their implications on defence capabilities. This approach facilitated a broader understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of defence technologies, identifying key areas for further exploration. The subsequent survey study, engaging 828 …

Towards Blockchain-Based Secure Bgp Routing, Challenges And Future Research Directions, Qiong Yang, Li Ma, Shanshan Tu, Sami Ullah, Muhammad Waqas, Hisham Alasmary

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standard inter-domain routing protocol for the Internet that conveys network layer reachability information and establishes routes to different destinations. The BGP protocol exhibits security design defects, such as an unconditional trust mechanism and the default acceptance of BGP route announcements from peers by BGP neighboring nodes, easily triggering prefix hijacking, path forgery, route leakage, and other BGP security threats. Meanwhile, the traditional BGP security mechanism, relying on a public key infrastructure, faces issues like a single point of failure and a single point of trust. The decentralization, anti-tampering, and traceability advantages of blockchain offer …

National Cyber Security Licence Consultation Report: Stakeholder Consultation Workshops Consolidated Feedback Held Oct – Nov 2023, Nicola F. Johnson, Leslie F. Sikos, Ahmed Ibrahim, Marnie Mckee

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The consultation workshops invited stakeholders to join a roundtable environment to comment on and discuss the Consultation Paper, shared by Project Lead Associate Professor Nicola Johnson, Edith Cowan University (ECU) in October 2023. The purpose of the Consultation Paper was to identify whether stakeholders agreed that the national cyber security licence the Research Team had developed to date was a best solution towards addressing K-12 students’ cyber security education needs, which was found to not presently be sufficient (see Johnson et al., 2022). Eight workshops were conducted over a month-long period held October to November 2023. 250 invitations were sent …

Irs-Enabled Noma Communication Systems: A Network Architecture Primer With Future Trends And Challenges, Haleema Sadia, Ahmad Kamal Hassan, Ziaul Haq Abbas, Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Waqas, Zhu Han

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) has already proven to be an effective multiple access scheme for 5th Generation (5G) wireless networks. It provides improved performance in terms of system throughput, spectral efficiency, fairness, and energy efficiency (EE). However, in conventional NOMA networks, performance degradation still exists because of the stochastic behavior of wireless channels. To combat this challenge, the concept of Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS) has risen to prominence as a low-cost intelligent solution for Beyond 5G (B5G) networks. In this paper, a modeling primer based on the integration of these two cutting-edge technologies, i.e., IRS and NOMA, for B5G wireless …

Leveraging Finite-Precision Errors In Chaotic Systems For Enhanced Image Encryption, B. M. El-Den, Saad Aldosary, Haitham Khaled, Tarek M. Hassan, Walid Raslan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This research explores the application of chaotic systems in generating pseudo-random numbers for encryption protocols, offering a novel perspective on addressing the challenges posed by limited computer precision in cryptographic applications. Chaotic systems, while promising for encryption, often suffer from degradation in their chaotic properties when implemented on computers with finite precision. Previous studies have primarily aimed to mitigate this issue, with limited consideration of harnessing finite-precision errors as a potential source of randomness. In this study, we propose an innovative encryption method that leverages finite-precision errors within chaotic systems. The algorithm generates a keystream based on lower bound error …

A Systematic Review Of K-12 Cybersecurity Education Around The World, Ahmed Ibrahim, Marnie Mckee, Leslie F. Sikos, Nicola F. Johnson

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents a systematic review of K-12 cybersecurity education literature from around the world. 24 academic papers dated from 2013-2023 were eligible for inclusion in the literature established within the research protocol. An additional 19 gray literature sources comprised the total. A range of recurring common topics deemed as aspects of cybersecurity behavior or practice were identified. A variety of cybersecurity competencies and skills are needed for K-12 students to apply their knowledge. As may be expected to be the case with interdisciplinary fields, studies are inherently unclear in the use of their terminology, and this is compounded in …

Intelligent Security System In A Campus Building Using Rfid To Improve Security For Elevator Users, D. Desmira, Mustofa Abi Hamid, Lilis Noviawati, Tb. Ai Munandar, M. Martias, Didik Aribowo

Elinvo (Electronics, Informatics, and Vocational Education)

This study aims to develop an intelligent system of elevator access with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) using fuzzy logic as an intelligent system, a safety controller of elevator doors that will open when the power goes out. This research made an Arduino Uno-based elevator access system with an RFID card using fuzzy logic as an intelligence system and markers for each floor. Each floor has an RFID card that contains the information data of each floor. This research uses research and development (R&D) methods with a waterfall development model. The research procedure consists of several stages, namely the requirement analysis …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Passive Physical Layer Distinct Native Attribute Cyber Security Monitor, Christopher M. Rondeau, Michael A. Temple, Juan L. Lopez Jr., J. Addison Betances

AFIT Patents

A method for cyber security monitor includes monitoring a network interface that is input-only configured to surreptitiously and covertly receive bit-level, physical layer communication between networked control and sensor field devices. During a training mode, a baseline distinct native attribute (DNA) fingerprint is generated for each networked field device. During a protection mode, a current DNA fingerprint is generated for each networked field device. The current DNA fingerprint is compared to the baseline DNA fingerprint for each networked field device. In response to detect at least one of RAA and PAA based on a change in the current DNA fingerprint …

Turnstile File Transfer: A Unidirectional System For Medium-Security Isolated Clusters, Mark Monnin, Lori L. Sussman

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Data transfer between isolated clusters is imperative for cybersecurity education, research, and testing. Such techniques facilitate hands-on cybersecurity learning in isolated clusters, allow cybersecurity students to practice with various hacking tools, and develop professional cybersecurity technical skills. Educators often use these remote learning environments for research as well. Researchers and students use these isolated environments to test sophisticated hardware, software, and procedures using full-fledged operating systems, networks, and applications. Virus and malware researchers may wish to release suspected malicious software in a controlled environment to observe their behavior better or gain the information needed to assist their reverse engineering processes. …

The Transformative Integration Of Artificial Intelligence With Cmmc And Nist 800-171 For Advanced Risk Management And Compliance, Mia Lunati

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

This paper explores the transformative potential of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with established cybersecurity frameworks such as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-171. The thesis argues that the relationship between AI and these frameworks has the capacity to transform risk management in cybersecurity, where it could serve as a critical element in threat mitigation. In addition to addressing AI’s capabilities, this paper acknowledges the risks and limitations of these systems, highlighting the need for extensive research and monitoring when relying on AI. One must understand boundaries when integrating …

Privacy Within Autonomous Vehicle Cameras, Joshua Montgomery

Honors Theses

In recent years, cameras have become ubiquitous in daily life, constantly surveilling, and taking in information. This leads to a potential security risk of the invasion in one’s privacy without their knowledge or any ability to prevent the privacy threat. While cameras alone are an issue, they are often only in locations where a user has some expectation of a loss of privacy, such as public locations with security systems. However, systems that rely on cameras to operate correctly, including autonomous vehicles, are becoming a more prominently used technology while often appearing in places where an average person has some …

Designing An Artificial Immune Inspired Intrusion Detection System, William Hosier Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The domain of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) has witnessed growing interest in recent years due to the escalating threats posed by cyberattacks. As Internet of Things (IoT) becomes increasingly integrated into our every day lives, we widen our attack surface and expose more of our personal lives to risk. In the same way the Human Immune System (HIS) safeguards our physical self, a similar solution is needed to safeguard our digital self. This thesis presents the Artificial Immune inspired Intrusion Detection System (AIS-IDS), an IDS modeled after the HIS. This thesis proposes an architecture for AIS-IDS, instantiates an AIS-IDS model …

A Conceptual Decentralized Identity Solution For State Government, Martin Duclos

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, state governments, exemplified by Mississippi, have significantly expanded their online service offerings to reduce costs and improve efficiency. However, this shift has led to challenges in managing digital identities effectively, with multiple fragmented solutions in use. This paper proposes a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) framework based on distributed ledger technology. SSI grants individuals control over their digital identities, enhancing privacy and security without relying on a centralized authority. The contributions of this research include increased efficiency, improved privacy and security, enhanced user satisfaction, and reduced costs in state government digital identity management. The paper provides background on digital …