Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Kelihos Botnet: A Never-Ending Saga, Arsh Arora, Max Gannon, Gary Warner

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper investigates the recent behavior of the Kelihos botnet, a spam-sending botnet that accounts for many millions of emails sent each day. The paper demonstrates how a team of students are able to perform a longitudinal malware study, making significant observations and contributions to the understanding of a major botnet using tools and techniques taught in the classroom. From this perspective the paper has two objectives: encouragement and observation. First, by providing insight into the methodology and tools used by student researchers to document and understand a botnet, the paper strives to embolden other academic programs to follow a …

The Dream Act: A Retrospective On Immigration Policies Across Time And Nations, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

The United States has a long tradition of assimilating diverse peoples into a shared culture and thus developing a transformative, holistic national identity. Despite this historical affinity for immigration, there have also been points during which rose issues with migrants entering the country illegally. Once this happens, politicians must decide how to deal with an influx of undocumented aliens. This paper focuses on amnesty acts, particularly ones past through the American Congress in the past century. The relationship between amnesty legislation and immigration flow will be investigated. Also, an exploration of European policies towards immigration will all be conducted in …

Can Public Diplomacy Survive The Internet? Bots, Echo Chambers, And Disinformation, Shawn Powers, Markos Kounalakis

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Report from a meeting held on the topic of disinformation, the Internet, and public diplomacy held at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, in 2017.

Executive Summary

Scientific progress continues to accelerate, and while we’ve witnessed a revolution in communication technologies in the past ten years, what proceeds in the next ten years may be far more transformative. It may also be extremely disruptive, challenging long held conventions behind public diplomacy (PD) programs and strategies. In order to think carefully about PD in this ever and rapidly changing communications space, the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) convened a group of …

Unconventional Lawfare: Operational Law In The War On Terror, L. P. Miller

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis examines the legal work required to establish a sufficient lawfare defense by focusing on the Department of Defense Judge Advocate Generals’ Corps (JAG Corps). The work will describe the JAG Corps as a well-trenched bureaucracy with a moral mission to uphold the military’s honor through laws, and how this was interpreted by the Bush and Obama administrations.

A Radical Idea: Applying Psychological Strategy To Combat Foreign Fighters Defending The Islamic State, David Michael Smaney

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This thesis focuses on the necessity of psychological strategies to combat the Islamic State’s recruitment of foreign fighters. This thesis argues that psychological strategies are a primary weapon due to the psychological nature of the war against the Islamic State, which is a part of the overall war of ideas. This thesis does not consider psychological strategies for other aspects of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, nor does it reflect the difficulties involved with developing U.S. strategies in the U.S. federal government. Furthermore, this thesis only focuses on foreign fighter defending and supporting the Islamic State, which is the successor of Al …

The Third Offset: The U.S. Strategy To Combat Future Threats, Brian Charles Kempf

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and into the 21st Century, the United States (U.S.) has continued to maintain global commitments and a global presence. In addition, the U.S. has expanded its aspirations to address a more diverse range of global security challenges than in previous periods; from conventional conflicts to climate change. In order to meet the demands of a 21st century superpower, the U.S. Department of Defense is expected to conduct a broad range of operations across a spectrum of threats. Indeed, U.S. technological superiority is a hallmark of U.S. military prowess and has been instrumental in …

Constrained Cognition: Information Management And The Practical Limits Of Nuclear Escalation Control, Luke James O'Brien

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Nuclear escalation control theory rests on the idea that decision makers, in a limited nuclear war scenario, will choose their actions based on a rational assessment of the available information. That information essentially consists of intelligence reports about one's adversary and information reporting the status of one's own forces' ability to execute offensive actions and the damage level of vital national targets. Yet the practical limits of managing the flow and quality of this information, coupled with the fog and friction inherent in human analyses, significantly affect the decision-making process vis-à-vis nuclear escalation. Hence, these limitations cast a pall over …

Australian Government Information Resources, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides an overview of Australian Government information resources. Features content from Australian Government agency websites such as the Department of Environment and Energy, Department of Defence, Australian National Maritime Museum, ANZAC Memorial in Sydney, Department of Immigration & Border Protection, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Dept. of Agriculture and Water Resources, Australian Parliament, Australian Treasury, Australian Transport Safety Board, and Australian Parliamentary Library. Content includes a video excerpt from Australian parliamentary debate.

Beyond The Protective Effect: Towards A Theory Of Harm For Information Communication Technologies In Mass Atrocity Response, Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, Nathaniel A. Raymond

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are now being employed as a standard part of mass atrocity response, evidence collection, and research by non-governmental organizations, governments, and the private sector. Deployment of these tools and techniques occur for a variety of stated reasons, most notably the ostensible goal of “protecting” vulnerable populations. However, these often experimental applications of ICTs and digital data are occurring in the absence of agreed normative frameworks and accepted theory to guide their ethical and responsible use. This article surveys the current state-of-the-art of ICT use in mass atrocity response and research to identify harms and hazards inherent …

International Law And The Use Of Lawfare: An Argument For The U.S. To Adopt A Lawfare Doctrine, Trevor Michael Alfred Logan

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive operational definition of lawfare, analyze historical case studies of states currently implementing lawfare strategies, and to make an argument for why the U.S. should adopt a lawfare doctrine. Chapter 1 will focus on defining the concept of lawfare and drafting an operational definition of lawfare. Chapter 2 focuses on the evolution of the lawfare doctrine established by the People's Republic of China (PRC), identifies the current lawfare operations conducted by the PRC in the fields of maritime, airspace, cyberspace, and outer space, and analyzing the implications of PRC lawfare operations …

Energy Transformation: Examining How Nuclear And Solar Power Could Enhance Stability In The Middle East Region And Implications For U.S. Policy, Brett Matthew Roenigk

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Energy projects that rapid growth in population and access to domestic resources will cause the Middle East's energy consumption to increase by 95% from 2012 to 2040. Currently, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates do not have enough installed power capacity to handle this increase in consumption. Due to this, these states are looking to solar and nuclear power to diversify their energy sectors. This thesis' focus is to examine the impending energy demand crisis that will affect Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Jordan. I argue that solar and nuclear power …

Human Trafficking: A Global Tragedy In Five Acts, Cynthia Rhiannon Knight

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Transnational security is an emerging sub-field within the broader scope of international relations. Human trafficking is a wide-spread but rarely emphasized threat to global security with powerful transnational dimensions. This type of crime threatens security at all levels of society. At the individual level, the victims of trafficking are abused, tortured, and experience incredible trauma. The traffickers themselves exploit weaknesses at the state level, either leveraging lack of political will or corrupt officials into their schemes to make more money, or by circumventing lax laws entirely. States have serious power to affect change at this level, particularly in the realm …

Us Aid In The Arab World Fact Checking Us Democratization Rhetoric Against Reality, Nicholas Canfield

Student Research – Stevenson Center

Many factors have been used to explain durable authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and one of the most important external influences of MENA governments’ structure is support from the United States. The US balances security concerns and democratization rhetoric in the region, but much literature promotes that security concerns are the most important factor for US support in MENA. Using US aid as a proxy for US support, this study finds that US aid actually increases democratization in MENA, and counterintuitively, aid to MENA military and police forces seems to have a stronger democratization effect than …

Information Use And Quality Service Of The Nigerian Police, Olajumoke R. Olawoyin,, Ezinwanyi Madukoma Dr., Ugwunwa Chinyere Esse

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information use of police force occurs when information acquired by the police to satisfy an information need based on task assigned to them is actually put to use. Information is therefore useful and valuable if after receiving it, it changes things, decisions, behaviour or one’s character and solves the problem for which the information is sought.

Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised 2,305 police officers in Alimosho Local Government Police Division. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 227 police officers. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed …

Foreign Policy Brief: North Korean Nuclear Weapons, Jacob Chobanian

Political Science Student Papers and Posters

This paper is a brief on the current situation involving the United States and North Korea regarding the nuclear weapon controversy and possible war.

Strategic Insights: Strategic Questions Loom Large For President Trump In The Middle East, Christopher J. Bolan

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

Strategic Insights: Getting Comfortable With Conflicting Ideas, William G. Braun Iii

Articles & Editorials

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Baloch Secularism: What The Data Say, C. Christine Fair, Ali Hamza

Peace and Conflict Studies

Since 1947, Baloch have resisted inclusion into the Pakistan and have waged several waves of ethno-nationalist insurgency against the state. Scholars and Baloch nationalist leaders alike generally assert that Baloch are more secular than other Pakistanis, more opposed to the political Islamist policies pursued by the state, and less supportive of Islamist militancy in the country. However, these claims lack empirical support. We employ data derived from a large national survey of Pakistanis from 2012 to evaluate these conventional wisdoms. Contrary to claims in the literature, we find that Baloch resemble Pakistanis generally with few important exceptions.

Enhanced Response Plan For Woodland Primary School, Brian Harper

CUP Undergraduate Research

The city of Woodland, Washington sits along the very busy north and south railroad line that connects Portland and Vancouver with the Tacoma and Seattle areas and beyond. Each day over a dozen trains carrying a vast assortment of cargo goes rumbling by, some of it is mundane and some are volatile. What is very worrisome is that the Woodland Primary School is only a hundred meters from the tracks. Although remote, there is always the possibility of a train derailment close to the school. The local emergency services have plans for a train derailment, they fall under their standard …

Practicum Methods And Research: East County Fire & Rescue Eop Scope, Kyle Henderson

CUP Undergraduate Research

East County Fire & Rescue (ECFR) operates in and around the city of Camas, Washington. This small fire and rescue entity is tasked with a plethora of daily responsibility ranging from medical emergencies to forested emergency issues. Because ECFR is tucked in with Vancouver Fire & Rescue as well as the Camas Fire Department, they are reliant upon each other in emergency situations to carry out mitigation, response, reaction and recovery strategies. Having a detailed Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) that includes hazards analysis, capabilities assessments and other concepts of operations is essential to having every operating entity on the same …