Area Of Information Security Research Articles

″Professional Training on Cybersecurity and Information Protection: Thesaurus and Ontology

The current situation of the development of storage, exchange and processing of information is characterized by intensive technology implementation, the dissemination of local, corporate and global networks in all spheres of life of a civilized state. It creates new opportunities and quality of information exchange. In this context we have the question how to ensure the safety and protection of information at the same time. So, the problems of professional training of highly qualified specialists in cybersecurity and information security are of paramount importance. The article aims to outline the scientific ontology and thesaurus areas of cybersecurity and information security as a basis for professional development of specialists in the chosen specialty. We used the thesaurus approach to study the terminology of the cybersecurity industry. The article outlines the advantages of the thesaurus approach, defines the notion of "information security", "cybersecurity", "information protection" and establishes links between them. Thesaurus and ontology are a modern form of the presentation of knowledge that is suitable for its automated processing, and correlates with the acquisition and management of knowledge in the process of professional training of cybersecurity and information security specialists. The thesaurus of the field of professional training in cyber security and information security is rather broad, debatable and requires further research and unambiguous identification. The exhaustively formulated and deterministic terminology will be the first step that will help the specialists of the specialty under study to fulfill their main professional task – providing cybersecurity of information and communication infrastructure.

A Visual Analysis of Research on Information Security Risk by Using CiteSpace

The security of information issue has become a global problem and has risen the concerns of both researchers and practitioners. When security incidents occur, there is a risk that national military secrets or confidential information of corporations will leak out and cause serious damages to the collective. This paper is aimed to explore the knowledge structure, development, and the future trend of information security area by providing a comprehensive review of the present information security risk (ISR) literature. The visualization analysis was conducted on journal literatures from the Web of Science, IEEE, ACM, and Scopus database, and the results were mapped into the I-model. According to 2748 articles, evaluation methods, e.g., frequency statistics, clustering coefficient, and centrality calculation, are employed to analyze all of the interrelated matrixes that are supported by CiteSpace. Some useful outcomes of a variety of objectives are shown under a significant level, such as author, country/territory, cluster, institute, as well as reference. A synthetical analysis has demonstrated the future research trend on ISR. As for researchers and practitioners, this paper suggests an analysis of integrated visualization in terms of the knowledge and innovation based on the area of ISR.

An AMBTC compression based data hiding scheme using pixel value adjusting strategy

Image steganography is one of the most important research areas of information security where secret data is embedded in the images to conceal its existence while getting the minimum possible statistical detectability. To achieve a good tradeoff between the hiding capacity and image quality, more work needs to be further researched. In this paper, we propose high capacity data hiding scheme by employing the absolute moment block truncation coding (AMBTC) compression. It exploits the redundancy of blocks of the AMBTC-compressed image to embed the secret data. The pixel values of the AMBTC-compressed image are modified at most by one for hiding the secret data. Thus, it is able to maintain the stego-image quality after hiding the secret data. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme and show that it outperforms various existing methods in terms of both hiding capacity and stego-image quality.

Relation between cybernetics and information security: from Norbert Wiener’s perspectives

PurposeNowadays, to design the information security mechanism for computing and communication systems, there are various approaches available like cryptographic approach, game-theoretic approach, quantitative–qualitative analysis-based approach, cognitive-behavioral approach, digital forensic-based approach and swarm computing-based approach. The contemporary research in these various fields is independent in nature. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between these various approaches to information security and cybernetics.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate the relationship between information security mechanisms and cybernetics, Norbert Wiener’s concepts and philosophy of the cybernetics have been used in the present work. For a detailed study, concepts, techniques and philosophy of the cybernetics have been extracted from the books of Norbert Wiener titled “The human use of human beings” and “Cybernetics or control and communication in the animal and the machine”.FindingsBy revisiting the concepts of the cybernetics from the information security perspectives, it has been found that the aspects of information security and the aspects of cybernetics have great bonding.Originality/valueThe present paper demonstrates how bonding between cybernetics and information security can be used to solve some of the complex research challenges in information security area.

Applications and techniques in information and network security

Applications and techniques in information and network security

МІЖНАРОДНА ІНФОРМАЦІЙНА БЕЗПЕКА – КЛЮЧОВИЙ НАПРЯМ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ШАНХАЙСЬКОЇ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА: 2006-2017 рр.

The article deals with researches of the SCO's activities in the area of international information security and analysis of the legislative initiatives of the Russian Federation as a member country of the SCO in the historical retrospective.The resource base of the article is the official documents posted on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization web site (https://rus.sectsco.org/), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (https: // www.mid.ru) and other web sites of member countries of organization.The article is based on the problematic-chronological principle.It was determined that the cooperation of the SCOʼs member countries in the area of information security de facto began on June 16, 2009 by signing the Yekaterinburg Declaration of cooperation in information security providing. According to paragraph 7 of this document, the relevance of international information security providing is identified as an important element of the overall international security system.The Russian Federation's initiatives in the area of international information security were continued in Yekaterinburg (September 2011). The Russian experts presented a draft concept of the IIB Collaboration Convention as an alternative to the 2001 Budapest Council of Europe Convention concerning cybercrime.On September 12, 2011 United Nations Permanent Representatives of Russia, China,Tajikistan and Uzbekistan sent a joint letter to UN Secretary General with a request to extend the draft «Rules of Conduct in the Field of International Information Security" adopted at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Astana on June 2011 as an official document of the United Nations General Assembly. The main task of the Rules» was to develop a code of responsible behavior of countries in the international information security, taking into account military-political, criminal and terrorist challenges and threats.However, due to discrepancies in terms of terminology and models of international information security between the Russian Federation and Western countries, the document was not adopted until present. One of the document provisions is the prohibition – «to use ICT and information and communication networks for interference in the internal affairs of other countries with purpose to undermine their political, economic and social stability».The author concludes that Russia plays a dominant role in the field of international information security within the framework of the SCO, which promotes the name of this regional organization of legislative initiatives related to its national interests. The development of draft international legal documents concerning international information security is carried out by powerful research organizations and institutions of the Russian Federation and, on some issues, duplicates Russian doctrinal documents.In further research, the author is going to consider the historical process of creating national information security systems in the countries of the Central Asian region - the republics of the former USSR - and to analyze the content of information campaigns conducted by the Russian Federation in these countries.

UPDATE OF THRESHOLD VALUE AT CLASSIFICATION OF DIGITAL IMAGE BLOCKS FOR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OF DETECTING PHOTOMONTAIS

The solution of the task of isolating the texture attributes of a digital image is relevant in many areas: computer diagnostics, analysis of satellite imagery, video surveillance systems, navigation systems, etc. At the moment, the concept of digital image texture (CI) is interpreted differently depending on the specific tasks of image processing, and their quality is tested empirically for each classification problem, so the synthesis of a large number of textural features and their research on information is relevant. Important concepts of the texture are the background and the outline. Previously, a method for classifying image matrix blocks based on an analysis of their brightness function was proposed, according to which four categories of blocks were identified: background and three categories of contour ones (with a strongly pronounced, medium-pronounced and weakly expressed contour). The above classification is made for blocks measuring 8 x 8 and allows you to accurately isolate the contours of objects in the image. A block is assigned to a category by comparing the difference between the maximum and minimum values of the pixel brightness with a threshold value, the recommendations for which were obtained empirically. The need for such a classification arose in connection with the solution of the issues of identifying photomontage. The effectiveness of some methods depends on the frequency component of the image signal: at a low level of the high-frequency component (part of the image without contours or with poorly expressed contours), the method copes with the task, otherwise its use is not advisable. This fact indicates the possibility of applying the method of classifying image blocks in the area of information security. Also in the work recommendations are given regarding the specification of the boundaries of the selected objects, using blocks of smaller sizes. However, when changing the block size, it is also necessary to take into account the need to correct the threshold value. The purpose of this work is to improve the accuracy of the selection of the boundaries of objects in the image by a method based on the analysis of the brightness function of digital image blocks. In the paper it is shown that when the size of blocks decreases, the allocation of small details, as well as the isolation of the outlines of objects as a whole, occurs more efficiently than in the original version. This is observed both for a large object in the frame - the planet, and for its satellite. The threshold value was selected by subjective ranking. When analyzing a hundred images, it was determined that for the 2 x 2 blocks, the best results were obtained using a threshold value of 15. Thus, in the work it was possible to improve the accuracy of the contour extraction in the manner suggested earlier. Recommendations are received regarding the choice of block size and threshold value. By subjective ranking it is established that at a threshold value of 15 for blocks of 2 x 2 size, the accuracy of contour allocation increases significantly. The tasks set in the work are solved, the goal is achieved.

Clustering of information-security standards of the Russian Federation

The current national information-security standards of the Russian Federation are considered as one of the most important types of Russian legal and regulatory acts in this field. The list of all current Russian information-security standards is compiled for the first time. Clusters of standards are identified that make it possible to estimate the maturity of used technologies in various areas of information security.

EXEHDA-HM: A compositional approach to explore contextual information on hybrid models

The current proposals of hybrid context modeling bring new challenges, an important one is how applications can access and process data stored on these models. Thinking about that, this paper proposes a solution to deal with this challenge through a compositional approach that explores the context information on hybrid models, called EXEHDA-HM. The proposed approach stands out by the design of a repository that supports three database models and by the compositional processing strategy based on rules. In our proposal, the applications can combine data stored on different bases in a single rule, which could enhance the identification of contextual situations. For the evaluation we designed and implemented some case studies on information security area, exploring the hybrid repository composed of relational, non-relational, and triple storage models. Our results demonstrate that was possible to identify richer situations with the data composition across more than one model and there are situations that can only be found through this composition.

A Study on Modern Cryptographic Primitives and Signature Schemes

<div><p class="Default"><em>The access to digital data by the users has increased in recent times with the advent of data communication technologies and its popularization. The data which is in digital form has to pass through insecure channels, for example when a user accesses the Internet, the privacy of data becomes a major issue. The area of Information Security has to play a crucial role when it comes to protecting the privacy of digital data. Cryptography is one such part of Information Security field where a sender’s message gets encrypted and the message gets decrypted at the receiver’s end. From time to time, various cryptographic schemes have been developed among which the Private Key Cryptography and Public Key Cryptography techniques are prominent. Moreover many special Signature Schemes which are part of cryptographic protocols have been providing security in dealing with digital transactions. This paper focuses on the use of modern cryptographic schemes and their importance in digital data communication system.</em></p></div>

Continuance of protective security behavior: A longitudinal study

Previous research has established continuance models that explain and predict an individual's behaviors when engaged with hedonic or functional systems, or with other environments that provide productivity-enhancing outcomes. However, within the context of information security, these models are not applicable and fail to accurately assess the circumstances in which an individual engages in protective security behaviors beyond an initial adoption. This research addresses this gap and establishes a model for explaining an individual's continued engagement in protective security behaviors, which is a significant problem in securing enterprise information resources. Within this model, protection motivation theory (PMT) is considered an underlying theoretical motivation for continuance intention using constructs such as perceived threat severity, perceived threat susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy as direct antecedents of behavioral intents and indirect predictors of continuance behavior. Furthermore, the introduction of perceived extraneous circumstances is used to reconcile the “acceptance–discontinuance anomaly.” A novel research methodology for measuring actual security behavior continuance was developed for this investigation. Experimental results indicate support for all of the proposed relationships, with the exception of response efficacy—continuance intent. Nearly half of the variance in the dependent variable, continuance behavior, was explained by the model. This is the first comprehensive empirical investigation of protective security behavior continuance intention. The findings have practical implications for security administrators and security technology solution providers, and they have theoretical ramifications in the area of behavioral information security and protection motivation theory.

A CTF-Based Approach in Information Security Education: An Extracurricular Activity in Teaching Students at Altai State University, Russia

Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are the most popular events in cybersecurity conferences where participants can demonstrate their skills. Also, the CTF is widely acknowledged as a valuable pedagogical tool for providing the students with real life problems in computer security area when dealing with CTF tasks. However, there is the possibility to go beyond treating CTF tasks only. The paper presents an approach to establish a CTF-based educational framework that allows students to gain more practical skills, knowledge and expertise in information security and related areas. The framework is implemented in Altai State University (Barnaul, Russia) in 2014 as an extracurricular club activity, and the club runs successfully up till now. Pedagogical benefits, learning methodology and educational aspects are discussed, and positive feedback shows the success of the proposed approach.

Cyber Crime

Cyber Crime

An Integratable Verifiable Secret Sharing Mechanism

Threshold secret sharing (SS), also denoted as (t, n) SS, has been used extensively in the area of information security, such as for group authentication, cloud storage schemes, secure parallel communication and wireless multipath routing protocols. However, a (t, n) SS cannot detect any deceptions among the dealer and shareholders. Verifiable secret sharing (VSS) overcomes the weakness of (t, n) SS in such a way that it is able to detect cheaters by verifying the validity of shares or the correctness of the recovered secret under the condition that both shares and the secret are not compromised. Recently, two non- interactive VSSs based on Asmuth-Bloom's SS were pro-posed by Harn et al. and Liu et al., respectively. Both VSSs require shareholders to examine the range of values of some integers related to the secret before recovering the secret, which is a time-consuming operation. In this paper, we propose a novel integratable VSS mechanism that integrates the concepts of the generalized Chinese remainder theorem (GCRT), Shamir's SS and Asmuth Bloom's SS. Our proposed VSS can verify that the secret reconstructed by any t or more shareholders is the same as the one that the dealer has generated. Analysis shows that our proposed VSS can provide perfect secrecy and better efficiency.

Physiological Information Leakage: A New Frontier in Health Information Security

Information security has become an important concern in healthcare systems, owing to the increasing prevalence of medical devices and the growing use of wearable and mobile computing platforms for health and lifestyle monitoring. The previous work in the area of health information security has largely focused on attacks on the wireless communication channel of medical devices, or on health data stored in online databases. In this paper, we pursue an entirely different angle to health information security, motivated by the insight that the human body itself is a rich source (acoustic, visual, and electromagnetic) of data. We propose a new class of information security attacks that exploit physiological information leakage, i.e., various forms of information that naturally leak from the human body, to compromise privacy. As an example, we demonstrate attacks that exploit acoustic leakage from the heart and lungs. The medical devices deployed within or on our bodies also add to natural sources of physiological information leakage, thereby increasing opportunities for attackers. Unlike previous attacks on medical devices, which target the wireless communication to/from them, we propose privacy attacks that exploit information leaked by the very operation of these devices. As an example, we demonstrate how the acoustic leakage from an insulin pump can reveal important information about its operation, such as the duration and dosage of insulin injection. Moreover, we show how an adversary can estimate blood pressure (BP) by capturing and processing the electromagnetic radiation of an ambulatory BP monitoring device.

Security and privacy in Internet of things: methods, architectures, and solutions

Security and privacy in Internet of things: methods, architectures, and solutions

Information security – a new challenge for the young and future financial auditors

The purpose of this paper is to inquire if the young and future financial auditors are fully aware of the impact that information security has on audit missions, focusing also on the responsibilities of the participants in financial audit missions, regarding the assessment of the risks derived from information security. To determine the extent to which audit risk might be influenced by information security, a literature review was conducted, that has focused on this current concern, as expressed by different researchers, professional bodies, Big Four companies and the regulators. In order to assess the current level of awareness regarding the impact of information security on the audit risk, 25 young professionals have participated to a survey and with their answers have proven that they realize the impact of information securing on audit missions and the necessity of having sufficient knowledge regarding information technology in order to identify the risk from the information security area which might affect the financial statements and the activity of the organization. Moreover, young and future financial auditors are aware of the fact that the audit profession will suffer modifications due to the changes in the information technology field, which will affect the approaches in audit missions and in this regards the financial auditors must develop new working skills such as understanding information systems and information security and possessing skills in analysis and data modelling. Besides the survey used, five auditors who work in Big Four companies were interviewed, in order to highlight the way in which the profession is adapting to technological changes, especially in the case of assessing controls of information technology systems and information security. From the results of the interview it can be concluded that within the Big Four companies, there is a high level of awareness regarding the necessity of solid knowledge in the information technology field. The paper is the first to examine the perception of young and future financial auditors from Romania, regarding the impact that the information security has on audit missions.

An empirical study on security expert ecosystem in the future IoT service environment

As society become increasingly information-oriented, the use of cyberspace is also expanding, and people are exposed to various cyber-terror threats and security incidents. Additionally, according to the development of convergence security that extends from information security to all industrial sectors, the demand for an information security workforce has increased along with the development of the information security industry. Despite the expectation of a shortage of information security workforce due to the great demand surpassing the supply of available workers, the turnover among existing information security experts is very serious. The reasons why this turnover is such problem are as follows. First, the expert training system for the information security workforce is incomplete. Second, these experts do not receive an appropriate education for turnover in information security area or information as an insufficient data against the distribution or job mobility of the information security area though there are various occupations in information security area. Therefore, this paper will conduct research on the distribution of information security roles and the frequency of such job mobility in order to resolve these problems.

Estimation of deficiency risk and prioritization of information security controls: A data-centric approach

Risk of unauthorized disclosure or modification of corporate data can impact in different ways, including affecting operations, the public image and/or the firm's legal/compliance exposure. While management views risk along these dimensions, the information technology function (ITF) typically views risk from an IT infrastructure compromise viewpoint, and this drives the establishment of IT security controls. It is oftentimes difficult for the internal audit function (IAF) to assess control deficiency risk (CDR) in the area of information security, as well as estimate the importance of each in-place security control. Using a design science approach, we propose the Operational, Public image, Legal (OPL) model and method to classify the security criticality of the organization's data along three dimensions. Through an empirical study, we demonstrate how the OPL method allows for a quantitative estimation of the importance of in-place security controls as well as the CDR of missing controls. This information provides guidance on strategies for testing in-place controls during audit, as well as for determining which controls may need to be incrementally added.

DTB-IDS: an intrusion detection system based on decision tree using behavior analysis for preventing APT attacks

Due to rapid growth of communications and networks, a cyber-attack with malicious codes has been coming as a new paradigm in information security area since last few years. In particular, an advanced persistent threats (APT) attack is bringing out big social issues. The APT attack uses social engineering methods to target various systems for intrusions. It breaks down the security of the target system to leak information or to destroy the system by giving monetary damages on the target. APT attacks make relatively simple attacks such as spear phishing during initial intrusion but a back door is created by leaking the long-term information after initial intrusion, and it transmits the malicious code by analyzing the internal network. In this paper, we propose an intrusion detection system based on the decision tree using analysis of behavior information to detect APT attacks that intellectually change after intrusion into a system. Furthermore, it can detect the possibility on the initial intrusion and minimize the damage size by quickly responding to APT attacks.